Disruption has become the name of the game in the business world. Everyone wants to challenge the status quo and turn the industry upside down, but disruption is more than just a buzzword.
There’s so much more to innovation than doing the same thing faster or more efficiently. Disruption changes the game. It makes the old ways of doing things obsolete. It forces competitors to catch up to survive. If you think you have a brilliant idea that will change things forever, you’d better be prepared to develop some of the essential qualities every disruptor needs.
You Know the Industry
Disruption is about more than introducing new technology to an old industry. Plenty of players find a way to add new tech without causing any real shifts in how the industry operates. Disruption is often the result of someone with experience and insights into an industry finding a tech solution to deeply entrenched problems or ways of doing business that are vulnerable to disruption.
For example, take Nobul, the world’s first true digital marketplace, where home buyers and sellers have real estate agents bid for their business. It was founded by industry thought leader Regan McGee, who combined two decades of experience structuring large-scale real estate investment and development transactions with a drive for change and the development of several key patents.
On the subject of Nobul’s unique market position as a true innovator, Regan McGee says, “A lot of people claiming to be disruptors and innovators in the industry are doing the exact things that have been done for decades … I’ve never seen anybody doing close to what we’re doing to create a consumer-centric experience.”
You Put Consumer Experience First
As industries evolve over time, they develop self-interested practices that put their own interests first – until a challenger comes along that can threaten their market position.
That’s what makes so many industries vulnerable to disruption. Once someone finds a way to do business in a way that empowers and informs consumers, people will flock to companies that do the most to cater to them.
Legacy businesses that don’t adapt quickly seem out-of-date and obsolete. Consumers notice when someone does something different. If you’ve been able to enrich their experience and smooth over real pain points, you know you’ve become a real disruptor.
You Start from Scratch
If you’re going to challenge the status quo, you have to start from scratch. You can’t build a business model using legacy systems if you aim to offer a meaningful challenge to the same old way of doing things.
When you put your focus on the consumer experience, you need to find a way of doing business (any business) that is intuitive and easy to figure out for just about anyone. Relying on legacy systems will only land you in the same traps that legacy players have found themselves in.
Successful disruption puts the customer experience first and builds a technology there.