In every decade there are business innovations that lead to products or services having a profound impact on our lives. Good or bad they alter every aspect of our existence and bring about paradigm shifts in thinking, process and execution. This revolution has been and will continue to be televised, and you’re either creating content or spuddin away on the couch watching the world wild web go by.
The reason I chose Netflix as one of my favorite brands is because it’s a textbook example of how an internet based business model has singlehandedly revolutionized an industry. Once they tapped into the Groundswell, Netflix took off like wildfire and blazed a trail that left their brick and mortar competitors in ashes. The once mighty video giant Blockbuster and its pesky little rival Hollywood Video have drowned in their wake and will soon join Fretter, Circuit City, Zayer and many others in the retail afterlife. Blockbuster has tried to adopt a service similar to Netflix, but it’s too little too late. Complacency lead to their demise. Blockbuster and Hollywood Video lacked vision. Like many companies, they didn’t deem the internet as an important tool to advance their brand. By being inept to the strength of Netflix as an emerging brand, Blockbuster began to lose ground and suffered insurmountable losses in the video turf war.
This process is nothing new. The onset of the digital age has facilitated an influx of new business models while forcing others to cease operations, permanently. The advance of the internet has only added more fuel to the fire. The growth in the poignancy of the internet is akin to the introduction of crack into the urban landscape. Stay with me now. Street level alchemists, educated in the school of hard knocks, took an expensive narcotic, (cocaine) some readily available household items, applied some simple chemistry to develop an inexpensive and highly addictive product that changed the game. As a result, a new breed of hustler emerged, wreaking havoc on the competition and exploiting the community.
The internet is digital crack and it’s changed the way we do business forever. For those companies that know how to cook it up, chop it up and sling it down, the rewards can be limitless. But, you must remain on your toes; change things up from time to time and don’t get high on your own supply. In the early days, the internet was like the gold rush during the 1800’s. A lot of people got rich. Those who knew when to cash it in and move on, made a killing. Those with the Gordon Gecko mentality lost their flip flops, Foosball tables and keggers of Honkers Ale.
The internet is an absolute pivotal asset that should be a part of every new or existing organizational strategy. Leveraging the web as part of your business plan can give you access to customers you’d never be able to reach under normal circumstances. Tapping into the web provides you entry to the global economy. But just getting into the game wont guarantee that you’ll remain in the game, or that you’ll be a major player. You have to keep all stakeholders intently engaged and excited about what you have to offer. Businesses unable to incorporate a solid online strategy for their organizations will risk heading down a slippery slope to insolvency.
It’s like the old adage says, “You lead, follow or get out of the way;” so if you can’t run with the big dogs, stay on the porch.
Now Let It Breathe.
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