I just started working at IDS Agency. We are an Inbound Marketing agency located in Santiago de Chile. I’m very excited about joining this team and disrupting the market, changing the game's rules.
OK, right now, over here, the earth's core is “Inbound,” and the topic of conversation we had to get to know each other was about “Disruption.” The idea of Disruption in business/innovations is a radical change in an industry.
It describes a process where a small or medium sizes company, sometimes with few resources, can challenge established businesses. In fact, they can do it very successfully. It happens when an entire market begins to “wake up” after understanding the capabilities of a new product or service (You know, this new way of doing things), so... it's basically a market redefinition.
I can point out a few popular disruptive innovation examples:
- Companies like BlackBerry and Nokia got disrupted by the iPhone and Android Smartphones
- Kodak Photographic Films By Digital Photography
- Bookstores By Ebooks
- Encyclopedias/Dictionaries By Wikipedia
One major shift is the change from On-Premise (standard software installation in the business environment - traditional models) to Cloud-based software typically delivered in a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS).
Another example is the shift from “Outbound marketing” ( traditional marketing and advertising strategies ) to Inbound marketing and its sales methods ( inbound marketing focuses on creating quality content that pulls people toward your company and product, where they naturally want to be. Because aligning the content you publish with your customer’s interests will bring the natural attraction of inbound traffic). On that topic, we've seen that Digital Marketing Trends in Chile have been changing over the last few years.
Disruption in Finland
I just arrived from Finland, and I remember some Finn friends telling me how difficult it is to become famous in Helsinki. Basically, when it comes to technology and businesses, what happens is that a huge percentage of people are early adopters. They're always discovering new ways to do things because it is easy for users and average consumers to change perspectives. So we can think disruption is happening at different levels. Therefore, it's not easy for a brand or a business to remain at the top for a long period of time.
As Chile is to South America, Finland is referred to as the European silicon valley. This is because Finnish innovations have the capabilities to disrupt markets in different countries in a good percentage.
“ The key is to embrace disruption and change early.
Don't react to it decades later, and you can't fight innovation.”
Ryan Kavanaugh.
There's an interesting phenomenon happening in the Nordic region. The start-up ecosystem is growing exponentially and comes along with great ideas in technology and exceptional innovation. However, early-stage companies and SMEs happen to become internationally successful businesses once they reach out to new markets out of the country (if they have the opportunity), getting the endorsement of other industries and big players in the rest of the world. Then, later they go back to the local markets, and people finally embrace the new method, products, or services.
We can mention there’s a similar case happening in Chilean emerging markets. But, still, one good thing is that people started to understand that changing attitudes towards resistance is needed to ensure successful change.
Disruption is always about to come around again, but the process is slow because resistance is a normal human reaction.
Do you know any other examples of disruptive innovation? ... What challenges do you think you have to break the mold in the Chilean market?
