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Today, Old Spice, Lego, Apple and Ford are the picture of what a successful company should be. However, this was not always a true statement.
Apple, in particular, is a company famous for returning from a near-death experience. After the company fired Steve Jobs in 1985, things quickly went south. Apple began producing laptops that were known to catch fire or never worked in the first place. When Jobs returned to the scene in 1997, he made changes to the brand that reestablished it as one of the world’s top tech producers.
Lego experienced a similar plot line After teetering on the brink of bankruptcy in the early nineties, thanks to a 40 percent drop in sales, the company was forced to take a hard look at how it was doing business. Lego had ventured into the video game business, created overly complicated Lego sets and built several theme parks, straying far from its original values. In 2004, the company ditched the theme parks and reintroduced less complicated products, effectively bringing the company back from the dead.
Source: Best Accounting Schools
What can you learn from this Infographic?
- Know your target audience, who would be interested, and how to bring in fresh customers! Old Spice realized their loyal customers were kicking the bucket, and kicked up their marketing to bring in fresh meat. Now, young studs are using the same Old Spice brands their grandfathers used (and smelling amazing).
- Know what your customers can and cannot handle! While 12,400 Legos in a kit sounds mind blowing, who the heck is going to be able to build that monster block project? Not the 8-12 year old the kit was designed for, that’s for sure. As a mom, I shudder thinking about vacuuming up all those extra pieces my kid would leave around… My vacuum almost didn’t live through the 7,000 piece kits. Give your customers more than they expect in value, but not more than they can handle.
- Surround yourself with the right people and appreciate the amazing employees you do have! Can you imagine a world without your iPhone or iPad? Scary! Thankfully Apple realized how amazing Steve Jobs was and brought him back on. Recognize your employees when they go above and beyond, and they will want to work hard for you.
