LEARNING FROM FAILURE

NAME- Dhruvil Shah /ROLL NO. - B009 /CLASS- MBA E & FB

XEROX DATASYSTEM CASE -

Q1) Enlist 3 Major reasons why Xerox failed according to you. (10 Marks)
Xerox is one of the branding success stories of 20th century, it was all started by Chester
Carlson. They did not just create the product, in fact invented a whole new category. Its
achievement is so huge that it has become a part of everyday speech. Xerox is used as a verb in
US when people are copying paper. In 1928, Chester Carlson invented plain paper copying, a
process referred to as “Xerography”. 1949 saw the launch of the first ever Xerox machine by
New York-based Haloid Company, called simply Model A.
It rised rapidly but, it did not take much time for them to fall as in 1975, after a launch of new
computer product, their sales came down by US $ 85 Million. The company was still determined
to go beyond the copier section. After 4 years, they came out with an earlier version of fax
machine, names Telecopier. But, they failed drastically. And finally in 1980 they failed
miserably.
Xerox is a remarkable example of a company that did just about everything right in terms of
technology, but made many mistakes in go-to-market matters. They had everything what was
required in terms on R and D, technology, Data etc. but still failed because of the perception their
brand name had created in the minds of the customers and consumers.
Today Xerox is just a synonym for photocopy and no one uses the term photocopy!
One could be as mentioned in the case that indeed it was Xeroxes own marketing efforts which
created a perception and impression in the minds of the consumers that Xerox is photocopy.
Through much of the 1970s and 1980s Xeroxes ads used to pose the question: ‘How to tell the
real Xerox from a Xerox copy?’ The implication was that if it wasn’t Xerox, it wasn’t the real
thing. This was very good at that time and helped in the sales of a lot of copiers but it showed
that Xerox was just tied with one product category! They marketed intensively with their brand
name so much that customers only knew one thing Xerox = photocopy ( verb and noun)
The other could be on not focusing on their core product and trying and wanting to expand
into new product lines. They wanted to become a leader in the information systems and data
processing business and compete with IBM!
They were just focusing on the future plans and growth that they forgot about the present
completely! They were so much occupied with developing the technology for the things to
come. They were centering on the ionization innovation though the solution for that was laser
innovation. They were not at all determined for the present instead they were so much focused
on future that they did not do what customer was expecting today. Losses were mounting up and
they were spending lavishly on new innovation that didn't have any interest on the lookout.
Again combined with their craving to turn into a total PC innovation arrangement and their
fixation to foster innovation of things to come, mounting misfortunes lead to the disappointment
of powerful innovation monster.
Their goals and plans for Inventions were way ahead of its time -As we saw, Xerox used to
invent things way ahead of its time when it was of no need, where we see that they tried to invent
a new version of fax machine called the telecopier, which in turned became a big
disappointment. Although their initiative Xerox PARC was able to churn out inventions relating
to their strategy to become a complete office solution company. The inventions were ahead of its
time; they were so new that it customers couldn’t image using the technology to make their lives
easier.
The best time to launch a second brand is when your brand is going strong. But that’s when
Xerox’s leadership went in the opposite direction. They extended their line beyond the idea that
it owned.
Q2) Write 3 learnings from the case which can be implemented to your family business. (10
Marks)
The case gives us numerous learnings and could be one of those cases where mistake was not
huge at all, it was just the particular brand that went up so high that customers couldn’t associate
that brand with any other product line. Example- if tomorrow coke gets into printing section no
one would be interested at all.
Learnings from the case which I thought could be implemented-
Customer is the king and no one can go against it! I learnt that what you show to customers
about your brand and what customer perceives is two different things. For instance if customers
don’t want the brand you created to get into different product lines you will never be successful
as they perceive your brand differently.
Do not copy others and stay in your lane- It important to know who you are and always focus on
your track as we can see from this case that Xerox wanted to try and transform itself into IBM
style Information business but still others continued to perceive them as photocopy machine
sellers though they tried really hard to develop themselves. So we wouldn’t focus on becoming
like our competitors in steel line but we would want to create our own brand and only focus on
how to develop it.
Future is unpredictable and you should always keep dreams and goals but shouldn’t be
dependent on them completely as life always has a unique way to prove you wrong. It’s not the
first who started always wins but it’s who that sustains wins. Amazon was not the first one to sell
products online but now they have grown so big that it’s difficult to compete against them.
Xerox spent too much time and energy looking into a future which didn’t exist. So I learnt that
Think about the future but don’t be dependent on it!
Brands are bigger than products. Products could be many but it’s the brand that distinguishes
them from others. Example – there are a lot of butters available in the market but still we prefer
Amul the brand over any! I learnt that focus on brand building and everything comes
automatically. It’s the brand that will make you or break you so focus on the brand! We might
create multiple products or get into various grades and lines in our steel business but if we fail to
associate our brand with the products we will not be successful. All that matters is the
association of the brand name in the consumer’s mind.
Focusing on current situations and we shouldn’t diversify without thinking about our superiority
and exclusivity of our brands and products- I will implement this in my business as well, we are
specializing in 316 and 304 grades of steel and my core focus should be on it with expansion
plans considering them in all aspects.
Listen to someone’s opinion and do a proper research over the markets before expanding it-
Whenever someone puts his opinion in front then one should at least listen to it. As we can see
that trout was not able to understand the technology like customers and was against it but no one
heard him! I learnt that listening to anyone even a smallest person is important. There is a
famous line that listen to everyone but do what you love, but listening is the key!

Ford Edsel case -

Q1) Enlist 3 major reasons why Ford failed according to you. (10 Marks)
One of the main reasons for Edsel’s failure was unprecedented “Pre-Publicity” — Self-assured
advertising — creating unrealistic expectations. Creating unreal expectations was the first step
for failure .Ford learnt a lot from “Edsel’s Failure” and they became “Customer Centric”. Edsel’s
failure was one of the main reasons for “Mustang” success.
Ford started developing the Edsel in 1955, based on polling data from car shoppers — but
unfortunately, the company disregarded much of the data from the polls. Ford's marketing
department also overpromised on the Edsel. That yearlong teaser campaign had whipped the
public into a frenzy, leading everyone to expect the car of the future — something the Edsel
clearly was not.
The Edsel was saddled with quality and reliability issues from the very beginning. Its price was
another sticking point: It started at $2,500 and topped out at $3,800, which was much more
expensive than other Ford models at the time. They debuted during the beginning of the
recession and expensive ford was not at all a feasible option for customers.
Ugly, overpriced, overhyped, poorly made and poorly timed, the Edsel was made for only two
years. In the end, the failed program cost Ford $250 million. The "car of the future" is now a
cautionary tale in business classrooms, though there were actually a few winners in the case of
the Edsel. That flop of a car is now a rare collector's item.
PRODUCT CENTRIC
Edsel project’s objectives -To ensure greater retention of ford upgraders, To get greater coverage
for the medium price market for Ford Motor Company, To add more dealers to Ford Family so
that they can sell more ford cars, The aim is just not to sell more Edsel cars but should help to
sell more ford cars by “Halo Effect”.
The product-centric view made the Ford focus on materials, engineering and took them away
from the customer.
The company did not focus much upon customers’ needs and wants rather they created the
product and over hyped it in the market before its launch.
QUALITY
When the new Edsels arrived in the market, there was a shock in store for dealers and the first set
of customers. The quality of the cars was awful. The dealers often received cars with missing
parts or parts kept in the boot with a note explaining the way to assemble the component(s). The
customers faced continuous maintenance problems with the new Edsel and soon the poor quality
of Edsel spread like wildfire affecting the sales. As a new brand, it was important to get the right
kind of word of mouth going. Unfortunately, Edsel made a mess of it.
ECONOMY
Ford released the car when United States of America was entering the recession and ford Edsel
was overprices in comparison with other ford cars and other competitive cars present in the
market.

Q2) Write 3 learnings from the case which can be implemented to your family business. (10
Marks)
Learnings from ford failure:-
Customers drive the definition of the product due to their humanity and their behavior is driven
by their individual needs. We should always keep customers demand in mind while designing a
product our product should solve existing problem of the society in order to succeed. In my
business there are various grades and ranges we can get into but we don’t as we focus on only
those grades that are needed by customers. I learnt that customer satisfaction is the key to
success so for that you need to know your customers very well.
It is very important to evaluate the current marketing needs, look into the estimated market size
and the potential. Just like this we not never over hype the product before its launch although
there is no harm in marketing the product but there is thin line between confidence and
overconfidence we should never cross that line. I learnt that overconfidence can sometime harm
your brand I will implement this in my business as well and in real life. We are doing well in
steel round bars and we are always confident in getting bulk orders so I learnt that marketing is
still needed to expand further but too much marketing could also harm your product. We should
market our brand before the launch but keeping certain things in mind and not overhyping it like
some IPO’s.
In order to design and produce a new product organization must make the right product before
launching the new product to full scale, as we have appeals business so we always launch catalog
before stitching the suits in bulk
Other learnings-
 Don't let egos trump research.
 If you fail, accept it and move on, all the wiser for it.
 Don't put yourself in a situation you can't get out of.
 Focus on your goals and vision