Ten Things You Can Learn from Google’s Success

Ten Things You Can Learn from Google’s Success
Written by : Dhaval Doshi


Turning an idea into a business

Ideas are like sparks - they fly off in thin air. The challenge would be to convert the idea into a full-fledged project and commercializing it into a revenue generating business. When Google started off, they had an idea - one to make it easier for an Internet surfer to find precise information in the least possible time. Until the search engine had a lot of users, the company didn't know how it was going to generate the revenue to earn profits. Let alone profits, there was no business model in place to recover the costs! The idea struck to display advertisements next to search results. Google-owned sites that display ads generated revenues of $1.63 billion, or 60% of total revenues, in the third quarter of 2006. Additionally, its partner sites which also display Google Ads generated 39% of its total revenue - $1.04 billion. You may have an amazing idea to change the world or to serve a consumer gap, but where is the money? That's the million dollar question.

Superior Technology - Quality matters

Google as a brand wasn't built over a million dollar advertising budget. On the contrary, they did not advertise at all for their products services. The fact is that Google is superior. When they ventured into the Herculean task of downloading the entire internet and making the information available via a search engine query, they wanted it to be precise, easy-to-find and return exactly the information that a human would look for. No. They weren't pioneers. There were other search engine technologies at that time, but they were simply not that good with the results they got. If you are venturing into a business - quality matters.

Having things your own way

As a startup, Google had a major advantage - control over the business along with the required seed capital. Most businesses lose their liberty to venture capitalists. The control and focus of your business at its early stages is as important as the funds that the business needs at that time. Larry and Sergey, as founders cracked a winning deal with two of the most renowned Silicon Valley venture capitalist firms. They had the advantage of having things their own way when it came to decision making since they didn't hire a CEO for long, thus, allowing the founders of the company to stick to their idea of commercializing the technology. As a startup, by getting to have your own way with the business gives you an edge.

Word of Mouth publicity

Marketing guru, Philip Kotler, gives reference to a study while emphasizing the effectives of word-of -mouth marketing for a product. More than 60% of the consumers in the study agreed that they made the purchase because one of their close relatives or friends had had a positive experience with the product. Google has never ventured into full-fledged mass media advertising of its search engine technology. For that matter, even the latest products are first tested by opinion leaders and then brought to the public through viral marketing tactics where a satisfied user invites another to use the service. Harnessing the power of word of mouth is indeed challenging considering the fact that tracing its success is a difficult task. In the Internet age, this too is not a problem though. Most companies fall prey to extravagant marketing budgets for mass media publicity with a marginal ROI. Why not interact with the consumer directly? Get your product/service tested and improvise it and let word of mouth marketing handle the rest.

Nurturing Innovation

Innovation sounds good in management books. Practically speaking, it loses its luster when the innovative idea starts to become a hindrance in the organization's focus. Google introduced a policy where an employee could spend 20% of his/her work time on his own ideas. Although, it sounded bizarre initially to traditional efficiency-hungry managers, it proved productive indeed. Some of the best products by Google came from the minds of its employees themselves - Google News, Orkut (an ever-growing online community) and many more. This was possible through nurturing of the project in its nascent stages by the founders. As the top management and decision makers of the organization, Sergey and Larry spent time looking at innovative products that could help them achieve their goal - make information available to users. Unlike many bureaucratic procedures that would hinder innovation in many organizations, it didn't take a lot of time for a project to get recognized as a fruitful one and gain funding by Google. As a business, the goal is not just in making profits, but also to innovate continuously in your field of expertise. Do you have a pet project? Are you up to date with the latest technologies that can help your business's future? In this age, it's not hard to get beaten up by competition because an innovative idea struck before you knew what was happening! The message is clear - Innovate and make it work for your business.

An honest brand image works - 'Don't be Evil'

Google is loved by users. The honest brand image they project is of an organization which is here to do good to the public at large. This has worked for Google. The very idea of projecting such a brand image makes them sound like a technological behemoth that is here to help the world in this age of 'Information overload'. Such a brand image allows them to still sound clean regardless of the number of lawsuits it's struggling with for all the wrongs it has done. Also there are other courtroom proceedings for copyright infringement which many of its users are not aware of. Moreover, it's not easy to give out all the information to the entire world – even that revealing strategic defense locations of a country! But still, Google is loved by the end-user because of the brand image it carries. Think of the PR that your brand does just by projecting its purpose!

Focus

Al Ries, well-renowned management guru, says, "Focus is Revolutionary. It goes against conventional thinking although it is extremely simple". At the end of the day, it's the focus of your company that matters. Google has a focus. The focus is Information. To narrow it down further, the focus is to provide accurate information in the least time possible and as accurately as possible. It follows its revenue generation model and seeks its feasibility in newer pursuits it ventures into. The Google Ad network gets greater exposure with its increasing partnership with external publishers (websites), as also its own pursuits - like Gmail. The focus remains the same here, in terms of generating revenue for its ever growing passion to provide information. If you have a focus in your business, you know what you want from a particular resource and you can chalk down a plan for an expanding business and yet retain its focus.

Company Culture

Employee Stock Options, Free Meals, 20% Work time for something you are passionate about. To work in an organization like this is like a dream come true. It not only suffices the basic needs of the employee, but also gives him the time to explore with his own ideas! In fact, this very thing has helped Google gain more attention in the media. The culture at Google has followed the founders' philosophy. They wanted Google to be the best place to work at. There is a lot that one can learn from Google's Human Resource Management practices - including placing strategic locations for placing food and refreshments!
Beat yourself before the Competition beats you
Competitive Benchmarking as a management practice of the traditional business. In this information age, you cannot stay at the top for long with cut-throat competition. Google states that it does not have competition. The statement implies that they work as per the needs of the user. They improvisation of products at Google gain more value by adding more features as per user feedback. The 'beta' version of most of its products are less for the purpose of measuring the performance of the product and more so for improvising the product as per user feedback. You can be the best in the industry if you listen to the end user rather than the competition. Improve your products even when you are at the top, before the competition pulls you down with something better for the consumer.

Think Big

To put it simply, Google has brought a revolution in this Internet Age not only for users but also for businesses across the world. The very reason why the Google Phenomenon is so hyped is because it has changed the way people use the Internet. When you think of it, this revolution started as a university project by two Stanford students! Thinking big and achieving it are two different things. But initially, it all starts with a thought doesn't it? So, think big, think something revolutionary. You ought to make money if you can change people’s habits in using your products. People don't search for information nowadays on the Internet, they simply Google it!

InfoMonetize disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not reflect the views of Infomonetize.

Source:
http://www.chillibreeze.com/articles_various/working-at-Google.asp

Technology and Poverty

Introduction

Today, technology is playing an increasingly important part in people’s lives. The Internet has revolutionized the access people have to information, and increased development in other technological sectors, such as telecom, have also produced change.

However, developing countries and the poor have largely been left out of this technology revolution. In some areas there is no phone access, let alone Internet access. Increasing access to information and technology can help poor individuals and families escape poverty.

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Technology and Poverty

Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) can greatly help the poor. They allow easier communication, create new economic markets, and allow greater access to information. Also, the ability to effectively use ICTs is quickly becoming a requirement to obtaining a high-paying job, regardless of location.

While the gap in ICT access between developed nations and developing nations is huge, much is being done to ease the passage of developing countries into the era of technology. This has worked in the past – the Green Revolution, which gave developing nations access to new farming techniques, increased food production in Southeast Asia exponentially. Now, organizations like the World Bank are funding programs to supply computers to rural schools in developing nations, train teachers in use of technology, and increase access to ICTs overall. One organization, called Practical Action, has the express goal of reducing poverty through technology, and pursues research and development programs in this area.

Technology can also open markets for poor individuals. Grameen Bank, working in Bangladesh, recently started a program that allows women to sell telephone access in rural areas without land lines. These women make almost three times the average per capita income, and also supply villages with a way to communicate with the outside world. Farmers, too, can benefit from technology – with Internet access, they can change the prices of their crops to reflect current values, and compete more effectively. As ICT access grows in developing areas with the work of the World Bank, Practical Action, and other organizations, poverty, in turn, will decrease.

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Sources

Bussolo, Maurizio. TECHNOLOGY’S CONTRIBUTION TO POVERTY REDUCTION? (PDF).

Education for the Knowledge Economy. 2006.

Practical Action: Information and Communications Technologies. 2006.

Science, Technology, and Innovation. 2006.

Yunus, Muhammad. ESSAYS ON SCIENCE AND SOCIETY: Alleviating Poverty Through Technology. Science. 1998.

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