When people dream of making it big in business, they usually imagine themselves coming up with a unique business model that takes the economy by storm.
Unfortunately, it rarely works like that. Industry revolutionising start-ups are few and far between, with money mainly being made by companies that can stand out in an established and saturated marketplace. To make it big, you need to create a unique business plan that will stand out as some new and exciting then that of your competitors.
In this article we’ll take a look at a selection of companies who have done just that and analyse just how they managed to do it.
Uber – Technology Company
Reading this now, you might think it strange that Uber is included in an article of companies that have stood out from the crowd. But Uber have become synonymous with taxi services, and in many countries the company name has even become its own verb.
However, when Uber first made its way onto the market in 2009, the taxi industry was incredibly saturated. If you were to step out of the train station in any major city around the world, you would be flooded with taxi options and simply try to grab the nearest one.
Multiple local and national taxi cars would be there and ready to take you on to your next destination, so it is no exaggeration to say that Uber had a tough market to crack.
What made them special though was their dedication to technology. Uber didn’t create taxi apps – there were already plenty in circulation – instead they took them to the next level, revolutionising the industry along the way.
Online Casino
Companies all around the world had been steadily investing in the sector and researching ways to attract online gamblers by the time 888 Casino entered the playing field more than 20 years ago.
Despite not being the first, they’ve certainly gone on to become one of the best and most recognisable in the industry, focussing on what their customers want out of each game.
The company built its audience through enticing features and sign-up offers and loyalty bonuses, appealing to both new customers and existing players. They offer a combination of pooled Jackpots with huge winnings and Daily Jackpots that drop every 24 hours, meaning there are countless chances to win big. Pairing big chances with exciting and unique graphics for each game of poker, blackjack and more, they quickly became a very popular online casino across Europe.
Majestic Wine
If you want a nice bottle of wine to drink during the evening, all you have to do is stop by your local supermarket on the way home from work and pick one up for £5. In fact, so readily available is cheap and tasty wine that you can buy a bottle from a small corner shop or a petrol station.
Therefore, to say the wine market is saturated would be somewhat of an understatement, but somehow companies like Majestic Wine are still flourishing despite the competition from big and small business.
One of the main reasons for the success of Majestic Wine is their commitment to the customer. They know that despite its accessibility, wine is still a daunting area for the vast majority of consumers.
Knowledge is often guarded in the wine industry and used as a way to gatekeep the product, but Majestic Wine take a completely different approach.
Their WSET Level 3 (the equivalent qualification of a sommelier) trained staff have been tasked by their bosses with making wine accessible and open to everyone. When you step through the doors of their stores you will be greeted by a friendly staff member eager to take you on your wine journey.
Whether you’re a trained sommelier or a complete novice to wine, you’ll be made to feel welcome in a Majestic store. This commitment to the customer has helped Majestic to establish themselves as the largest, by the case wine retailer in the UK.
Brew Dog
10 years ago, if you were to go into your local bar and order a beer you would be greeted with a choice of 3-5 beers made by the big-name brands. Now however, depending where you go you are spoilt for choice with beer.
That’s thanks to the craft beer revolution which made its way to British shores via North America and was really championed and pushed forward by Aberdeen-based brewery Brew Dog.
The small-time company was dedicated to upsetting the apple cart in the beer industry and coming up with unique and interesting beers that would tantalise bored beer drinkers.
After experiencing a modicum of success in the late noughties Brew Dog sought to take their product to the next level. Recognising that bars and pubs were a tough nut to crack, they opened a series of their own bars throughout the country. Within a couple of years, Brew Dog were a national company with a burgeoning reputation for breaking down traditional beer boundaries. Their reputation for being community based was further boosted last year when they used their production facilities to make free hand sanitiser to help combat the pandemic.