“Free” product competition strikes again and the latest casualty is Weight Watchers, whose CEO recently left the company in the midst of the onslaught of free weight loss and fitness applications. Finding a killer strategy under these circumstances can be an elusive quest, as Weight Watchers has clearly discovered. In response, most companies hunker down and do more of the same — throw in a price cut, tweak a product feature, launch more advertising — and hope for the best. Yet, they often ignore the one obvious strategy that could give them a serious break: Meeting “free” with “free.”
Why Weight Watchers Can’t Ignore the Call to Go “Free”
In the face of disruption, hunkering down doesn’t work.
August 07, 2013
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HBR Learning
Strategy Planning and Execution Course
Accelerate your career with Harvard ManageMentor®. HBR Learning’s online leadership training helps you hone your skills with courses like Strategy Planning and Execution. Earn badges to share on LinkedIn and your resume. Access more than 40 courses trusted by Fortune 500 companies.
How to develop a winning strategy—and put it to work.