Unilever just realized that they “missed it” when it came to competition in their razor space…and it cost them over $1 Billion dollars…the amount they just paid for Dollar Shave Club. They disrupted Unilever (and other shaver products) and created a new product with powerful marketing that captured a huge market share.
This isn’t a new story…it is happening in virtually every industry today. Someone is coming in and causing disruption by creating a better product or service at a lower cost…and appealing to the incumbent’s audience. They are taking away their marketshare with better products, lower prices, and better delivery. With the Internet Revolution taking over from where the Industrial Revolution left off, we are seeing a massive increase in COMMODITIZATION everywhere. This is awesome for the consumer and buyers…not so awesome for the companies that are now having to compete with these disruptors.
From all indications, this isn’t going away…it is going to escalate even faster than we are seeing today. The “barrier to entry” in many industries is so low that someone can show up tomorrow and immediately take away your customers and marketshare. But your costs are still the same and your pricing is based on this cost structure. What do you do? If you are some mega-giant company, you buy them out of the market…just like Unilever did to Dollar Shave. They essentially realized they had to give up $1 Billion dollars to take them out of the market. What would it cost you if you had to take out a major disruptor in your industry? Or could you even do it or would it put you under? These are important and critical questions for any leadership team today.
While this may sound like doom and gloom, there is a silver lining to this situation. There is a way that companies can help avoid this trap of commoditization. There is a way you can do battle with a “disruptor” coming into your market.
It’s what the most respected consulting and research firms have been telling us for the past few years…
Create a company based on an INCREDIBLE AND AMAZING CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE and you can either avoid or at least survive a disruptor entering your market. There it is…the strategy to combat this wave of disruptors and “bottom feeders” in your industry. A way to set yourself apart and let them feed on your competitors. A way to avoid commoditization and survive the disruptor revolution!
And if you think about it…if you are in an industry where everyone is viewed as a commodity, if you create an AWESOME CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE you can essentially be the DISRUPTOR in your own industry. I’m not talking about a GREAT EXPERIENCE…I’m talking about an INCREDIBLY AWESOME, AMAZING, AND REMARKABLE EXPERIENCE…one that causes your customer to say, “WOW, you are amazing and treat me better than anyone else in your industry by far.” When they say this, you have become the disruptor and the one that everyone is going to try and compete against.
Today you not only have the answer to how to avoid this disruption, you have the ability to eclipse all your competition and BECOME THE DISRUPTOR. It takes these key ingredients…
- Vision by Leadership – the top person in the company has to lead this effort
- A change in Business Strategy
- A specific model to create these awesome customer experiences
- Focused effort…by everyone in the company
- Employees that embrace CUSTOMER OBSESSION
- Staying the course to change from a “product/service centric” company to an “customer centric company”
- Someone to lead you through this new vision of disruption
Are you up to the challenge? Are you willing to admit you are exposed to disruption in your market and that there is probably a “Dollar Shave” company being developed right now that can come into your market at any time and disrupt it? You can view this as a THREAT or an OPPORTUNITY in your company. I love to look at things like this as incredible opportunities to not only disrupt but to lead. If you are as well, maybe this is your time to strike…your time to DISRUPT YOUR COMPETITION.
