Change with the times or they'll change without you

A perk for being a Boston College employee allows me the opportunity to take free classes. I'm taking a Marketing course right now and I'm in the midst of writing a paper on a case study of the Levi Strauss Co. Baby boomers: remember them? They were the super cool jeans you wore out on the town when you were a kid. Well, after researching this case study, I found out why the cool factor didn't stick with the jeans through the 90's and into the 21st century. The Levi Strauss company didn't change with the times. Therefore, the times up and changed without them. The baby boomers became parents and "mommy jeans" were about as cool as hangin' with your mom on a Friday night. Secondly, the level of variety that Levi's offered was slim. The new generation wanted choices. What did all this mean for Levi's? Their branding took a turn for the worst and so did their sales.

History does tend to repeat itself as today there are similarities with companies who aren't changing with the times, the social media times that is. If you're reading this blog, you're most likely in the know of the social media world and it's aggressive impact on business today. Yet we live with such a span of generations, the social media knowledge can be far different between the 20 somethings and the 50 somethings in the work force. So what's the consequence of someone who's out of the loop on social media yet trying to market their business effectively? Well, for all intensive purposes, the consequence is most likely lower visibility and lower profits. We need to go where the customers are, and they aren't the eyes in front of a magazine or ears next to a radio. Chances are, they are at a computer screen on Facebook, YouTube or Twitter. The many companies who have been able to embrace this fact have done well and will continue to do well. Those who refuse to get on board may face an imminent downfall. (unless of course their only clientele also refuses social media) What are some of your favorite brands and products out there? Try googling them and see where they come up. Do they have a facebook page and a twitter account? If the answer is yes, you can bet they'll be sticking around for a while! Ahh, back to paper writing I go, but thank you for allowing me to think out loud.