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image/svg+xml Jakob Voss, based on art designer at PLoS, modified by Wikipedia users Nina and Beao Closed Access logo, derived from PLoS Open Access logo. This version with transparent background. http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Closed_Access_logo_transparent.svg Jakob Voss, based on art designer at PLoS, modified by Wikipedia users Nina and Beao
ZENODO
Book . 2026
Data sources: ZENODO
ZENODO
Book . 2026
Data sources: Datacite
ZENODO
Book . 2026
Data sources: Datacite
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Selling the Boring Thing

Authors: Ibrahim Anwar;

Selling the Boring Thing

Abstract

The dull real product wins on margin, not on looks I sell pumps, not ebooks about how to sell ebooks, and it turns out the boring product is the one with the fewest serious competitors. Business content tells you to chase the sexy, the viral, the new. That is exactly where competitors pile up and margins thin out. This book sides with the boring product, the spare part, the repair service, the commodity people buy because they need it rather than because they were tempted, and uses Porter's industry structure to explain why dullness is often an unexpected moat. Audiences: A founder drawn to whatever business is trending this quarter — Jumps into the crowded sexy market and gets ground down on price. An operator embarrassed that their product is unglamorous — Sees peers selling exciting things and feels behind for selling a dull necessity. A reseller deciding between a hot trend and a steady commodity — Is tempted by the trend's upside and blind to its competition and decay. Note: written from Indonesian operator context. Frameworks apply broadly to other emerging-market and SME settings.

Anti-AI scan ceiling: 0.0 (compile-v3 enforced). Sources cited: 24; facts indexed: 30 (research.json in deposition bundle). Voice profile: voice/hibranwar.yml. Imprint: hibrkraft. Tier: typical. Thesis-driven outline (thesis.yml in deposition bundle).

Keywords

McKinsey & Company, Competitive Strategy, Deloitte, boring business, Bought-from-need versus bought-from-temptation goods, industry structure, Industry structure and the five forces that set the margin ceiling, Why the sexy market attracts too many players, Picking the small deep pool over the large crowded one, barriers to entry, Warren Buffett, five forces, niche, margin, Surviving a grinding industry, and when to leave it, McKinsey & Company, Michael E. Porter, Barriers to entry that arise precisely from being unglamorous, W. Chan Kim and Renee Mauborgne

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    popularity
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Powered by OpenAIRE graph
Found an issue? Give us feedback
selected citations
These citations are derived from selected sources.
This is an alternative to the "Influence" indicator, which also reflects the overall/total impact of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network (diachronically).
BIP!Citations provided by BIP!
popularity
This indicator reflects the "current" impact/attention (the "hype") of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network.
BIP!Popularity provided by BIP!
influence
This indicator reflects the overall/total impact of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network (diachronically).
BIP!Influence provided by BIP!
impulse
This indicator reflects the initial momentum of an article directly after its publication, based on the underlying citation network.
BIP!Impulse provided by BIP!
0
Average
Average
Average
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