I’m starting to think that there are two definable, concrete stages of a company’s lifecycle.
During the first phase, two qualities are the most important—the ability to create a product and sell that product. Everything else is fluff around those two core factors.
Eventually, however, the company evolves to a new stage. At this point, the company is well known enough to have the reputation within their space to build products, and they are such a staple that selling them becomes trivial. So if this company is going to take the next leap, it must focus on differentiation and perception.
Differentiation is essentially the evolution of creation. Yes… you’ve proven that you can make something. But how is this different than everything else on the market? What is the reason someone would want to use this instead of a competitor? Apple is an excellent example of this. If you look at a spec sheet comparing an Apple product vs any competitor, be it a laptop, smartwatch or set of headphones, the Apple product probably isn’t the top-specced product. But, anyone in the Apple ecosystem knows that Apple products just… work. They are simpler and more intuitive and require less maintenance than their counterparts. This differentiation keeps the company as one of the largest in the world.
Perception is the evolution of sales. The idea here is, how do people feel after purchasing your product? How does your product define them? Your customers determine the transformation of your company. Brands that are able to master this perception are the companies that grow to stratospheric levels. Patagonia is a great example of this. They sell a premier product at a premier price, and they will do everything in their power to fix or repair any issues you may have. This attracts people who are conscientious of the planet and those who will go out of their way to talk positively about their experiences with Patagonia. It’s the reason why Vintage Patagonia attire sells for thousands of dollars — reusing high-quality clothing is essentially the perception of Patagonia itself. They’ve controlled this narrative to a tee, and they’ll likely be a premier company that sells many products because of this perception.
Building and selling will forever remain important for a company at any stage of its lifecycle. But it’s differentiation and perception that turns companies into household names.