Be the disrupter

Disrupters are the firms that come up with new ideas and challenge the way things are done.

In order to become a disrupter in your market, your firm must be prepared to innovate relentlessly, challenge norms and redefine industry standards. If you want to succeed, you need to understand your target audience, their needs, pain points and aspirations. Start by mapping your typical customer’s journey and consider where the bottlenecks are in the sales process. These areas could be ripe for innovation. For example, if you sell business services and require your customers to sign an engagement letter, you could make life easier for your customers by allowing them to use e-signatures to sign the engagement letters online.

Create a culture that encourages creativity in your firm. Encourage your team to think beyond the ordinary, brainstorm ideas, and experiment boldly. Being a disrupter often necessitates the courage to be different. Mistakes will happen but they should be embraced as opportunities to learn.

A customer-centric ethos is paramount. Your customers should be the compass guiding your strategy. Endeavor to understand their needs and preferences. Customer feedback can be invaluable in refining your products or services so don’t be afraid to ask your customers to share their thoughts.

Incorporating emerging technologies into your business model can create a formidable competitive advantage. Technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, Augmented Reality and Blockchain have the potential to revolutionise industries. Consider how these technologies can be harnessed to reshape your industry’s landscape.

Data analytics are a powerful tool that can be used to glean insights into customer behaviour, market trends and emerging opportunities. Data- driven decision making can help your firm to spot gaps in the market and target new customer segments. If this is backed up with a robust and authentic brand identity, your firm can carve a distinctive niche in a particular market.

Analysing data can help you to refine your brand values, service offering or pricing model, in order to closely align with the needs and wants of your customers, thereby making your firm a more compelling choice in the market.