Blockbuster Video is a great example of becoming obscure by not changing with the times

 

For decades Blockbuster Video was truly the leader in the field of video rentals. It was not only revolutionary in that it introduced the concept of the ability to rent videos and then enjoy them in your home, but they also came up with many other entertainment innovations. However, through decades of complacency and the inability to see where the market demand is going they are now in risk of having to file for bankruptcy. This has been mainly due to the fact of a major competitor known as Netflix. What Netflix did was in fact that they were able to identify a market demand and that demand was the ability to just stay at home without have to actually go somewhere in order to get your entertainment and then bring it back home. This is very similar to what is being faced in the medical field today. There exists a technology that is known as a pulse oximeter. In the past a pulse oximeter was only found in the hospital setting and they were very large and bulky. They were typically the product that hooked up to your finger while you were on the hospital bed. However, the manufacturers that made those older machines really did not heed the need of the public for a pulse oximeter device that is completely small and portable in that it can be taken anywhere the person needs to take it. As a result, other manufacturers came about that now create the portable variety and this has pretty much taken the market away from the immobile ones. Thus it is very important to anticipate and listen to consumer demand to stay relevant in the market. This has also occurred in many other sectors of the market as well including the automobile industry. In that industry many of manufacturers overlooked the fact that as the price of fuel rises there will be a greater demand for cars that are more fuel efficient. As a result, many of the Japanese vehicles were able to be custom made to be more fuel efficient and as a result this in turn had a very profound effect on the American auto industry. There still does exist potential for the American car manufacturers to come back with their own efficient designs which is exactly what the consumers have been seeking for years as a response to rising fuel costs.