So I thought it was opportune to chat about, exactly what disruptive marketing is and how it can help grow your business. To become the leader in your industry, not the follower.
And herein lies your opportunity. It’s called Disruptive Marketing - disruption is about using ideas that are daring, inspiring or refreshing that defy rules. Disruptive marketing takes something people used to do, and approaches it differently.
Definition: “A disruptive innovation is an innovation that helps create a new market and value network, and eventually disrupts an existing market and value network (over a few years or decades), displacing an earlier technology.
Complacency is the dirtiest word in business today. Allow it to seep into the DNA of your organisation and your business will go down faster than Jack rolled down the proverbial hill.
Whether it shows itself in tired product launches, unmotivated customer service or disengaged employees, complacency is a core malady affecting every company you’ve ever watched flail and drown.
Disruptive marketing fosters a culture of game-changing innovation that provides the framework and motivation to generate ideas and execute solutions. It’s an essential element for any business who wants fast, continual growth, from a small start-up to a large organisation.
Companies bold enough to break the rules, redefine the playing field and effectively disrupt the status quo on a daily basis are the most effective long term at engaging their teams and driving results that go beyond what others are satisfied with — from the everyday to the extraordinary.
Brands that use disruptive marketing take everything they know about traditional marketing and throw it out with the bath water. Previously brands used marketing in a more unapproachable way, but these days, the consumers want to be a part of the conversation. They want access. Disruptive marketing gives them that access. It connects consumers with brands on a more human level.
Reviewing some real world examples of disruptive marketing helps solidify the understanding of it. Some brands have used this so effectively that it’s completely shifted the world’s perception of them. It has taken brands from laughed at to coveted. That’s some powerful stuff.
Want an example?
Ask anyone around in the technological boom of the late 1990s if you should have bought an Apple computer back then. After they finish laughing, they’ll likely explain to you that Apple products were regarded as bland, overpriced garbage.
Not only were they overpriced but most of what they came up with were rehashed clones of products that were superior in terms of processing power, features, price and available software. Apple’s stock tanked, if you can believe it, to a low of $4 per share.
Today, agree with it or not, Apple is synonymous with sleek, sophisticated, forward-looking products. People wait for hours, even days, in line to score the latest iPhones at high prices around the globe. What brought about such a shift? The design of an MP3 player in an age when most people were touting Discmans as the ultimate in portable music. And the innovation just kept growing from there. When it introduced iTunes, the average music consumer wanted to purchase the songs they were hearing on the radio without necessarily buying an entire album from those artists. Singles were no longer available on CD, and online file sharing sites were being regulated by governments. By introducing a brand-new approach, Apple iTunes delivered on the consumers’ desire to purchase one song by one artist, as well we their desire to avoid owning hours of music they weren’t going to listen to.
That’s the kind of effect that disruptive marketing can have on not just a brand, but an entire industry and the way we perceive it. But not everyone can pull off a disruptive marketing campaign. No matter what industry you’re in, all of these types of campaigns have a few selective traits in common.
So what exactly makes a disruptive campaign…disruptive? Disruptive brands don’t just push the envelope, they crumple it up and throw it in the trash. They’re not afraid to be daring and break the status quo. But for all the buzz they generate, they also need to be able to ride the peaks and valleys successfully, as not everyone will be accepting of their challenge to a traditional mindset.
Disruptive marketing gets people’s attention by being different and taking risks. It embraces concepts that are outside of the norm. It even sometimes has some shock value. That’s the factor that forces people to stop and look. It innovates. Not only does it encourage people to think about things differently, it analyses data that might not normally be given the time of day.
Disruptive marketing can take a simple, everyday something with not much excitement, and make it engaging and unique and something the consumer needs. It makes them want to be a part of that story and take part in what the brand has to offer.
One of the greatest things about disruptive marketing is that it’s unique to a brand. It sets your company up as an individual brand with a specific image that no one else can duplicate. There’s only one Airbnb. Only one Red Bull. Only one Nike.
By taking a completely different look at your market, your customers, your products, the technologies that help you to do business, your systems and processes and your people… dare to dream. Take time out and think “what if…”. Try not to be bound by the past but think of an ideal future. Don’t be constrained by following the same old, same old. Yes take time to stop, look and listen, but not to reinvent an iteration of the existing, but rather to sense something new, something that will fundamentally change for the better, a feature of your marketplace.
One of the biggest underlying trends you can find in disruptive marketing is that it attempts to engage with and relate to the consumer. In order to have a successful disruptive campaign, you need to start with stepping into the consumer’s shoes. What do they need? What do they want? How do they spend their days? Refine your audience. Make your target specific.
Thinking outside the box is crucial. Now that you have considered the needs of your audience as they pertain to your business, how can you reach them on a different level? What won’t they expect? How can they use your product in a way they didn’t think they could before? What makes it a bigger part of their day? What will make them think of your brand as human?
With so many genius campaigns out there, it can be tempting to follow a similar format to something that’s been done. However, you need to be unique. Don’t be afraid to take risks. No risk, no reward. Go guerilla. Create something that forces your audience to feel a strong emotion, whether it’s anger or fear or sadness or awkwardness. Create a bond. A desire.
With so many brands realising the power of social engagement and the need for a human element, we’re only going to see disruptive marketing grow and evolve. Disrupt yourself, before those around you - or market forces will do it for you!
We are currently doing this ourselves and it’s a thrilling experience. IN Marketing is known for using a disruptive approach to outsourced marketing in New Zealand.
Our model is simple – your company gets an outsourced marketing department for a fixed annual fee. IN Marketing’s marketing department solution includes all graphic design, web, search engine optimisation, application of marketing automation, public relations, lead generation and social media.
Our model is customised and structured -- providing companies with an outsourced marketing model, aimed at catapulting your company’s growth through effective marketing solutions. Our aim is to take companies that are ready to take the leap from being a small business to a medium sized one, and develop an effective and translatable marketing strategy aligned with business goals.
There are literally thousands of small to medium sized businesses in NZ, and we are very excited to be accessible to all in this market and offer our services to these businesses.
Invest in disruptive marketing now and ensure success by putting your business on a growth path for the future. Who knows, maybe your brand could be the next big thing everyone’s talking about.
Speak with the IN Marketing team today on 021 253 3323 or email welcome@inmarketing.co.nz to make an appointment to meet our team and find out how we can disrupt your industry.
