Digital Disruption – Are You Taking the Lead in Your Industry?

We are now living in a world where digital disruption is everywhere. New entrants like Uber and Airbnb are transforming the taxi and temporary accommodation markets through the use of technology.

So what are you doing to protect yourself or exploit the opportunities presented by the way technology has invaded every part of our lives?

When was the last time you strategically reviewed what is happening in your industry and marketplace from a technology perspective as to how it could be disrupted or how you could disrupt it?

If you don’t think it will happen to you then think about the following:

• Most popular media owner creates no content (Facebook)
• World’s largest taxi company owns no taxis (Uber)
• Largest accommodation provider owns no real estate (airbnb)
• Largest phone companies own no telco infrastructure (Skype, WeChat)
• World’s most valuable retailer has zero inventory (Alibaba)
• Fastest growing banks have no actual money (SocietyOne)
• World’s largest movie house owns no cinemas (NetFlix)
• Largest software vendors don’t write the apps (Apple, Google)

So how do you know whether the time is right to carry out a strategic review? What approach can you use that doesn’t involve using the language of technologists and digital marketers?

For me the questions are very basic although in my experience it can take a whole afternoon working with a senior management team to arrive at meaningful answers,

• What is happening in the world around you?
• What are your competitors doing better than you?
• What are you doing better than your competitors?
• What problems are your customers looking to solve?
• What gains are your customers trying to make?
• What can you do that will differentiate yourself from the completion that also addresses the problems facing your customers and achieve the gains they desire?

If you try to see the world from the perspective of the jobs that the customer is trying to do and then think that if they had access to the technology how would that technology help them? At this stage, don’t worry about whether you feel that technology is actually available but more what would they be doing which would help them to solve their problems or make execution of their jobs easier.

With a clear understanding of what would really help you make a difference to your customers then you are then able to compare what you could potentially supply with what is available in the market place.

If you have identified how you could disrupt the market using technology then you need to speak to the technologists under an NDA to see what is possible. With an agile approach it could be a lot cheaper than you think!

In some cases the potential gains are so large or the impact of not doing the work is so damaging that a number of businesses I am working with have taken on their own IT development team in order to protect the strategic advantage they will realise through the smart use of technology.

The strategic methodologies used in the workshops with senior management teams are Strategyzer’s Value Proposition Canvas and Blue Ocean Strategy by Kim & Mauborgne.

For more information on how KUB can help you call us on 0333 050 9053