Tales of misfortunate companies that have met their demise through the rise of predatory rivals are now a dime a dozen. As technology advances, a sheer refusal to innovate has seen much-loved companies and industries struggle to stay afloat. Where did it go wrong?
- Netflix didn’t sink Blockbuster. Unfavourable late fees did. This was the scourge of Blockbuster: return a movie, go to rent another, and find out that you owe $20 in late fees. This was how it made most of its revenue. Blockbuster’s business model required a conflict of interest with customers- so customers switched to Netflix as soon as it became available, without remorse.
- Uber didn’t kill your local taxi firm– unreliability did. Riders are now able to hail a ride online instantly, with live tracking and accurate time frames. Convenience and time-saving aspects have streamlined ride services with the desires of customers at heart.
- Airbnb isn’t taking over the hospitality industry– new customer experiences and pricing options are. Customers are demanding authentic lodging experiences- in locals real homes- at affordable prices.
“Airbnb Experiences immerse travellers in local communities, offering one-of-a-kind, handcrafted activities, led by local experts.”
By Airbnb
If these examples teach marketers anything, it’s that not being customer-centric or lacking innovation of experience can be fatal. Marketers need to invest and evolve alongside technology as demand-based power rises. In short: optimise your customer experience, before competitors get there first.
Can you think of any other examples where refusal to innovate has been fatal?
Beth Johnson Marketing 
really innovation is necessary in every condition, I listen a lot from Vivek Bindra sir, truly Alibaba, MackBa, reliance industry and McDonald are relatable examples to that.
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Yes I agree! It is however interesting to see the difference in the time it takes for innovations to be implemented in different industries. I recently read an article that discussed how call center customer service has historically been a frustrating and time-consuming experience, and still is. You’d think they would have worked on replacing the painful hold music by now.
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Really interesting post. Your examples show how important innovation is and the graph for Netflix/Blockbuster really pushed this point with how quickly Blockbuster declined into bankruptcy
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Agreed! The graph really shows how rapidly innovation can impact an industry and what it means for those who fail to innovate.
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Interesting article Beth! Another example of refusal to innovate is Kodak. The company spent too long focusing on filmless digital cameras and did not consider the impact of the digital revolution.
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Great point- Kodak management’s inability to see digital photography as a disruptive technology seems impossible, especially given it’s popularity today.
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Really interesting article! I think a lot of things that are print these days have to continue to innovate to stay alive! Newspapers make a fair chuck of their profits from advertisements within the paper, so seeing that more people are choosing to advertise via the internet or other digital platforms, it will be interesting to see how much longer they survive. However, I do know a lot of people who subscribe to the digital version of the paper, or continue to buy the hard copy paper out of routine and preference!
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Yes that’s true! Newspapers still seem to be more popular with older generations because that’s always been a part of life for them but maybe as time goes by newspaper companies will completely switch to digital. For now they still seem useful for ads attempting to target more mature audiences but it will be interesting to see how long that lasts.
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