Augmented reality, guerrilla tactics, push notifications – all of these are examples of disruptive marketing. Only popularly used as a term in 2005 by best-selling author Clayton Christensen, this new breed of marketing is ‘bread and butter’ for many forward-thinking organisations in the consumer world. But we would do well to learn the lessons to see how we apply it to the B2B sector.
What can businesses now do differently to fundamentally transform the way they think and interact with their customers?
As technological changes are moving at breakneck speed, it is critical that any business stays ahead of the curve, and particularly when it comes to their marketing mix. It is no longer enough just to send out the odd email newsletter or post sporadically across social media platforms as an attempt to do ‘digital’. In fact, over reliance on email marketing is not an advisable long-term tactic, since the volume of email has declined by 10% since 2005 and is very likely to continue this trend. With today’s consumers using multiple devices and wearables, we need to consider that the path to purchase looks very different as the customer — rather than the business — shapes how they want to be communicated to.
How do you go about implementing disruptive marketing techniques in your organisation?
Only you will know what marketing mix works best for your organisation. Below are a few of our suggestions to help shape the way we think about getting started with emerging marketing techniques.
Firstly, we would suggest being intentional about adopting disruptive techniques. Disruptive marketing is not an industry fad. The rules for engaging with customers have changed forever. See if you can incorporate the principles of a disruptive-style strategy as part of your organisation’s DNA – and not siloed as a unique marketing activity. As Jake Sorofman, VP Chief of Research at Gartner states –
“When you start with what’s at stake for the buyer, you earn the right to their attention.”
Secondly, don’t be afraid to experiment. Plan for contingency if things do go wrong, but use your natural organisational strengths to exploit how your messages can be translated across to audiences on multiple touchpoints.
Finally, have a plan in place to measure results and ROI for your business. Be pragmatic in your approach; if you can prove the financial benefits from a disruptive-led marketing strategy, not only does this justify the investment and put senior management at ease — it also helps you to build case studies for how you can succeed in this area – and in doing so – drive new leads through your sales pipeline.
As more businesses adopt disruptive marketing techniques, there will soon be no excuses to keep exclusively to traditional or ‘old-school’ digital marketing techniques anymore.
At TBT Marketing, we are passionate about wanting to see our clients succeed in reaching their audience with the right message. We offer digital workshops, as well as bespoke consultancy sessions to help you to achieve your goals.
For more information, please get in touch.
