Games like Dota2 (pictured) and League of Legends have waved the flag high for a revolution in computer game profit models, with LoL making $18m every 5 days back in 2015. Despite these incredible earning figures, the games are free and you can play as long as you like without ever having to pay anything.

However if you want to you can spend money, perhaps 10p perhaps £10 on different items of clothing for your characters or viewing access to special events where stadiums are filled with spectators and all the games are with professional commentary.

Interesting to note is that these purchases are purely cosmetic and offer no in game performance bonus so there’s no pay to win element like some other “freemium” models promote, people pay entirely based on their enjoyment or fear of missing out social pressure.

Companies working together can be a great win-win for both parties if their values align and their offerings support each other. GoPro & Redbull have been one very successful such partnership for years.

Another network example are those of successful franchise organisations. Domino’s Pizza for instance have a powerful network of provisions that operate as a competitive advantage, helping each individual owner (franchisee) to succeed against other pizza providers. Although each place is run individually and with variations in their offering for the local market they all enjoy shared resources, promotions, equipment and process innovation behind the scenes.

Take for instance the differences in the HQ designs of two of the world’s largest companies and fierce rivals. Apple, whose building seems to represent a religious type experience, a spiritual home for Apple the brand and the design ethos. Sending out a calling to the world that the people who work (and want to work) in this building are all members of this calling. Contrast that with the architectural chaos and theme park like nature of Google’s campus and it’s designed to attract a very different person. Both buildings are structural innovations, with both companies able to attract the best talent that is drawn to the corporate culture.

Ford, and then later Toyota are the classic process innovator examples. Cars used to be made like individual unique craft products and when Ford turned up with a new way to make things, there were almost 1,000 competing car companies in the US.

McDonalds is another, before they perfected the fast food kitchen (inspired by the mass production factories of their time) food delivery and service was a slow time consuming affair. Like Ford before them, it was a revolution for their industry, one in which they were definitely in the lead.

I hate car rental companies. In perhaps 30 rentals, I can remember only 1 good experience and that was because they gave me the keys when I arrived and I left, no messing around, no filling out all the same forms I had already filled out online, no deciding to charge me 10x what the initial quote was just because I had waited so long in the queue there was no way I was going to queue again somewhere else. Loyalty schemes that charge you more than if you were not a member for the same thing, paying hundreds of pounds more if you buy with a debit card than with a credit card, overpriced insurance… the list goes on!

I suspect the only reason this one time was a nice experience was because it was 2am, I seemed to be the only person in the airport and he wanted to go to bed. I walked up, showed my ID, took the keys and left. 1 minute, no hassle. Joyous.

An example of a company with great service is Zappos (it’s even in their tag line). Tony Hsieh, one of the founding team who very sadly died in 2020, famously said they were a service company that happened to sell shoes, he himself having no interest in shoes or fashion. But what he was passionate about was company culture and customer service.

So impressed were they with the service model that Amazon bought them for $1.2billion in 2009 and kept them completely as they were, with full autonomy to pursue online retail in their own image (just with a big new friend if they needed help).

Tesla is an interesting example for a number of reasons, but one surprising innovation of theirs, often overlooked, is the fact that they sell their cars direct to consumers through their own stores. Every other major car producer sells through a network of third party dealerships, in fact in some States in the US, these dealerships are so powerful that it’s now illegal for car companies to sell direct to consumers.

Harley-Davidson, the iconic motorcycle Brand. Rebellion, freedom, Americana, going your own way, life on the open road, Hell’s Angels, ageing white men, mid-life crisis… The brand has been so strong that it’s also become synonymous with an ageing group of users who others no longer want to associated themselves with. So whilst it’s been hugely successful for them, the default choice for many, times change and they need to reinvent themselves to stay relevant and positive.

The ‘Fintech’ ‘Challenger Bank’ that’s ‘disrupting’ the personal banking industry. That’s a lot of buzzwords for basically a new company with a smartphone app to help you organise your debit card spending.

But what I’m excited about here is not the app or the technology or whether it’s any good or not. I’m fascinated by their ability to use their customers as product development and more importantly sales tools.

Monzo became hugely successful and widespread through no traditional advertising. Using only word-of-mouth from their customers to spread the news.

In 2019 they prepared their first TV advert, hoping to “cross the chasm” (see next section on marketing for more info on the “chasm”) and be considered a mainstream product and now all the challenger banks are having to do the same. Remember they don’t want to lose the race!