Business in times of AI
Interchangeable products:
Many types of products have been largely interchangeable for a long time. Plastic toys, clothing, groceries, haircuts. Everything in these categories consists of similar offerings with barely any differences at the product level.
This trend is now slowly reaching a new category: software. Especially with simple B2B tools or certain apps, this is already clearly visible. With AI, it’s becoming increasingly easy to recreate existing software. You can see this simply from the huge number of tools you can choose from today when you’re looking for something as basic as a simple social media scheduling function.
This raises the key question: what will truly differentiate these companies in the future? Three factors are mentioned again and again: brand, community, and distribution.
Brand:
The principle is well known. The exact same product can be sold at a much higher price under a different name. An extreme example is the Supreme brick, which is still sold for over 100 euros simply because of the logo. Software works the same way. Users choose the brands they know and trust, even when competing products are technically identical or sometimes even better. A strong brand reduces uncertainty in a world of endless choices. It becomes a shortcut for decision-making, where people follow what feels familiar and credible. This trust makes brands remarkably resilient, even when alternatives offer more features or lower prices.
Community:
A community is made up of people who do more than just use a product. They talk about it, recommend it to others and create their own content around it. A strong community turns a transactional relationship into an emotional one, where people stay not because a product is slightly better or cheaper but because they feel connected to something bigger. This creates resilience when competitors offer similar features, as loyalty is driven by belonging rather than functionality. Most importantly, communities drive their own growth. Every new member increases the value for everyone else, which is why creators, startups and major brands invest heavily in building them. In a world where almost everything can be copied, people cannot.
Distribution
In the end, the product that is most visible often wins. The chocolate bar you can find at every gas station and every supermarket sells better than an equally good product that is hard to find. The same principle applies to software. Those who have access to the right channels, whether through their own reach, partnerships or targeted advertising, ultimately perform better. Even strong products fail when nobody sees them, while average products can succeed if they show up in the right place at the right moment.
Conclusion:
Brand, community and distribution are the new factors that determine success or failure. Companies that understand these three areas and invest in them consistently will be able to compete even in a changing market environment. And individuals who deliberately build skills in these areas position themselves strongly in the job market.
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