There used to be an FM channel I used to listen to. It had a unique bouquet of offerings & a lot of people I know listened to it because of this uniqueness & it also had the distinction of being the oldest FM channel.

Competition was unheard of for at least two years since the launch of the channel. Finally when competition came, it came in a regional format; they spoke the regional language & played more regional numbers both of which was new for the listeners –the new channel seemed to have something new to offer.

Seeing this, the existing channel (which still was my preferred channel & am sure had its share of loyalists), quickly changed to the regional format – speaking the regional language and playing more regional numbers.

In seeking to respond to competition, they resorted to imitation, forgetting their customers. For people like me, it now didn’t make any difference which channel I listened to. I could now either continue listening to the radio out of sheer habit or just switch the radio off. My preferred channel had lost my audience.

There is a lot of difference between imitation & innovation. Taking competition head on, might be aggressive, but keeping customers in view is a step towards customer retention.

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