Disruptive marketing can’t be ignored. Your brand can shine with a disruptive marketing strategy. Study and apply these marketing examples for higher ROI.
Following the status quo is part of the nature of conventional applied marketing. But some marketers go against the grain. Disruptive marketing is the use of experimental tactics that challenge traditional marketing wisdom.
Disruptive marketers dare to test new, unconventional tactics in their pursuit of marketing supremacy. This is what brings about innovation in marketing.
We owe marketing evolution to disruptive marketing. Change is a sign of growth, and this applies to disruptive marketing campaigns.
Three market elements fuel disruptive marketing. These are competition, consumer expectations, and advances in technology. Join the evolution as we explore disruptive marketing through theory and practical examples of disruptive marketing campaigns.
The Evolution of Disruptive Marketing
Marketing has been around since the organization of the economy. From the early shepherding days when traders burnt their insignia into sheep till today, marketing has made a long journey.
Within the discipline of marketing, there have been some that have challenged set norms. These disruptive marketers have blazed a trail, boldly going where no marketer has gone before.
Disruptive marketing began in Europe between the 9th and 12th centuries. Trade fairs were introduced during this era. Businesses moved away from dependence on personal connections.
Newspaper advertisements that are now part of conventional marketing were once disruptive. When Gutenberg introduced the printing press, civilization saw its first print ads. This is one of the finest examples of disruptive marketing that soon became mainstream.
In the 1990s, disruptive marketing began to explode with rapid changes in technology and the birth of the internet. Today, the web sees disruptive marketing, with new technologies and approaches changing the game. Disruptive marketing is more relevant than ever in 2022.
The Relevance and Impact of Disruptive Marketing In 2022
Change is happening in technology, business competition, and consumer expectations, and marketers can no longer afford to tread the beaten path.
Disruptive marketing is now exploding in every area of business. Fresh marketing approaches are being called for, and businesses adopting disruptive marketing strategies are reaping the fruit of smart work.
Let’s examine the effect of one disruptive technology in our life – mobile phones. In 1995 mobile phone usage across the U.S. was 0.005%. This grew to 20% in 1998. The end of 2017 saw 95% of the U.S. population using mobile phones.
This disruptive technology changed how marketers would reach consumers and disrupted the implementation of marketing strategies for good.
Similarly, consumers are changing, and so are their expectations. Social media is used across age groups. Younger consumers use it more. Over 90% of millennials use it regularly. The size of this demographic dictates that marketers need to engage customers over social media now, and do it effectively.
Customers now expect marketing that is tailored to them. It is the era of personalized marketing. Two of the best disruptive marketing examples are Netflix and Amazon, which have changed the game and reset customer expectations through customized marketing.
Increased competition dictates that the balance of power in trade has shifted to consumers. If you don’t cater to a consumer’s needs, they will leave you for your competitor.
Unique value and a positive consumer experience are key to business survival. A bad customer experience is immediately heard across social media. Likewise, good customer experiences drive business success like never before.
Disruptive Marketing Strategy Tips
Here are some tips on strategy/tactics/approaches to follow while implementing disruptive marketing.
1. Embrace technology
With technology changing in leaps and bounds, marketers have only one choice; to embrace technology. Because changes in technology are a driving force in marketing, we can’t ignore them. We have to move along with the new, disruptive innovations. Technology gives customers a personalized and humanized marketing experience.
2. Unified CRM
Unified CRMs are a great example of game-changing disruptive technology. They track brand-customer touchpoints at every stage. Marketers use this insight for new marketing experiments in personalized outreach. Also, customer needs are met at every stage of their journey.
A/B split testing within unified CRMs provides comprehensive analytics and lets marketers know what works. The unified CRM lets you test a strategy on a sample group. If it works, push it out to the larger customer pool.
3. Prepare for failure
Disruptive marketing, by its nature, should have room for failure. When you try out a new marketing tactic, be prepared to fail. Failure is an integral part of disruptive marketing. Look at failure as a learning experience. When you fall, pick yourself up and move on. This is how you get better at disruptive marketing.
4. Don’t be emotionally involved
Don’t invest emotions like pride within a disruptive marketing strategy. Don’t fall in love with your disruptive marketing tactics. If you do, and they don’t work, you will feel like a failure. This leads to lost motivation. Don’t invest emotions in your disruptive marketing strategy.
5. Believe in yourself
If you are planning a game-changing strategy, believe in yourself first. Have conviction in your efforts. To successfully implement disruptive marketing, you need confidence, determination, and courage.
6. Track, track, and track
To benefit from disruptive marketing, you need to track results at every stage. You need to understand what works and what doesn’t. Unified CRMs help here—study success rates vis-a-vis tactics. Then use what works and discard the rest.
7. Think like the customer
What marketing strategy/tactic would have won you over if you were the customer? Put yourself in the customer’s shoes. Then frame a strategy that you would react positively to.
8. Learn from thought leaders
Learn from innovators within your field, and study tactics that thought leaders have successfully used. Sometimes insights from thought leaders can be the missing link in a revolutionary tactic that puts you head and shoulders ahead of the competition.
9. If it works, do it again
Rinse and repeat what works. Discard strategies that fail. This is where CRM and A/B testing come in handy.
10. Know your industry
Different industries need different marketing approaches. Slapstick humor may work well in a children’s brand. It isn’t likely to work in B2B marketing.
3 Disruptive Marketing Examples To Learn From
Case studies are a great way to understand marketing. Here we look at three disruptive marketing examples to learn from them.
1. OYO Rooms
OYO Rooms is a provider of standardized and affordable hotel accommodation. The firm has spent wisely on advertising, especially digital advertising.
OYO Rooms differentiated its advertising by targeting its prospects with short films and videos. They were responsible for several disruptive marketing campaigns like IPL Final Verbal Combat, Father’s Day Celebration, and the hugely popular Jai Hind campaign.
Buoyed by its initial success, OYO Rooms is now expanding and establishing a pan-India presence. Its disruptive marketing campaign focuses on the service’s affordability, predictability, and accessibility.
The disruptive marketing campaign focuses on the ease of booking and provision of all essential facilities. The #AurKyaChahiye hashtag creates the impression of wholesome hotel facilities and has been instrumental in the campaign’s success. The campaign stresses that OYO Rooms is a natural choice.
2. Volvo
The Super Bowl is one of the top sporting events in the U.S.A. Millions of people tune into the event each year. Brands spend millions of dollars on advertising their wares on it. A 30-second spot can cost over $5 million. Yet, firms like Budweiser and Pepsi air their ads on these spots every year.
Volvo took a different approach to this event. They conducted a disruptive marketing campaign that yielded a high ROI. Volvo asked customers to tweet #VolvoContest whenever they saw another automobile ad. They encouraged users to nominate someone to win a Volvo automobile.
According to Volvo, the campaign was “the greatest interception ever.” They shifted the focus away from competitors. This low-cost disruptive marketing campaign saw Volvo sales increase by 70% in the month after the Super Bowl.
3. L’Oreal
L’Oreal is a great example of disruptive marketing using innovative technology. They positioned themselves as an industry-leading brand through the use of disruptive technology.
L’Oreal introduced an update to their app in 2018. The update used artificial intelligence. The app now allowed users to see how they would look in various available L’Oreal hair colors. Customers hesitate to use a new hair color because they don’t know if it will suit them. L’Oreal overcame this problem with the new technology.
Customers could now try a new hair color with confidence. The key here was addressing the most important pain point for customers trying on new hair color.
Key Takeaways
- Disruptive marketing is about innovation and newness.
- Applied well, the principles of disruptive marketing can lead to disproportionately high ROIs.
- The future of marketing is disruptive marketing.
- Key to the success of disruptive marketing is the technology and standing out from the pack.
- Learn from thought leaders and apply their techniques with a fresh touch.
Conclusion
A dynamic, changing world demands changes in customer acquisition and retention.
Why should customers pay attention to your marketing message? Is there something so disruptive in your strategy that forces customers to look up and take notice?
The sequel to these questions is the understanding that disruptive marketing is here to stay. Only the outstanding will stand out and profit in a world with short attention spans and high competition.
It’s a matter of out-of-the-box thinking and novel application of promotion. The net result is the possibility of disproportionately high ROI. Are you up to it?
FAQ’s
1. What is the first step in a disruptive marketing strategy?
The first step in a disruptive marketing strategy is customer and competitor research.
2. How do I get started with disruptive marketing?
Study firms that serve your target demographics and psychographics and study their successful disruptive marketing efforts. Then add a unique twist to them and come up with your own new marketing recipe.
3. Why should I experiment with disruptive marketing strategies?
These strategies offer the possibility of extremely high ROI. They separate you from the average Joe.
4. What stops firms from disruptive marketing?
The unwillingness to experiment and tread off the beaten path.
5. What are some disruptive marketing benefits?
Some disruptive marketing benefits are affordability and a viral word-of-mouth effect.