COVID Success Stories – Story – 1 – Zoom – The leader in modern audio/video communications

In 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic drove the world indoors. The effects of this were disastrous, as well as disruptive. A lot of companies failed, but some rose to the occasion and even benefitted from this dire situation, by providing people with innovative solutions to live their lives normally. 

One of the companies that helped the world with this was Zoom, the video conferencing app. When it became essential for people to continue working and communicating with each other, Zoom rose to the occasion. Valued just above $90 Billion in 2021, Zoom has exponentially grown over the pandemic. 

The Beginning 

Founded by Chinese-born software engineer Mr Eric Yuan, Zoom began in 2011 as a company that was primarily aimed for corporate use. At the time of inception, the market demand for such apps was not very high and was almost dominated by apps such as Skype. Mr Yuan himself was a reputed employee of WebEx, which was one of the first video conferencing companies in the United States. 

Zoom Boom: A Covid-19 Phenomenon

During the pandemic, Zoom has gained an immense user base and similar growth in all other metrics that determine a company’s success. At its peak, it has had over 300 Million users daily, and a total of $622.7 Million in the last financial year. Other figures, such as a peak market cap of over $150 billion, and an over 30 fold increase in usage reflects the success of the company during the pandemic. 

Covid-19 has forced many of us to Work from home. Zoom has managed to use this to its advantage. Even when competitors like WebEx, Google Meet and MS Teams are slowly climbing, Zoom still holds a market share of 22.62% as of 2021. Though G Suite technically has a higher market share, the growth of Zoom solely as a video conferencing platform has been stellar. 

The secret behind the success

The main attraction of Zoom is a reliable product alongside its business strategy, where it focuses more on satisfying the existing customers rather than bringing in new ones. Their golden geese are the premium customers who pay to receive additional features as well as a better experience. The premium customers get to avail of extra services and facilities to accommodate larger, longer and more secure meetings. 

The same approach is evident in its marketing campaigns. They focus more on enterprise users and businesses who are more likely to pay for premium features. Their ads are on billboards in Silicon Valley, and their exhibitions are just places for people to interact with the app rather than listen to a sales pitch. 

Zoom separates itself from the rest due to its product. Unlike its older competitors like Skype and WebEx, Zoom offers a better mobile platform, amazing premium features and an overall robust experience. This has made them a favourite among business users. 

The Future

The future of video conferencing platforms is bright, especially since Work From Home is now being more normalized. As time goes by, more and more improvements are happening to these platforms across the board. However, it is more than likely that the dominance of Zoom will continue, even after these hard times are over.