The phenomenon of the last decade, that had reached a billion users in 2012, and had a movie dedicated to its creator. Well, facebook had its failures too.
In 2013, Facebook decided that its customers, who are using more and more their smartphone for basically... everything, would probably like an alternative user environment, closer to them and that would facilitate their communication with their friends. And this is how Facebook launched Facebook Home, an Android app, aimed to replace a smartphone home screen. You could thus view your friends' updates and notifications on a full screen environment, which was also made in order to hide as much as possible the Android shape of the phone : the research bar is not visible for example.
On its app launching, facebook collaborated with HTC in order for the phone company to sell its new smartphone, the HTC First, with the pre-loaded app.
The facebook Home design
The problem is, no one wanted the facebook Home app. Not the users, not the phone sellers. The app was too invasive on the consumers' phones, and quickly on internet topics were created with a "how to get a rid of Facebook Home on the HTC First" subject.
Another face of the failure arose, that is quite embarrassing for Facebook : the app has been created by... Iphone users, who were therefore not aware enough of how an Android user thinks. The thing is, Android' USP (Unique Selling Point) is its personalization possibilities. Widgets, folders, or docks are all things that Apple doesn't offer in its smartphones. The constat is simple: How can you possibly create something that personal for a target that you don't even know ?
Morale of the story: Don't pull all your eggs in one basket !
Sony - Betamax
I could talk to you about Coca-Cola's most famous failure but you probably already know that story. And if I begin this blog with a food products story I could myself commit a marketing failure, as I won't give you a serious and professional image of what this blog is and what I want to do with it. You would tell me, and you would be right to tell me that, "what is the point of creating a blog filled with stories that everybody already knows, and that you can easily find on several blogs?"
That is why I will begin with the story of Betamax, from Sony. This video cassette recorder for individuals uses the Betamax technology and is developed in the 70s, before its launch in 1975. 30 000 exemplars are sold the first year in America. But in 1976, JVC, Sony's rival, introduces its own technology: the VHS (Video Home System), and agrees to share it with other Japanese companies. These two formats are incompatibles and therefore consumers have to choose between a Betamax video recorder and a VHS video recorder. Sony’s rivals begin a price war that they win: the price gap between some video recorders reached 300 dollars. In spite of the acknowledged higher quality of the Betamax recordings, they attract less and less consumers because of one main issue: its higher quality in terms of image and sound is the cause of a limited recording capacity of one hour per tape, which means that any film or football game requires at least two, sometimes three tapes to record it from the beginning to the end. When the Betamax technology was excellent but not practical, the VHS one was acceptable and practical. In 1987 the VHS market shares reach 95%, and the following year Sony launches a VHS video recorder range.
Later came the DVD (Digital Versatile
Disc), and this time Sony worked on a common format with eight of its rivals.
Today Sony has stopped its DVD player
production. Even if it had 10 to 15% of market shares, the company had some
loss with it due to a strong rivalry and continually decreasing prices. The
main source of revenue was the Xperia mobile phones range a few years ago and
is now the PS4. On its first 2014 trimester Sony has sold 3,5 million PS3 and
PS4 when Microsoft has only sold 1,1 million Xbox 360 and Xbox One.
The moral of this story : A ragged colt may make a good horse !
The Betamax video recorder
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