Well, like many other answers to questions aroused from business and life, we cannot be sure. But one thing I strongly believe, we do change, for the better.
In business we care a lot about brands, and consider a big brand a business success, but brands (that represent success) also exist in many other aspects in life. It may seem pretty random a thought, but take Roger Federer for example. In modern tennis, Federer seems like a living monument. He owns almost every possible record in the field. And the most important thing: everyone reveres him, from fellow players to the sport’s fans, and even its legends. As a ‘brand’, he represents perfection, class, elegance and true sportsmanship. Another reason why Roger can be considered a brand is that there are actually some true successful business brands that partner with him, to share the same viral image. The Nike clothing that he always wears, most of them have now been customized for himself only, the Rolex that he wears every time he lifts a major trophy, the Mercedes that he drives. How does Roger relate to change nevertheless? Well, take a moment to get out of the fancy story, and step back to reality to figure this out: Roger is also a human. As a young athlete, in general, Roger was a hothead. He is described to always be smashing his rackets and even offending his partners. But yes, the changing point of the story, Roger partnered with a wise Australian coach who helped put sense into him and eventually turned the bad-tempered kid to the classy legend. Apparently Federer changed for the better. But that’s just an one-sided story. There have been many cases when Roger had to choose whether or not, and eventually refuse, to change. For example, at the age of 11 he was (already) faced with a career choice, between soccer and tennis. Though how Roger’d be doing as a soccer player now remains a mystery, tennis turned about to be enough good a choice. Despite the importance of the decision for a 11-year-old, Federer somehow managed to stick to what he was doing well, given that many of his family members were soccer pros and encouraging him to choose soccer in those early days. Who would imagine Roger now had he agreed to change in that situation?
THIS …
AND THIS, OR …
… THIS?
In a more business-related case, Mark Zuckerberg makes the very epitome. During the summer of 2004, while a student at Harvard, Mark created a website called Facemash, which basically allowed students to choose between two random fellow female students on campus, in terms of “who’s hotter”. The website was a hit, spreading throughout the campus unceasingly and became so popular that it got … shut down by the school. Mark even faced with academic probation. Did he decide to change? Yes. Months later, based on the very idea of Facemash, Mark with his college peers came up with a new website, called TheFacebook (rings a bell?). A big ‘change’ in the idea created a hugely ‘better’ result. Soon after that, Mark came into another opportunity for a change. The website that he and his peers created in their sophomore dorm room, started from a $12.000 investment from its co-founder, Eduardo Saverin, received an offer from Yahoo, worth a billion! Every one was aware of Facebook’s potential, and willing to put money into it. “No!”, said Mark. Refusing to compromise his vision, Mark turned down every request to buy his company, or to even put advertisement on Facebook yet, as to his belief in growth over profits. Pig-headed? I don’t think so. Facebook, despite all the privacy rumors and other issues surrounding it, still does very well ’till today, with its CEO and founder, Mark Zuckerberg, being the youngest billionaire in the world! And Yahoo? Not so much.
“Forget your billion! I can make 20 of them myself”.
Over the two cases above, it is reasonable to conclude that in business, to change for a better is feasible, and that to consider a few other options could never kill . However, there are cases when we really need to consider sticking to our own beliefs and go ahead with the plan, no matter how inviting the choices we leave behind are. Thus, it’d be wise for companies to be prepared for adaptations, to have a fundamental yet flexible business plan, in order to change, or not, to succeed.
After all, it’s business. It’d be foolish to think we can actually have an applicable recipe that never goes wrong. We’ll just never know.
Nam,
Welcome to UBC Blogs. This is your first post. Edit or delete it, then start blogging!
The energy drinks industry is a blooming one, estimated to worth about 31.9$ billion as of May 2012 (wikipedia). The two giants of the market, Red Bull and Monster Beverage, both of which have surely become a household name, generate billions of dollars in profit a year. What has brought about their success? Many factors for sure, but one that has struck me the most: their marketing strategies.
Browsing through their websites, I could not help but be so impressed and enlightened. As commercial sites, what they do is enumerate every forthcoming activity regarding sports, music, video games, parties, etc., either organized or sponsored by the companies through brightly-colored designs with beautiful and succinct typography. The information on the companies and its product is either very rare or included in another website.
What is so efficient in terms of marketing is that they straightforwardly state a message: we mean energy. What else could a customer see through all the energetic photos? What could be a more innovating way to introduce themselves and create a first-impression as an energy drink company than a full-of-energy website? What is more, do athletes, teenagers and fun-loving or party people (probably the companies’ fondest audience) even enjoy reading? Probably not, especially when Internet surfing. Thus, instead of some long text about the companies’s history, a layout of photos of awesome activities with a short but epic caption, such as “Red Bull gives you wings”, would be such a way to carry the message.
Two things I’ve learned from Red Bull and Monster Bev’s strategies: stick to who you are, choose your market audience and be as relevant, unique and creative in introducing yourself to the world as possible. As the two couldn’t have done both of the jobs any better, they deserve every billion of energy cans they’ve sold in the world.
Nam,