Today’s changing market conditions are shaking up how companies do business. These external market forces are sparking digital disruption. But what does digital disruption mean?
We’re sharing what it is, how it impacts consumers and buyers, and how it affects a company’s bottom line. We’ll also showcase a few examples to help shine a light on how digital disruption gives businesses the opportunity to rethink how they interact with customers. This topic is crucial for leaders to consider as they start to map out their 2023 business and marketing strategy.
What is digital disruption?
We’ve talked about digital transformation – that organizational change that happens when businesses use a digital-first, data-driven approach to better understand customer expectations, optimize the customer experience, and implement the technology, people, and processes needed to make that happen. Digital transformation refers to the continual process of a company’s evolution.
Digital disruption, while related, is different. It describes the external forces that are driving the need to transform. These changes often go further than an emerging trend and point to fundamental shifts, such as those related to new business models, new technology, and evolving customer needs and behaviors.
Cutting-edge companies can also serve as digital disruptors themselves. They do this by revolutionizing their industry’s typical business model, creating new technology or using it in a new way, or causing or responding to a shift in customer behavior with a new approach. They’re the ones who embrace digital innovation.
How does digital disruption impact business?
Why is digital disruption important? It can have an immense impact, not only on individual businesses but also on larger industries or even society as a whole. In order to stay relevant and be positioned for future success, businesses have to recognize and respond to digital disruption.
Digital disruption drives innovation and shakes up the status quo. It requires companies to evolve and transform. It cannot be ignored.
In the face of digital disruption, business leaders have to reevaluate marketing strategies, technology, talent and skill sets, internal processes, and customer experiences to ensure they have what they need — or that they can evolve to get there. To put it simply, they have to be bold in their digital transformation.
It’s challenging to know what changes to make, where to invest, as well as when and how to take those steps. In an age of continual evolution, companies need to remain agile and anticipate the possibilities along the way. Your future growth — and your bottom line — depends on it.
Our Digital Disruption 101 video series walks through the process of addressing digital disruption and embracing digital transformation.
What Are Some Examples Of Digital Disruption?
So what does digital disruption look like? On a broader level, think online shopping, artificial intelligence, social media, smartphones, influencer marketing, on-demand video. Digital disruption includes all of those new technologies, customer habits, and business models that have transformed how we shop, make purchases, and consume content.
To view digital disruption from a business perspective, we’ll take a closer look at three case study examples. These examples showcase not only the digital disruption impact, but also how businesses have responded to those changing external forces and transformed accordingly.
Brunswick: Create a solid foundation
As a first step in digital transformation across their boat brand sites, Brunswick, a market leader in the marine industry, looked to improve web analytics and connect disparate marketing data systems. Once we developed and gained alignment on the strategy, Avionos implemented technology systems to provide consistent data, reporting and testing capabilities, setting a foundation for closed-loop reporting and personalization. Brunswick saw a significant increase in marketing qualified leads and now has an enterprise multi-brand SEO and measurement strategy.
Merz Aesthetics: Expand with modern digital capabilities
After the success of their patient portal launch, Merz Aesthetics, which sells pharmaceuticals and medical devices to health care professionals (HCPs), wanted to implement a unified global rollout solution, as well as modernize capabilities. With Avionos leading the analysis, architecture, design and implementation of the rollout, Merz buyers are now able to complete online transactions in multiple global regions. Their portal provides HCPs with commerce capabilities to drive revenue and gives customers access to account information, the latest offerings, and educational and technical collateral.
CSA Group: Upgrade the customer experience
One of the largest standards development organizations in North America, CSA Group embraced digital transformation to rethink the customer experience: how its customers find, purchase, and consume the standards content that they rely on. Avionos served as an expert implementation provider, helping CSA standardize its technology solutions to create a simple digital experience for their customers that combined multiple purchase options into one seamless site. The results? Improved search results and a streamlined checkout process led to a 33% increase in conversions, 50% growth in online revenue, and a 49% decrease in bounce rate.
These digital disruption examples serve as proof that when external changes are at play — and disrupting the status quo – it doesn’t have to be viewed negatively. By responding effectively, a business can thrive. Think of digital disruption as an opportunity for transformation, one that provides value to your customer and drives your business forward into the future.
Are you prepared for digital disruption? Contact an Avionos digital transformation team member or download our “Continuous Evolution: The New Normal” white paper.
