Just as much as employees must adapt to new workforces, companies must adapt to new customer segments. The 17 year old company, ASOS, has exponentially grown and experienced success over their lifetime, however, it is no coincidence that this start up flourished and grew into the company it is today.

A Forbes article by Hal Gregerson and Jeff Dyer, “At The Altar Of Innovation: How ASOS Changed Our Commitment To Millennial Buyers” (2016), praised the company and recognized the prosperity of their adaptational techniques. By adopting an external change agent, ASOS was able to transform their company into one more fitting for the younger generation of both employees and customers. They not only accomplished this by altering certain products and advertisements, but by acquiring a workforce that contained members who were essentially the same as their target market. As Gregerson and Dyer write, who better to “engage with twenty-something millennials than twenty-something millennials?” By hiring workers who held the same values and interests as the group they were marketing to, ASOS was able to gain a deeper insight into what would help catalyze the company’s success, and they reaped the benefits.

People fear change and it is human nature to prefer stability, however, sometimes change is necessary for the advancement and success of businesses. The diversity and uniqueness that ASOS held within their workforce was reciprocated in their company image and their intended customer audience followed. By acquiring a wide variety of both products and employees, ASOS was able to cater to a wide variety of customer segments and enhance each of their experiences with the company. The more people a company can please, the wider their customer base grows, and that is something that ASOS has experienced since their commencement in 2000.

People gravitate towards others who are similar to them, and by adapting to a wide scope of the population, ASOS had someone who was like everyone. Through diversification and alteration, this company was able to grow from a small start up into a thriving business, and they have the interconnectedness between their organizational culture and organizational change strategies to thank.

Word Count: 346

Bibliography:

Gregerson, H., & Dyer, J. (2017). Forbes Welcome. Forbes.com. Retrieved 27 March 2017, from    https://www.forbes.com/sites/halgregersen/2016/05/18/at-the-altar-of-innovation-how-asos-                                   changed-our-commitment-to-millennial-buyers/#262cdbce3783