What Entrepreneurs Can Learn From Pokemon Go

For a budding entrepreneur inspiration can be found almost anywhere with the number of start-ups gaining traction, the oftentimes stupid ideas on Shark Tank getting air time and actual credit and of course the huge success stories that can be seen everyone, none more so than Pokémon Go. But what can entrepreneurs actually gain from these success stories? Whether you’ve already got an idea in the works, you’re past the inventing stage and onto the design, production and branding phase or you’re just a happy-go-lucky type looking to jump on the bandwagon of others and hitch a ride on their coat tails, there are a number of highly valuable lessons to be learned from the rise of Pokémon Go.

Lesson 1: There’s nothing better than loyalty

When it comes to success there is literally nothing a company could want more than true customer loyalty. In the case of Pokémon Go this really boils down to nostalgia. You’ve likely seen hordes of Pokémon Go players around and something you’ll notice is that they’re all different ages. Everyone is playing it, your baby niece to your 90 year old grandma. For companies this is something truly unique and I’m sure highly gratifying to the developers at Niantic. This is due to the heavy fan base Pokémon already had but by reimagining the theme and reworking it to merge the offline and online worlds, they were able to create something truly special that parents and children could enjoy together.

Lesson 2: Your fans are influencers

All companies need to remember that your fans are also your brand ambassadors and your chief evangelists. Pokémon Go not only brought us the future through their inspired gameplay of merging the two worlds but they also knew that their fans equalled their promotion and success. As Pokémon trainers go to different locations for find rare Pokémon, fans have begun creating social sites and meetups to share locations of these rare Pokémon. As these fans group together in droves they command media attention. In other words free promotion.

Lesson 3: Timing is everything

While we already outlined that a huge part of Pokémon Go’s success has come from nostalgia, the game was released at a time when young adults, who had once watched and loved the tv show, had enough disposable income to spend on it. The game also came out alongside the warm weather in most countries. In an article for Forbes, Jordan Edelson, the founder and CEO of Appetizer Mobile stated “The timing for the Pokémon Go app is perfect because the warm weather only encourages users to go outside. But developers will need to come up with a plan as to how they can continue to engage users during cooler weather seasons.” Though here in Australia the game has also been a huge success even in the dead of winter.

Just as Niantic has seamlessly merged the real world with fantasy in their augmented reality, entrepreneurs need to remember to develop and market to both the online and offline world in order to succeed.

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