Some of you may be familiar with the rock & roll band AC/DC. They’ve been around since the mid-70s and seem to show no signs of stopping just yet. Recently I was out walking and AC/DC came on my internet radio station. I marveled at just how long they have been able to do what they do in the manner they have been able to do it.
The thing is there are many rock & roll bands that have stood the test of time; mostly because they have changed and evolved over the years – but that’s not what amazes me about this particular group.
The fact is AC/DC has managed to stick around for 50 years without really changing ANYTHING. If you listen to any song by this group, you’ll notice that they are all pretty much the same formula. I once heard their songs described as “Three chords and the truth.” Nothing too fancy, nothing too clever, just good old guitar, solid rhythm section and screeching vocals laid over the top.
AC/DC has never changed their success formula, never written a love song, never recorded a ballad, never went disco, metal, grunge, techno, emo or anymo!
No, this band found something that worked, that connected with their audience and rather than force-feed their fans something they didn’t want, they just kept giving it to them year after year, album after album. While they were never really loved by music critics, they have managed to sell over 200 million records. They must be doing something right.
So how does this relate to your business? Well, think about it.
Who is your core audience?
What is it that you provide them that they just love?
Are you still providing that to them or are you too busy chasing the next big thing?
Have you gotten so far away from what you do best that you have become unrecognizable?
Some of you are old enough to remember the “New Coke” experiment? If you aren’t familiar, in 1985 senior leaders at Coca-Cola thought is would be a great idea to stop selling the 100-year-old iconic recipe for the world’s most popular soft drink and replace it with a new sweeter flavor. People were furious about this ridiculous decision and of course Coca-Cola changed back to the classic formula immediately.
Look, all companies have to grow and evolve to meet the demands of the ever-changing business world, but I see so many trying to be “all things to all people” and that just never seems to work out too well in the long run. Companies that find an audience and keep that audience happy with something they love while continuing to grow and evolve, well it seems that those are the ones that stand the test of time.
No disrespect to modern recording artists, but somehow I don’t think many of them will be filling up arenas and Shakin’ People All Night Long 50 years from now.
Ask yourself this week:
- How are we serving our core customer?
- How have we been delivering on what they want?
- Where areas are we focusing too much attention that just doesn’t seem to make sense for our business?
- Where do we need to make course corrections this week to align ourselves with the mission and values of the organization?
Cheers to you and your continued success, and remembering your core audience
One Quarter Turn at a Time
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