Hidden Lesson For Entrepreneurs As Facebook Launches WhatsApp Pay.
From Airbnb’s multiple launch, at intervals before and after the Great Depression of 2008, to the smart move by Elon Musk towards electric cars at a time when there is an increasing call for reduction in fossil fuel burning as a result of climate change; the big players in the entrepreneurial field are, by their moves, always teaching priceless lessons every aspiring and upcoming entrepreneur can learn from. And the current move by Facebook at launching WhatsApp Pay is no different.
Understand Business Trends:
Business trends refer to present issues as it concerns businesses, and which are shaping our future, for the next three months as well as in the next five, ten years.
On 15th June WhatsApp announced that it’s bringing digital payment to WhatsApp users in Brazil. Enabling people the ability to securely make payments, or purchase from local businesses with so much ease that they don’t have to leave the comfort of their chat. The concept agrees with the mantra that has been making the rounds since after the coronavirus hit —living your life, without leaving the comfort of your home.
This strategic move by Facebook can be boiled down to a business fundamental: the understanding of trends. And it is a super power every business person must learn. Zuckerberg, understanding the current market trend, had said earlier that he had accelerated plans for Facebook Shop(the grand plan of which WhatsApp pay is but a piece of) to take advantage of the boom in online shopping during the coronavirus crisis.
Nobody wants to launch a product fit for the past, rather it is for the moment, and then the long haul that products are designed and launched for. This is your key is thriving in business. A continual understanding of where the world is headed, commerce-wise, and the ability to steer your craft toward this direction is as vital as anything you can think of in business.
That is the first lesson to learn as an entrepreneur. I doesn’t matter if you’re just starting or you’ve already gone far in your entrepreneurial journey. Whatever product you want to introduce, or you want to scale, must align with a current market trend or a trend fit for the near future.
When India’s food delivery services Swiggy and Zomato were retrenching as a result of the pandemic, Amazon took the initiative, understanding that in a time of global lockdown people needed to be able to do more online, it launched its own food delivery service. The India’s food delivery startups had obviously downscaled for cost related reasons, but Amazon didn’t make the move just because it has all the cash, no, it wasn’t just because of available money, but because it understood market trends.
A New Trend Is A Threat To An Old One:
Ads were the big money-making stream for tech giants. When our world became increasingly globalized, it was followed by the increasing need to bring new products and services before potential customers on the internet, constantly; and businesses had to pay handsomely to place ads on the platforms of these tech companies; and that formed a trend.
But with the coronavirus that affected the revenue of most businesses, and the lockdown that made it impossible for some to continue operations, there was a disruption in ad generated revenues; hence the need for a business model that is in tandem with the sit-at-home trend as a result of the global siege.
Facebook’s revenue felt it, and was as a result spurred to start looking for alternative means of earning, as the new trend has poked a big whole in the old trend of making money from ads. Its first move was the introduction of Facebook shop, to allow users create digital storefronts on Facebook or Instagram, so other users will be able to browse products, message businesses to arrange purchases, and in some cases buy them directly via their recently introduced online checkout feature.
Without a continual upgrading of your business model, new trends will step in and your static business model will phase out with the old one, no matter how much efficiency and sophistication you employ is running the model. We see an example of this phenomenon play out in the about two decade long internet trend. No matter how efficient a business is offline, not going online(having a website and social media handles) will only localize such a business and stunt its growth.
Every business and entrepreneurial skill you learn can only work effectively when applied to a business model that is in line with a current trend. Regardless of efficiency, smart work or increase in productivity, missing the trend will only feel like a fight against an opposite current. At best you’ll achieve little, but at worst you’ll get worn out and, in worst case scenarios, be put out of business.