You Don’t Have to Be Uber to Be Disruptive

Joshua Stike, VP of Marketing
Joshua Stike

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I was recently asked on a podcast what disruptive innovation meant to me.

I stumbled for a beat because it’s such a big topic and one that can’t be summed up in a simple answer. More importantly, at least for the clients I work with, it’s difficult for any one person to think they can disrupt an entire marketplace. The task just seems so large. Only available to the big businesses and hungry start-ups roaming the server rooms of Silicon Valley.

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Look at these commonly used examples of disruptive innovation and try not to be intimidated.

  1. Academia: Wikipedia disrupted printed and digital encyclopedias. Officially ending a 244-year run by Encyclopedia Britannica with one innovative idea—a web-based, free-content encyclopedia that is openly edited by Internet users. Wikipedia quickly went from that questionable resource that you weren’t sure if you could trust to being the number one source for healthcare information used by doctors.
  2. Transportation: Uber has completely changed the way everyone gets around. No longer are the days of begging your friends for rides to the airport, trying to hail down a taxi cab, or even having to leave the house for fast food. It seems like these days every new business idea is explained as, “It’s like Uber for X.” Just watch a few episode of “Shark Tank” to see how Uber has disrupted the market and over-saturated an entire on-demand industry.
  3. Entertainment: Netflix isn’t the first video-streaming service but its innovations in matching viewers’ preferences with suggested content, and bold moves like releasing entire seasons of new shows at once has changed how the world binge watches consumes serialized television. They began collecting data on movie watchers ever since the DVD-by-mail days and has used their streaming data to guide some of their biggest content decisions, like outbidding HBO for the show “House of Cards,” which helped elevate the service to current market domination.

The challenge for small businesses and service-based sales professionals becomes, “How in the world can I possibly create the same level of disruption as these companies?”

To be disruptive in your market, you don’t have to have ambitions of global domination (of course, it’s okay if you do). And you don’t have to raise millions in funding (also, totally okay if you do). But you can still be disruptive in your own defined world—your community, your neighborhood, your county. As you are serving your clients’ needs, look for gaps in the market where others aren’t providing and consider how you can offer a brand new level of service that will set you apart from your competition.

When Everyone Zigs, Zag

Like the famous Henry Ford quote (or not Henry Ford quote), “If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses,” you have to think outside the status quo, put on your visionary goggles, and picture a world that you want to see. Then, set out with a relentless passion and plenty of action to make that future happen.

Don’t just react to your clients’ requests. Anticipate their needs, do what nobody else in your local industry is doing, carve out a niche, and disrupt the market in your own unique way. Who knows, maybe you’ll be the next “Uber for X” in your town.

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Joshua Stike, VP of Marketing
Written by Joshua Stike

Joshua Stike is the VP of Marketing at ReminderMedia, responsible for lead generation, product development, and creative services. Josh’s career began at ReminderMedia in a two-car garage with just an idea, a copy of QuarkXPress, and a space heater. His passion is making ideas happen and helping clients become more successful in their sales strategies and marketing execution.