Remaining Authentic: Creating for the Masses
Every top brand or business knows who they are, what they do, and does it really well. Apple is a tech company, creating world-class laptops and smartphones. Nike is an apparel company, produces shoes as their most popular and well-made commodity. McDonalds, by far the most successful and popular fast-food restaurant on earth.
What makes all these companies great on a worldwide, and almost legendary level? They have perfected their crafts and products, and stayed true to their identities to the point of having become synonymous with them. Your business, product, or idea can do the same so long as you are willing to invest the time, resources, analysis, trials and effort to perfect it.
Each year top brands invest millions in continuing to perfect their products or services, making them taste, look, feel and perform better as well as becoming more efficient, cost-effective, and innovative for their industry, thereby allowing them to remain dominate. For top competitors to remain leaders, they need to toe the fine line of constantly innovating, while staying true to their identity. The danger of changing what you do best, to a point of an extreme might prove to alienate the highly coveted customer base, and crate a cash pitfall in the process.
Probably the most infamous example of this was in 1985, Coca Cola changed it’s formula branding it “new Coke”. This, as most recall, ended in disaster. The changes were so controversial it literally sparked street protests and boycotts, forcing the famed brand to return to the original formula after only 79 days after the radical change.
What is noteworthy about the failure of the “new Coke” formula was it wasn’t the taste or appearance; it was the simple fact that it was unfamiliar to a consumer that was so used to getting the product, tried and true, they had paid for for years.
It’s crazy to think about, Coca Cola, one of the most recognizable and successful companies in the world, invested millions of dollars, countless hours and resources to change their formula. Marketing campaigns were released, commercials, billboards made etc. Only a couple weeks after, the whole idea was scrapped. To their credit the company cut their losses, made a complete 180 and listened to their consumers, by doing so as many believe, saved their brand.
The takeaway, is that the customer is always right, as the old adage goes, and whether business like it or not they work for the customer and not the other way around. As the previous example shows, even if the new formula is better on paper, or liked by the internal board or company executives, even if it’s maybe heathier or beneficial for the consumer, when the people reject a product as unsatisfactory and sales drop, the product is just that: bad.
As a business owner, create a product or service, make it the best it can be, once you have that, build an identity, with identity comes familiarity, next a brand and a brand turns to a movement, form that, into an icon.
The only way to get there is to listen to the customer, and their feedback or opinions. Sometimes we may not agree with what they have to say, but the ultimate goal of a business is to make money, and if no one is buying, the businesses is headed for bankruptcy. It may seem simple or obvious, however the majority of businesses fail by not creating something the audience wants, companies are here to serve not the other way around. Park the ego, create for the masses.
For personalized guidance for your business on this topic and others contact us.
- Vincent Calace
Founder & CEO Venture Business Development