Navigating the Icarus Paradox for Long Tail Business Strategy

Icarus was a figure in Greek mythology who made wings out of feathers and beeswax to escape an island. So enamored of his newfound ability to fly was he, that Icarus ignored warnings not to fly too close to the sun. Upon getting close to the sun, the beeswax melted, his wings fell off, and he plummeted to his death. The same thing that had made Icarus successful is what led to his downfall. In his overconfidence, he had become blind to the dangers of flying too close to the sun.

Similarly, for consumer brands today, focusing on emerging channels has been hailed as an innovative early business strategy. These channels are limited by their smaller size and higher cost and are therefore deprioritized by larger players. For new entrants, the less competitive space provides easier levers for growth and encouragement which in turn let it evolve into their primary business strategy. Sooner or later the costs or the size of the channel come into play and curtails the aspirations for fledgling organizations.

What is the long tail?

The long tail is a business strategy that allows companies to realize significant profits by selling low volumes of hard-to-find items to many customers, instead of only selling large volumes of a reduced number of popular items.

The term “long tail” was first coined in 2004 by Chris Anderson. He argued that products in low demand or with low sales volume can collectively make up market share that rivals or exceeds the relatively few current bestsellers and blockbusters. However, it is possible only if the store or distribution channel is large enough. Hence for a truly successful long-tail strategy, the size of distribution is imperative.