When you’re planning to run a business, you will only focus largely on the success stories. On the other hand, there is so much pressure for new businesses to succeed nowadays that many of them appear to be run by people who have put on blinkers and can’t seem to see anything other than the red line they need to cross. This is why when a road bump does appear, it doesn’t just throw them off; it tends to derail them completely.
It’s a good idea to be wiser and actually look at the mistakes made by a failed business. There’s a lot you’re going to learn, such as the following:
1. Find Your Specialty
It’s always a good idea to know what your business’s strengths are and work on magnifying them. Unfortunately, many businesses want to push for growth which can backfire on them. A good example of this is Kmart. Starting out as one of the most successful discount chains in the U.S, they quickly fell behind because they were trying to do too much at the same time.
While Wal-Mart offered competitive prices and Target offered products which differentiated them, Kmart tried to do both and ended up not only confusing their target market but also lost market share and had to declare for bankruptcy by 2002.
2. Keep an Eye on the Customers
When it comes to knowing your target market, it is a good idea to focus on what is interesting to them and fulfilling their wants and needs. For example: For the longest time, MySpace was the go-to social media platform for people online until Facebook popped up. Offering bigger and better features, Facebook garnered so much interest that MySpace couldn’t catch up.
Despite the fact that News Corp. ended up investing $580 million in MySpace, it turned out to be too little too late. It wasn’t just the fact that they disregarded their competition when it showed up, they didn’t understand that their target audience like certain features offered by Facebook more.
3. Be a Good Leader
A bad leader can be just as disastrous for a business, even when things appear to be going good in all directions. A big example of this can be seen when Mattel hired Jill Barad. Making history as the first female CEO of the company, Barad had skills including extreme attention to detail that allowed her to rise through the ranks as a product manager and being considered for the position of CEO.
Unfortunately, the same extreme attention began to reflect badly on Barad as she couldn’t delegate the work properly. This resulted in work being less productive and affected the workplace negatively. Things got so bad that Mattel had to let her go in 2002.
4. Know When to Take a Break
Sometimes, you might be doing all the right things but you still might be unable to make it to the top. Look at Nokia to get a better understanding. While the company is one of the most widely recognized for their cellular phones and smartphones, by 2010, Apple and Samsung had beaten Nokia down with their smartphones and gained larger market share.
Eventually, Nokia had to take a short break to focus on working out how they can be and do better. Taking a brief hiatus, Nokia returned into the market and while their sales still cannot beat out Apple and Samsung, the company is faring much better now.
