July 15, 2023

OK, maybe I’m overstating this … or am I?  The pandemic caused significant changes for almost every company on earth.  Many have seen a sharp drop in revenue and continued to claw back in 2023.  Others have had revenues remain the same or even increase, but customers’ needs have changed.  Many have new rules and restrictions about how they can do business.  Some restrictions may be relaxed soon … but customers aren’t sure it’s safe to go back to their old behaviors.

We’ve all heard the stories of companies that ignored disruptions going on around them.  Nokia didn’t realize that data would become more important to users than voice.  Kodak ignored digital photography.  Blockbuster refused to believe their model could be improved upon.

And then there are the companies that recognized disruption and innovated.  Netflix was in the business of mailing DVDs to their customers.  The company saw the growth in high-speed internet and developed its streaming service. Now, DVDs are gone.

More recently, online meeting provider Zoom grew immensely as a result of the lockdown … and then had to deal with significant disruption when security flaws were discovered.  As a result, many companies and organizations stopped using Zoom.  The company reacted quickly, releasing versions of their software that addressed vulnerabilities and going so far as to acquire security company Keybase to help with their security and privacy efforts.  Now the New York City Department of Education and other organizations have lifted their bans on Zoom use.

So how can you ensure your company doesn’t get crushed by disruption? We recommend conducting a brand innovation process, which includes the following:

• A review of how the competitive landscape has changed as a result of the pandemic-induced crisis.
• Research with customers and prospects to understand how they feel and what they are doing right now – after almost three year since the country went into lockdown.

Conduct a Disruption Workshop with your key stakeholders.  Looking at each of the ‘4 Ps of Marketing’ – Product, Price, Place, and Promotion – what has changed in the current environment?  How should the brand evolve to address those changes?  A SWOT exercise leads to brainstorming. What could be done better or differently when it comes to each of the 4 Ps?  What are ways to leverage the company’s strengths and opportunities (including new opportunities) in order to overcome the weaknesses and threats?

Companies are starting to recover but many will never be the same – and that may not be so bad. After all, Disruption can be a beneficial or detrimental. You never know how you can make things better until forced to – after the world is turned on their head.

Some content courtesy of Jay Zaltzman, President of Bureau West