There's a story by Suzanne Kapner in today's The Wall Street Journal that...

There's a story by Suzanne Kapner in today's The Wall Street Journal that caught my eye.

It caught my eye because I warned companies about this exact trap over 10 years ago in my first book Evergreen!! The concepts were timeless then. They’re proving themselves again now.

Look at Victoria’s Secret & Co. They dumped their core identity, abandoned loyalists, and chased the applause of critics who were never going to buy anyway.

Social media clapped. Influencers made videos...and well, sales tanked. The brand went stale.

Three brutal lessons:

1. Brands that apologize, water down, and play it safe become irrelevant. Offend no one, excite no one.

2. Your real customers came for something bold. Dilution doesn’t win new buyers, it just destroys loyalty.

3. The loudest complainers rarely pay the bills. They don’t vote with dollars, only noise. They scream (or cheer) online, but don't spend!

Victoria’s Secret isn’t a reinvention story, it’s a warning: the customer is not always right. The loudest voices will often kill you if you let them.

So here’s the question: are you building a company that dares to lead, or are you begging for social media likes while the cash register stays silent?

https://lnkd.in/gAd6tia7

#evergreen