100 Great Business Ideas

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100 Great Business Ideas: From leading companies around the world

Introduction

100 Great Business Ideas

    This is a book about some of the best ideas used in business. Some are simple sometimes almost embarrassingly so while others are based on detailed research and brilliant intellect. Most are perennial, as their logic, simplicity, or value will help them endure; while others are, to be honest, rather faddy. What unites these business ideas is their proven power and potency. They are not only insightful and useful, they have worked: often in a brilliant way or despite great adversity. The ability of the people who conceived and applied these ideas should be applauded.

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One word of warning:

    while these ideas have worked for the companies mentioned at the time they applied them, it is not to say that these businesses will always get everything else right, forever more. They produced a result at the time, but if this book has any general lessons it is that new ideas and energy are needed constantly— in many ways and at varying times—to ensure success. While these ideas are varied and, I hope, interesting and thought provoking, it seems to me that there are several different themes that run through many of these ideas and the businesses that use them. These include a willingness to experiment and take a risk.

    This seems to happen because many of the businesses display energy and entrepreneurship—a restless desire to do well and stay ahead of the competition. This is often coupled with an ability to understand the root causes of an issue, opportunity, or challenge, and do something distinctive, rather than merely tinkering with the status quo. Simplicity and an understanding of the need to be practical and implement the idea are also common features. Some ideas, however, do result from extensive study and research.

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Table Of Contents

The ideas

1 Building customer trust and loyalty 3

2 Scenario planning 5

3 Making your employees proud 7

4 Using customer information 9

5 The rule of 150 11

6 Information orientation 13

7 Franchising 17

8 Eliminating waste (muda) 19

9 Customer bonding 21

10 Psychographic profi ling 23

11 Understanding demography 25

12 Mass customization 28

13 Leading “top-down” innovation 30

14 Social networking and transmitting company values 32

15 Achieving breakthrough growth 34

16 Deep-dive prototyping 37

17 Market testing 40

18 Empowering your customers 42

19 Cannibalizing 44

20 Increasing competitiveness 46

21 Clustering 48

22 Highlighting unique selling points (USPs) 50

23 The experience curve 52

24 The employee –customer–profit chain 54

25 Measuring employees’ performance 60

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