The term disruptor has literally disrupted the way that we view technological, or even cultural, innovation.
Social medias like Periscope have disrupted the PR/Comms industry, Uber has disrupted the transportation industry, and Donald Trump has even disrupted politics with “his lack of institutional respect for the traditional political process has allowed him to deliver his message.”
But what is the difference between being disruptive and being innovative? Well, according to Forbes, disruptive products and services affect consumers by “literally uprooting and changing how we think, behave, do business, learn and go about our day-to-day.” Sounds a lot like innovation.
With that in mind, shouldn’t we all aim to be disruptive? The team at MediaMiser thinks so. That’s why we’ve provided four ways that your business can use media monitoring and analysis to disrupt your industry.
Make shortcuts
Customers adore products and services that makes their lives easier, whether it’s done by cutting out an important step in the product/service process, or by cutting out a “middle man” in the chain.
Shortcuts have been the launch-point for disruption since the dawn of the digital age. The Internet was created so people didn’t have to leave their homes to access the information they needed, torrent downloads made it easier for users to share new media and have access to global media, and mobile phones have made it possible to be constantly connected to the world.
Media monitoring and analysis can help your business understand your target demographic’s pain points, giving you the insights needed to drive disruption within your industry. The valuable intelligence that media monitoring and analysis provides allows you to create or modify your product or service to be able to build a shortcut for your consumers, making it easier to rocket past your competitors.
Make something mutually beneficial
The idea of a product being mutually beneficial to both the provider and the consumer isn’t a new one. However, technology has allowed various products and services to disrupt their industries by creating a channel that provides this mutual satisfaction.
Your business can use media monitoring and analysis to understand who your target demographic is, and what they really want out of a product or service. On the flip-side, you can monitor media to better understand what current industry providers are looking for from their consumers.
Many companies have disrupted their respective industries by building a product based on being mutually beneficial, for example: Uber. Ridesharing has become a staple in most large communities, allowing consumers to enjoy private transportation at a lesser cost than that of a traditional taxi service, but also allowing Uber drivers to make extra money by taking fares in their spare time. Mutual satisfaction is the reason Uber is disruptive, and is one of the driving forces behind its popularity.
Another prominent example is Kickstarter. Its concept is simple: fund an up-and-coming project, and in return for your donation, you’ll receive a gift or recognition from the company/individual/group. Though most consumers use the platform to get a leg-up on the next latest-and-greatest product, Kickstarter has disrupted its industry by allowing innovators to receive funding from everyday people, and for everyday people to reap the rewards of funding a successful product. A win-win.
Look for new/unconventional target groups
New target markets can be a well of opportunity for those who know how to find them. These markets can widen profit margins, and grow your business exponentially within a geographic or demographic area.
One of the easiest ways to identify these new groups is to monitor what is going on in your industry. Media monitoring and analysis can help your business identify influencers and advocates of your product ━ who is talking about products similar to yours, how your competitors are being perceived ━ and allows you to pinpoint blips in the data that could be a profitable unexploited target market.
Nintendo understood that they couldn’t keep relying on the Super Mario Bros. to stay competitive within the gaming industry. Sony and Microsoft dominated the traditional “gamer” market: young adult males whose taste in genres skewed from action-adventure to horror to science fiction.
Nintendo knew they had to approach a new market to stay relevant in North America, so they did the research and realized that there was a highly profitable, untapped resource: small children and families. Small children would see an advertisement and want a game, and parents would have the financial means to purchase these age-appropriate products for them.
Use customer feedback to drive innovation
Are you using social media for customer service? If you’re not, you should start. Adding a digital customer experience approach to your existing communications strategies will help you keep tabs on what your customers like, don’t like, want, or need from you and your product/service. And media monitoring and analysis can easily amalgamate this data into a list of comprehensive, actionable insights.
How can this help you to disrupt your industry? Well, you can use online and social media feedback to drive innovation, like turning your product upside-down by removing an element standard to the industry.
It’s simple. Take Dyson, for example. Removing the dirt and dust bag was a game changer for vacuums. Why did James Dyson do this? Because he felt that traditional vacuum cleaners just pushed dirt, instead of containing it. It takes one great idea to spark the flame of innovation, and Dyson used his to successfully disrupt the outdated vacuum industry.
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