Taking Stock of Commodities

Your product or service is replaceable

The Newbus Ox by William Ward, 1812 (Yale Center for British Art - public domain)

When you hear the word “commodity,” it probably brings to mind pork bellies, copper, or oil.

Or maybe even livestock. While pigs and cattle don't seem that interesting, at one time, livestock was such a prized possession that the hottest status symbol was a painting of your cow.

Whatever the commodity, these aren’t terribly exciting industries, but they’re essential to the world in which we live. At the macro level, they’re generics — that is, they are goods that can be appropriated by any brand.

But what if I told you that what you provide is a commodity? It doesn’t matter whether it’s in financial services, consumer packaged goods, quick service restaurants, automotive, consulting, or anything else.

The product you sell or the service you render can be replaced (or reasonably replicated) by some third party. You may think you have an unconquerable hold on the market, but it can change in a moment.

Especi…