Purple Cow

Purple Cow
Why?
Because it’s too popular. And it’s boring.
The new Stew (Stew Jr.) used the Purple Cow to spread
the word and to grow. And it worked. But now that he has
already spread the word, it’s more profitable to milk the
Cow. Stew exchanged me (someone with a food and service
otaku and a big-time sneezer) for ten ordinary grocery
consumers. The products at Stew’s are no longer unique.
He carries nothing organic, no brands you’ve never seen
before, nothing at a remarkably low price. The customer
service is merely okay. Ask someone in the fish department
where to find canned pumpkin, and he’ll point in a vague
direction and say, “Over there.” In the old days (when
Stew’s was still remarkable), someone would walk you over.
There used to be a suggestion box at the exit. If you submitted
a suggestion, more often than not you got a letter
back from Stew (Senior) himself. Today, the suggestion
box is still there, but don’t count on getting a letter back.
The business is too profitable to worry about that.
So . . . when your parking lot is full to bursting, and
you’re making far more money than you ever did before,
does that mean you don’t have to worry about the Cow?
In the short run, Stew Junior’s strategy is brilliant. He’s
using the brand his father built and creating significant
wealth. It’s cynical but it’s true — dumbing down his store
for the masses (not the sneezers) was the way to get rich in
a hurry. If your business is in a similar situation, your
shareholders probably want you to do precisely the same
thing.
The grocery business is pretty special in that once you
stake out a location, you can profit from it for a very long
time. There’s also not much chance that grocery stores are
going to go out of style, so your ride on top is pretty long
indeed.
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