When you have a strategy that’s worked for a long time, it’s easy to get complacent. You think if business has always come to you, it will continue to do so.

But just because you had a good brand strategy once does not mean it will be a good strategy forever more.

Times change. Demographics shift. Technology evolves – at an increasingly mind-boggling pace. And as these things happen, your brand needs to evolve as well.

That’s why when we create positioning statements for our clients, we always tell them that they are not set in stone. They are simply the best positioning for a brand at that given time, based on their core users, point of difference and competitive set. All of those things can – and often do – evolve over time. So it is necessary to revisit brand strategy every few years, and sometimes sooner if you notice a trend or an opportunity market that is going to affect your business. That’s why it’s so important to stay tuned not only to changes going on in your industry, but in the periphery.

For an example of a brand that couldn’t keep up, look no farther than your local Blockbuster store (if it still exists). Blockbuster waited way too long to do what Netflix had been doing for years. They not only should have thrown their hat back in the ring earlier; it should have been a better hat. When a company comes along that embraces the technology that could eclipse your business, you better embrace that technology and figure out a way to make it even better. Otherwise, your brand becomes nothing more than an also-ran.

And we all know what happened to Kodak this year.

On the other end of the spectrum is Toyota, who pioneered the hybrid car market in 2000. To be fair, the Honda Insight launched 7 months earlier. But the Prius is the one that took off, and from 2001-2011 Prius sales have dwarfed those of both the Insight and the more successful Hybrid Civic. Their strategy – to target early adopters and get them interested as far back as two years before the product launch – not only affected the sales of the product, but changed the way people think about the brand as a whole. Where they were once only regarded only for their quality, they became a leader in environmental responsibility – not just in the auto industry, but in the overall commercial world.

Where will your brand stand in the history books? Will your strategy evolve with new thinking and technology? Or will it slowly wither away?