Non-standard business solutions
One of the main goals of big business is to be at least one step ahead of your competitors. This will ensure the emergence of new customers, new sales and worldwide fame. Nowadays, trivial decisions in managing your business can achieve little. To be on top, you need to come up with something non-standard and original. The companies that will be discussed below were able to circle their competitors around their fingers precisely thanks to creative ideas and solutions.
Many of the cases presented have already entered the world history of business and can serve as an excellent example of how to find and implement recipes for success.
In the 1970s, there was an American entrepreneur who invented liquid soap and sold it with his small business. However, the invention was not patented, as the idea itself was not radically new. And the pump mechanism, without which the use of liquid soap would be difficult, was also invented a very long time ago. Taylor understood that if large household chemical manufacturers began to mass-produce liquid soap in dispensers, then there would be no prospects for the development of his small business.
And then the resourceful entrepreneur decided to simply prevent other manufacturers from getting the coveted plastic dispenser pumps that are attached to bottles of liquid soap. In those years, there were only two factories in the United States that produced such pumps, and Taylor placed an order with both for their manufacture at a cost of twelve million dollars. With this amount, about a hundred million dispensers could be made, and thus, for the next few years, both factories worked only to fulfill Taylor’s order. Robert’s competitors, of course, could make liquid soap itself, but without a convenient packaging with a dispenser, such a product was not competitive.
Consciously taking a huge risk, Taylor made the right decision – within a few years, his small company turned into a huge Colgate-Palmolive business, producing liquid soap, toothpaste and other hygiene products.
Oakley and sunglasses
In the summer of 2010, a mine collapse occurred in Chile. The consequence of this tragedy was that 33 workers found themselves at a depth of approximately 700 meters without the ability to get out on their own. Rescue operations began, which lasted as much as three months. Caring people and organizations sent food, water and other necessary means to the affected miners to survive. The Oakley company decided to send the miners also their product – sunglasses.
When the rescue of the miners was finally successful and they got out of captivity, they had to put on the glasses they received as a gift, since it was difficult for their eyes to look at daylight after such a long stay in the dark. Correspondents from almost all TV channels and print publications, of course, arrived at the scene of the incident, who filmed the faces of the rescued workers wearing Oakley glasses on photo and video cameras. Thus, the company made itself free advertising, which was seen by a multimillion-dollar audience around the world, including views on the Internet.
Puma and tying shoelaces
Everyone knows that major football matches are always a great platform for advertising. Some companies cover stadiums with advertising posters, others start up a news ticker on television during live broadcasts of matches. At Puma, they decided to act much simpler, and at the same time much more ingenious. They only paid footballer Pele to tie his shoelaces in the stadium just before the start of the match. Of course, the sneakers he wore were from Puma, and of course, the actions of such a great football player always hit the main screens in close-up.
According to the results of the advertising campaign, it was found that this cunning marketing ploy turned out to be much more effective than advertising posters placed along the stadium.
Asus and computer manufacturing
Once upon a time, a small company in Taiwan was engaged in the manufacturer of motherboards for the American company Dell. After a long cooperation, this company wanted to supply Dell with other components as well, and issue entire computers as output. Dell agreed, because they saw only benefits in this. After a while, the Taiwanese partner offered to participate in supply chain management as well. Dell again happily accepted the offer. Collaboration began to boil with renewed vigor. For Dell, such cooperation was more than profitable: they were promoting their product to the market, and the Taiwanese partner did all the routine work for them.
