“As I stood there with the razor in my hand, my eyes resting on it as lightly as a bird settling down on its nest, the Gillette razor was born,” said Gillette. “In that moment I saw it all: the way the blade could be held in a holder; the idea of sharpening the two opposite edges on the thin piece of steel; the clamping plates, with a handle halfway between the two edges of the blade.”
The idea might have come to Gillette in an instant flash of inspiration, but how did he manage to turn it into a profitable company that has lasted for more than a century?
Instinct: They said it could not be done. One by one, the technical experts slammed the door in Gillette’s face, telling him his dreams of creating thin but strong, disposable razor blades were too lofty. It was only by being persistent and listening to his inner voice that he was able to get the idea off the ground.
Advertising: Gillette was one of the very first businessmen to understand the importance of sports imagery in advertising. He moved his ads away from being product-focused to touting a different kind of lifestyle – a desirable lifestyle that he knew his target market would be attracted to.
Value: Gillette understood where his product derived its value from. It was not from the razor itself, however unique it may have been. Rather, he knew his profits were going to come from the disposable razor blades. That is why he focused on packaging and selling those as strategically as he could.
Marketing: When other businessmen might have been worried about how World War I was going to negatively affect their business, Gillette was focused on finding a way to use it to his advantage. By creating Service Kits and distributing his razors to millions of American soldiers, Gillette was not only building a strong customer base, but he was demonstrating his prowess in making the most of potential marketing moments.
Foresight: Gillette knew the importance of his patents, and he also knew what would happen once they expired. He anticipated his competition and introduced a new product onto the scene before they had the chance. He then carefully crafted his marketing strategy, and by positioning his new razor design as the only alternative to the older obsolete razors, he ensured that his competitors would be dead before they even got off the ground.
Until his dying day, Gillette remained disappointed by capitalism. He believed that competition was the greatest of all evils and envisioned one “world corporation” as the answer. It is thus ironic that Gillette founded one of the most successful and long lasting companies to date. Up until it was purchased by Procter & Gamble in 2005 for $57 billion in stock, Global Gillette – the successor of The Gillette Company – remained one of the world’s leading suppliers of products under various well-known brands, including Braun, Duracell, and Oral-B.
Living On The Edge: How Gillette Achieved Success
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