Business needs to be constantly upgraded. What works today may not work for your business tomorrow. No matter how vigilant you are there are definite setbacks and challenges in your way. But with the help of strong marketing and out of the box strategies one can ensure that their business can get up and run the journey again.
Let’s take a look at the brands that almost failed but bounced back phenomenally and became success stories.
Starbucks
It established itself as the best global coffeehouse brand. Their expansion strategy did not just limit to product offerings and locations but they also ventured into a music business which successfully won eight Grammys in a row of two years. They even set up an ‘entertainment’ office in Los Angeles.
However, in the year 2008 Starbucks was in a stage of freefall partly due to the financial crisis and its stock prices shrinking on extreme levels. They were in a layoff period and had to shut down 977 stores.
However, in the year 2009, Starbucks decided to be back on track with the help of what they do the best that is making coffees. They teamed up with the advertising agency BBDO who are the highly acclaimed agency to start up the largest marketing campaign in the history of Starbucks ‘Coffee Value and Values’. They decided to retrain their baristas and changed their branding strategies but did not loose their focus.
Starbucks not just saved their business from diminishing but also reinvigorated their brand. In 2014, the company’s annual revenue was more than $16 billion.
Nintendo
All are aware that Nintendo was the top player in the video game industry around the 80’s and 90’s. But the late 90’s was the diminishing period for Nintendo which was majorly due to the launch of PS2 and Xbox.
With the launch of Wii, however, Nintendo was able to regain its lost reputation in the market. It sold over 100 million units worldwide. Nintendo never gives up. Pokemon Go which took the world by storm is the proof of it. Pokemon Go added up to $9 billion to its market value.
Maggi
This must be the most popular of comebacks ever. Food safety and standards authority of India (FSSAI) accused Maggi of containing lead and monosodium glutamate above the permissible limits. Maggi was completely banned for around 6 months. But in November 2015, it relaunched.
The notable point is that Maggi never stopped communicating with its audience. The power of storytelling brought the attention of its loyal consumers. Maggi created videos as a tribute to their supporters and series of hashtagged #WeMissYouToo videos. They addressed every consumer segment from boys to girls to even Indian moms who have been a consumer of Maggi since they can remember. The power of reconnection brought Maggi back in the market with the same status it had before, significantly not even using any celebrity brand ambassadors.
These success stories are truly inspirational for not just entrepreneurs but everyone to never give up.
