Why most companies drown in sameness while a few own their sweet spot
- Niti Grover
- Sep 24
- 3 min read
In the Philippines, there’s a fast-food giant that even McDonald’s couldn’t beat.
When McDonald’s entered the country in the 1980s, most assumed it was only a matter of time before the golden arches dominated. They had scale, brand power, and endless resources.
And yet… today, Jollibee has more stores, more revenue, and deeper loyalty than McDonald’s in the Philippines.
Why? Because they didn’t try to be McDonald’s. They leaned into what locals truly valued — flavors that tasted like home, menus rooted in Filipino culture, and marketing that made people feel seen.
Jollibee didn’t just compete. They found their A-Zone: the sweet spot where what customers crave overlaps with what only they can authentically deliver.
The Harsh Reality
If only more companies had a story like Jollibee’s.
Unfortunately, most don’t.
75–95% of new products flop.
42% of startups fail because there’s no real need for what they built.
Even giants stumble: 88% of corporate transformations fall short of their ambition.
The problem isn’t ambition. It isn’t resources.
It’s differentiation.
Too many businesses drown in sameness — polishing what customers already expect, copying what competitors already do, and fighting harder for ground that isn’t worth owning.
Lessons From Failure
Take Quibi. Backed by Hollywood and $1.75 billion in funding, it launched with confidence: short-form shows for mobile, a “new wave” of streaming. Six months later, it shut down. The founders admitted: “the idea itself wasn’t strong enough.” Translation: customers didn’t care.
Or Juicero. A $400 Wi-Fi juicer that required proprietary juice packs. Investors poured in $120 million. The only problem? Customers realized they could squeeze the packs by hand. Quicker. Cheaper. With less embarrassment. Juicero went from Silicon Valley darling to late-night comedy punchline almost overnight.
And then there’s Amazon’s Fire Phone. Clever features, sure — a 3D interface, quick access to Amazon shopping. But it lacked a compelling reason for customers to abandon their iPhones or Samsungs. Even Amazon’s might couldn’t save a product that failed to stand out.
These aren’t random flukes. They’re symptoms of the same disease: mistaking “being present” for “being different.”
The Companies That Refused to Blend In
Now, contrast those with the ones who nailed their A-Zone.
Rolex during the 1970s quartz crisis. While cheap, accurate digital watches flooded the world, Rolex doubled down on mechanical craftsmanship and luxury. They weren’t selling time — they were selling status, legacy, success. Today, Rolex doesn’t just have customers. They have waiting lists.
Dyson looked at a sea of $100 vacuums and said, “Let’s charge $800.” It sounds like parody, but it worked. Dyson wasn’t selling suction — they were selling sleek engineering, futuristic design, and pride of ownership. A vacuum that became a conversation starter.
Red Bull entered a market already dominated by Coke and Pepsi. No one asked for a tiny, weird-tasting, expensive energy drink. But Red Bull didn’t sell a beverage. They sold adrenaline. Cliff diving, sky surfing, Formula 1 — they turned a can into a culture. Today, Red Bull doesn’t compete with Coke. They compete with gravity.
These companies didn’t survive by being louder. They thrived by being different. They refused to fight over the commodity core and instead carved out their A-Zone.
The A-Zone Framework
Finding your A-Zone isn’t about luck or intuition. It’s a process.
That’s why I built the A-Zone Framework — a way to strip away noise and pinpoint what makes you truly stand out.
It’s a three-step journey:
Step 1 - Discover
Most companies listen selectively. Discovery forces you to see through four lenses: customers, markets, the field, and leadership. Each lens gives a piece of the puzzle. Together, they reveal a reality you can’t see from one angle alone.
Step 2 - Map
Once the insights are gathered, they’re sorted into a simple Venn. Suddenly, the picture sharpens: you see where you’re wasting effort, where you’re blending in, and where you might just stand apart.
Step 3 - Distill
This is where the clutter falls away. You isolate your “A” — the Unique Value Identifier. The thing customers crave that only you can deliver. It’s not about being different for the sake of it. It’s about being different in ways that matter, defensible against copycats, and scalable without dilution.
That’s your A-Zone. Not a slogan, not a gimmick. The reason customers remember you, choose you, and recommend you.
The Real Question
The real question for leaders today isn’t: How big is our market?
It’s: Are we in the A-Zone — or just fighting in the sea of sameness?
Because customers don’t reward ambition.
They don’t reward sameness.
They reward clarity, relevance, and difference.
So here’s the challenge I leave you with: