Effective market disruption strategies

Effective market disruption strategies are a must. These days, consumers are exposed to a large number of ads and brand messages daily. The “smart” era has caused a high level of competition. To be able to compete in the market, companies need to rethink their marketing strategies and need to move on from traditional channels. They need to be game-changers. Consumer drivers have changed.

According to a Wunderman study, 88% of consumers in the U. S. would more likely engage with a brand that is setting new standards, going beyond boundaries and push the limits. This number is higher in the UK and amounts to 90%.

What is disruptive marketing?

Sendible defined disruptive marketing as “Disruptive marketing means turning all the marketing rules upside down, shaking things up and changing the perception not just about your company but about the industry as a whole.”

Disruptive marketing is not just about advertising and traditional marketing. It is more about the brand of a business as a whole. This type of marketing is a quite risky one as companies need to be ready for change. They need to rethink their business model, product or services, and the message they want to put in customers’ heads.

There are two types of market disruptions:

• Novelty: Fulfilling customer’s needs by offering a completely new product or service.
• Adoption: Improving the current product or service and makes it faster, better or cheaper.

How to use disruptive marketing?

• Understand your industry and what you want to disrupt

In order to create a marketing strategy, you need to have deep knowledge about the industry and your competitors. What are the weaknesses and strengths of the industry? What needs of consumers are not satisfied? You can use a number of analytics tools such as Think With Google, Survey Monkey, BizStats, for that.

• Understand your customers

You need to understand what consumers really want. Create a persona to have a picture of your potential customer in your mind.

• Be unexpected

Do something which is not the standard. An example set for this is Nissan. The automobile manufacturer started selling their Versa Note 2014 on Amazon. This was something no company would expect a business like that to do. They for sure had a lot of attention with that move. They sold 100 cars on the e-commerce giants website.

• Be relevant

You need to create experiences that are relevant to your customer. An example of this is Airwick. The company found a way to disrupt the market by allowing consumers to pair scents with home decor.

• Be humorous

Why so serious? You can mock your product or service once in a while too. Sarcasm is a good way to go.

• Be unusual 

Use unusual ways to promote your product. For consumers to discover you, you need to connect the unconnected.

• Push the limits

Understand the rules of your industry and set new ones. Push the limits to disrupt the market. Use a unique value proposition or a completely different style of marketing.

Let us look at a couple of examples listed by bka content

Volvo Cars

Volvo has managed to change the whole conversation with one campaign during the U.S. Super Bowl in 2015. The Swedish car manufacturer asked people to tweet at the company’s Twitter with the hashtag #VolvoContest whenever a car commercial was aired which was not Volvo’s. The users were supposed to be encouraged to nominate their loved ones to win a Volvo car. Volvo named the campaign “The Greatest Interception Ever”. This shows how the company managed to shift the conversation from their competitors to themselves. Every time another car brand’s commercial was on, users did not think much of that brand but of Volvo. The interaction grew on Volvo’s side immensely. This strategy was not only a big win for Volvo, but the competitors had a huge disadvantage with it. The Swedish company managed to be a step ahead.

Volvo managed to sustain involvement throughout the Super Bowl on the social media platform, Twitter. The sales on the car model Volvo XC60 increased by 70% in a month after the Super Bowl was aired.

If you are wondering how this ad was actually disruptive here is the answer. Advertising during the Super Bowl can cost a lot which is no secret. A 30-second spot can cost around $5 million. Volvo noticed that other car manufacturers were spending millions of dollars on that. The Swedish company decided to take a different direction which is where disruption starts. Not only did they make all ads about themselves, but they also built an emotional connection. They put the light on the Super Bowl viewers and their loved ones. This strategy helped the company to gain benefits.

L’oreal Paris

L’oreal Paris also gives a good example of this strategy. The beauty company has used technology to disrupt the market. As many of us know, most people are scared of changing their hair colour. The reason behind this is, they do not know how it would suit them. In 2018 L’oreal released an app with artificial intelligence which would change the hair colour of people. The app intended to show the users how they would look different in other hair colours. Creating the app itself is not considered as disruptive, as many other companies have done that before. However, creating a game-like app that puts the power of artificial intelligence at your customers’ fingertips is.

With this strategy, L’oreal made it to the list of 10 disruptive marketing trends identified in Geoffrey Colon’s book, “Disruptive Marketing: What Growth Hackers, Data Punks and Other Hybrid Thinkers Can Teach Us About Navigating the New Normal.” The company gave beauty lovers a personalised beauty experience.

Nissan

Can you imagine buying a car off of Amazon. Like the e-commerce platform Amazon. No right? However, that’s exactly what Nissan did in 2014. The company used a whole different distribution strategy to sell their Nissa Versa Note. Originally, the company wanted to give the first 100 customers a $1000 gift voucher and enable three people to receive the car in a huge Amazon box. The campaign was so effective, that the first 100 orders came in no less than 72 hours. The strategy raised a lot of awareness and was a huge success.

Conclusion

Consumers are overloaded by information these days. They are spoilt for choice when it comes to new products or services. To be seen and discovered you need to step a mile further and do unexpected things. Many companies these days have similar advertising strategies. As in the example of Volvo Cars, you have to see what your competitors are doing and start thinking outside of the box. It can be a great marketing stunt or just another distribution channel. Do not follow the stream. Go your own path. Eventually, people notice things, others do differently. Technology has no limits. You need to find effective market disruption strategies that work for you.

Liked this article? Why not read “HOW TO STAY RELEVANT AND TRUSTED AS A TECH BRAND”

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