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Another great example: Blackberry. They did the emerging markets growth strategy and it worked to help juice their numbers for a few years until Android and iO

Another great example: Blackberry. They did the emerging markets growth strategy and it worked to help juice their numbers for a few years until Android and iOS totally destroyed all but their core customer base. The real danger in this strategy is not that it grows an unsustainable business, just that the sustainable portion is much smaller than the peak and if you forecast up and to the right growth forever, it eventually doesn't happen and you have budget shortfalls and layoffs. Hyper growth is exciting and gets you headlines, but sustainable, steady growth is probably a happier long term situation for moth businesses.

ams6110 12y ago
I don't know if Blackberry is quite the same. They were more than a fad or a novelty. Blackberry was the first mobile device that really solved problems for business users: seamless integration with office email and documents (caveat, I have never owned one, but that's my observation).
- ssharp 12y ago
  You're right. Blackberry wasn't really a fad of novelty. I remember them starting to get really popular around 2004. They were the only device that made mobile email really simple by not overloading the phone with other stuff and putting the focus of the phone connectivity on email. My first smartphone was a Palm Treo and it didn't take me very long to switch to a Blackberry. It's hard to imagine if your only experience with smart phones is with iOS and Android devices, but from 2004 until the iPhone in 2007 (and really, the iPhone 3G in 2008), Blackberry was the industry standard for smart phones. Even after the iPhone was released, it still took a few years before people generally accepted touchscreen keyboards. If you look at the early responses to the iPhone, you'll see that was one area where competitors tried to attack -- Palm with their Pre that had both touch screen and a slide out keyboard, and the very ill-advised Blackberry Storm that had a touchscreen you could press in. And actually, there are still loyal holdover users from Blackberry's prime days who still swear by the Blackberry for it's ability to handle mobile email. They all realize Blackberry's are inferior to iOS and Android devices but the Blackberry's are still what they know and still fit well for what they want to do.
manishsharan 12y ago
Actually, your opinion is not only wrong but also the opposite of what happened with Blackberry. Unlike fried waffles or Groupon, Blackberry never lost its core business -- that of enterprise sales. Blackberry was never a fad -- it was a genuine productivity tool. There were not much of entertainment apps on BB. In fact RIM never took Iphone or android seriously until it was too late. They thought third party developers were a bother. They had repeat business from government, enterprises and telecoms; even now a large chunk of their core customer base is still with them ; however the momentum has swung towards consumer oriented devices. I remember running in Jim Balsille at a fund raiser and I told him how atrocious the developer support was for blackberry compared to Android and I left with a sense that third party developers were not a priority for them. There is a lesson to be had from Blackberry's decline but its not the same as Groupon /HerbalLife /Fried waffles.

ams6110 12y ago

I don't know if Blackberry is quite the same. They were more than a fad or a novelty. Blackberry was the first mobile device that really solved problems for business users: seamless integration with office email and documents (caveat, I have never owned one, but that's my observation).

ssharp 12y ago
You're right. Blackberry wasn't really a fad of novelty. I remember them starting to get really popular around 2004. They were the only device that made mobile email really simple by not overloading the phone with other stuff and putting the focus of the phone connectivity on email. My first smartphone was a Palm Treo and it didn't take me very long to switch to a Blackberry. It's hard to imagine if your only experience with smart phones is with iOS and Android devices, but from 2004 until the iPhone in 2007 (and really, the iPhone 3G in 2008), Blackberry was the industry standard for smart phones. Even after the iPhone was released, it still took a few years before people generally accepted touchscreen keyboards. If you look at the early responses to the iPhone, you'll see that was one area where competitors tried to attack -- Palm with their Pre that had both touch screen and a slide out keyboard, and the very ill-advised Blackberry Storm that had a touchscreen you could press in. And actually, there are still loyal holdover users from Blackberry's prime days who still swear by the Blackberry for it's ability to handle mobile email. They all realize Blackberry's are inferior to iOS and Android devices but the Blackberry's are still what they know and still fit well for what they want to do.

manishsharan 12y ago

Actually, your opinion is not only wrong but also the opposite of what happened with Blackberry. Unlike fried waffles or Groupon, Blackberry never lost its core business -- that of enterprise sales. Blackberry was never a fad -- it was a genuine productivity tool. There were not much of entertainment apps on BB. In fact RIM never took Iphone or android seriously until it was too late. They thought third party developers were a bother. They had repeat business from government, enterprises and telecoms; even now a large chunk of their core customer base is still with them ; however the momentum has swung towards consumer oriented devices. I remember running in Jim Balsille at a fund raiser and I told him how atrocious the developer support was for blackberry compared to Android and I left with a sense that third party developers were not a priority for them. There is a lesson to be had from Blackberry's decline but its not the same as Groupon /HerbalLife /Fried waffles.