Comments on: Organic Torpedo7 beats inept inorganic Ferrit

By: The reasons Ferrit failed « Lance Wiggs

The reasons Ferrit failed « Lance Wiggs — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 18:15:30 +0000

[...] Organic Torpedo7 beats inept inorganic Ferrit why a great website and slow, steady word of mouth is better than a lousy website and millions on advertising. [...]

By: organic vs inorganic website growth - go green! « ebiztoday

organic vs inorganic website growth - go green! « ebiztoday — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 03:14:07 +0000

[...] a good real life comparison of two New Zealand online businesses – one of which (online bike store Torpedo7) has become hugely successful largely through organic [...]

By: Bernard Hickey

Bernard Hickey — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 09:32:19 +0000

Great piece Lance.
You are absolutely right about organic vs inorganic.
Content and useability win every time over fancy marketing campaigns.
I just don’t get why Paul Reynolds doesn’t get it.

cheers
Bernard

By: TVCs « Rowan Simpson

TVCs « Rowan Simpson — Sat, 20 Dec 2008 22:43:33 +0000

[...] who have taken a more organic approach to growth, who seem much better off for it – for example, Lance posted about Torpedo7 last week. [...]

By: David Preece

David Preece — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 00:39:21 +0000

I think that many of Ferret’s problems are actually caused by their earlier, vast campaigns. They drove a lot of traffic (and hence people) to their site; it was rubbish; everyone now knows Ferret is rubbish.

Doesn’t matter how much it’s changed, my impression of Ferret is still that first impression. I’ve yet to hear any word of mouth that would change that impression.

By: Lance Wiggs

Lance Wiggs — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 09:18:11 +0000

Ben
thanks for the discount offer for readers!
I agree that the underlying business needs to be solid. Ferrit is off to a bad start on that one.
Usability is a close second for me – if I can’t use the site then I’m not going to buy.
and brands are perhaps based on perception, but underlying that perception has to be quality of the product. If the brand perception doesn’t match the product quality (my first mp3 player springs to mind) then that company has lost you.
Clearly I need to learn more about the icebreaker launch. I have met the people that invented the fabric and the jerseys though.
Lance

By: Ben Kepes

Ben Kepes — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 06:56:58 +0000

Lance – while I absolutely agree with your analysis in this case, it’s probably a little simplistic to discount marketing fuelled (inorganic) growth offhand.

In this case Torpedo7 has a distinct advantage to offer its customers – its products are generally cheaper than at retail, and their selection is better than most retail outlets. In that instance (ie when there is a genuine unique selling proposition (USP)) then yes, organic word of mouth sales can work well.

In the case of the vast majority of commerce however, sellers are differentiating their products based on perception. This perception is generally one that is brand related – brands, in the absence of some other route to scale, rely on marketing spend to achieve their aims. Your example of Icebreaker is telling, they were the antithesis of a niche player and spent hugely to attract sales. I’m not sure when they turned profitable but it was many many years after launch (and that was a product that included a $250k spend on pre-launch marketing planning).

So absolutely I agree that organic is better than inorganic IF (and it’s a big if) there is a viable business model with organic growth. My own business (www.cactusclimbing.co.nz) has grown completely organically, with zero debt and self fuelled. It’s made it a slow journey but a rock solid one. It’s a great way to build solid Kiwi businesses but it’s a hell of a lot harder to go the organic route today than it was a few years ago….

Cheers

(Oh and in the interests of organic growth (and Kiwi organic growth at that!) – Lance’s readers get a 15% on regular price Cactus products until the end of Feb ’09 – just use coupon code LANCEWIGGS at checkout)