Who knew that a brand that began renting mattresses would turn into a dynamic global brand in just a decade’s time? A brand that is synonymous with trust, luxury, comfort, uniqueness and has numerous lessons that many businesses across the world look to learn from.
Right from their success story, to their present-day influence and power in the industry, Airbnb gives you enough reasons that can be easily embodied by brands across the world to maximize their success.
2008, the start
In 2008, they realized they could make some money by renting out their air mattress in their living room to people visiting San Francisco. It did not take them long before this idea evolved into a website. Soon they got two bookings and though this idea would, it did work but then it reached a stagnancy soon.
When giving breakfast didn’t work
They even sold cereal boxes to raise funds for their business but still, they did not get enough traction. Wow, what really? You must be wondering when a brand, has an idea, works on it, goes digital with it, explores options, but still doesn’t get to the top, why would that happen? What Airbnb didn’t realize earlier that despite offering cheap rentals and breakfast, the pictures on their website weren’t very appealing.
Improving their brand image
To rectify this, they went to real properties and took real pictures, soon they began growing. When the time came to raise funds, they were rejected initially. However, Airbnb did everything that a start-up should do at an early stage to take off from the ground.
Because customer is the king
The one growth hack that they continued to use was to give people what they wanted. Their ability to innovate and find solutions to real traveler problems helped them get the lead. They also looked at the smallest problem in detail and worked upon fixing it immediately. Even when they faced criticism for a poor safety policy, they worked day and night and eventually upped it to meet the satisfaction of their hosts and winning their trust.
Go online and offline to grow
Their rocket ship growth is driven by many interconnected activities with their commitment to the traveler and the host being the highest. Part of Airbnb’s success is the end result of the community they have created and part is because of their holistic marketing approach which embraces both offline and online marketing strategies.
It is not easy to create a unique persona in the fun and competitive space of travel however Airbnb managed to do it and grow it multifold while leaving all of us some really important lessons to learn from.
Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *
Comments