How the Downfall of BlackBerry Can Help You Keep Your Small Business on Top

Posted: Mar 17, 2013
Author: WordJack Media

Just a few years ago, BlackBerry phones were all the rage. But RIM (Research in Motion), the company behind the manufacturing of BlackBerry smartphones and tablets, has been in trouble lately, and their market share has dropped significantly. While the company claims it is getting ready for a comeback (the RIM stock price rose 55% during November 2012, and the company plans to ship out 35.5 million BlackBerry 10 devices in 2013), they will probably never be able to compete again with Apple and Android. So why did BlackBerry, once the king of the smartphone world, fall from the top? And most importantly, what can your small business learn from RIM’s mistakes?

Here are a few lessons to keep in mind:

1. Create connections with your customers through social media. BlackBerry has more than 12.5 million likes on Facebook, but RIM has failed to use this to its advantage. For example, in March 2012, the new CEO of RIM announced that the company was losing money for the first time in 7 years. Backlash erupted on Twitter and Facebook, but RIM failed to do anything about it. They didn’t build their customers into a loyal fan base who could help them control the conversation about their brand. Having a social media following doesn’t mean you can stop web marketing.
2. Make an effort to listen to and understand your customers. When the BlackBerry Storm came out in 2008, response was less than enthusiastic, proving that their technology developers weren’t listening to the demand from users.
3. Create passion for your products. Do you know someone whose life revolves around iPods, iPads, iPhones, and MacBooks? They’d rather die than use a non-Apple product. BlackBerry failed to create a cult out of their products, and that’s one of the reasons many of their users haven’t remained loyal. One way to create passion is to make sure your employees are passionate about your products and are excited about finding new ways to improve them (see lesson #4). 
4. Listen to your employees’ ideas. Researchers at RIM knew what needed to change, but management didn’t let them put those ideas into action. Instead, they stuck with what had been working so far, and it failed. Innovation is a good thing-- don’t be afraid to challenge the status quo.
5. Don’t be content at the top. BlackBerry was on top of the smartphone world in 2007 and thought no one would ever catch up to them, so they got lazy, and just kept putting out the same boring product with small updates over and over again. By the time they realized that wasn’t a great idea, it was too late.
6. Don’t rely on just one product. The BlackBerry smartphone was expected to carry the company forever, but it eventually fell flat. RIM has announced a few new products for 2013, so it might be a step in the right direction, but only time will tell.

Even if your business is doing better than your competitors are right now, it can’t last forever if you don’t put continued effort into it. Have you ever learned from the mistakes a large company and used it to benefit your small business?