Second Place Is The First Loser- Or Is It?

Most people are familiar with the saying, “Second Place is the First Loser”. The goal of every business, sports teams, and individual is to be number one. Being on top is a great accomplishment. However society influences us to believe that there can only be one winner. Is second place really the first loser?

There has been a lot of news in the Industry about Yahoo lately. The most recent being Microsoft Corp. making an unsolicited $44.6 billion cash and stock bid for Yahoo on Friday, February 1, 2008. Yahoo recently announced their plan to layoff 1,000 workers due to a 23% decrease in profits from 2006. Yahoo reported a fourth-quarter profit of $205.7 million down from $268.7 million. It’s obvious that Yahoo continues to lose its stance next to Google. Google captured nearly all of the search growth in the fourth quarter of 2007. When comparing fourth quarter 2006 to 2007, Yahoo’s market share dropped by 25%, falling from 24.1% to 17.9% of total search advertising dollars. Google, however, increased its presence, going from a 70.5% to a 76.6% share. By now, everyone has either heard about or discussed the fact that Yahoo should step out of search and outsource that function to its top competitor. Google has won, so why should Yahoo even compete?

Yes, being number one is a goal of every company, but being number two in a dynamic industry, is still a great accomplishment! Many users prefer to use Yahoo over Google. Although Yahoo’s market share doesn’t come close to Google’s – it is still a valid place for users to search.

I enjoy being given a choice! I am not a big fan of monopolies of any sort. What if we only had one type of soda, airline, or shirt to wear? Things would be monotonous and boring! Better yet, what if we only had one cable or internet provider? That particular provider would have zero competition, which in turn would result in astronomical prices and limited options.

As a Client Strategist, I tend to use Google most of the time when I search, but I still like to keep my options open and search on other engines every now and then. People are different, and enjoy different things. Competition is healthy for the economy. Therefore, there will always be room for second place players.

Don’t give up Yahoo, I still believe in you!