Originally published by Linda Coles on LinkedIn: Disruption - May As Well Be You Doing It.
It’s another new financial year and you’ve probably already thought about what you would like to achieve over the next twelve months, and maybe even beyond. It may be a percentage increase in sales, or a percentage drop in costs, or even an increase in headcount. Whatever it is you are going to focus on, think about this:
What would happen if your industry faced the same disruption that some industries have faced in recent years? How would you respond to stay in the game?
The world’s most valuable retailer – Alibaba – holds no inventory.
Airbnb is the world’s largest accommodation provider, yet owns no rooms.
The world’s largest taxi company doesn’t own a single taxi – that’s Uber.
Our most popular media owner doesn’t create a single bit of content. You guessed it: Facebook.
It’s great you’ve planned for the coming months, but think further beyond that. Plan for something truly remarkable, something truly revolutionary, that you can dominate your space with. Could it be you that is the disrupter? If someone is going to do it why can’t it be you?
Let me give you an example. Say you are a training-based company with trainers visiting your clients’ premises to train their teams on a given subject. Planning ahead, you’ve probably realised that with more and more training providers using video, your physical training programs will probably go digital too. It’s cheaper for your client, is convenient to use and, with updated content being added continually, it’s always up to date. Sell that as a monthly subscription-based model and suddenly you are starting to revolutionise and disrupt a training industry. But you are leading the way.
Add into that all the other things you can now do with the content you have created, such as sharing some of it on digital platforms. There are also associated spin-off videos you can add to your library such as expert interviews, quick tips and FAQs. All the while you are adding value to your client, and you’re using the new process to keep in touch regularly, so it’s a win all round.
It’s just another way of looking at what you do and making it more remarkable. If taxi companies around the world had created their version of Uber before Uber created theirs, their industry might not be in quite the same place as it is today.
If someone is going to disrupt, it may as well be you.
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I am the author of three books (Wiley) on social media marketing and building relationships and you can find them all here. I am also an Extended DISC accredited consultant. You might like to subscribe to me for more useful updates and if you are looking for a speaker or trainer for your next event, do get in touch.