What Exactly is Disruptive Marketing?

While innovative, disruptive marketing is also strategic. It goes against the status quo of traditional marketing tactics and reaches your target audience in new and creative ways. Disruptive marketing resonates with your current customers and unlocks new audiences.

FYI, this marketing strategy is only for risk-takers. However, it’s a great opportunity to grow your brand rather quickly. 

It is not just about being unique to get attention, disruptive marketing should be paired with data and strategy–just like any other marketing technique. 

Disruptive marketing, to put it simply, is the process of using new and original marketing strategies to reach your target consumers in a way that your competitors are not.

This type of marketing allows for a lot of creativity and like all marketing strategies, can continually be refined by the data you collect from your efforts. This data is important because disruptive marketing involves experimenting and some tactics will work while others won’t.

Disruptive marketing pushes boundaries and creates new norms. Strategies we have in our marketing toolboxes were once disruptive. Take influencer marketing for example, it once was a foreign way to get authentic brand recommendations and now it’s a strategy that many brands implement.

If you want to be a disruptor, you can’t be afraid to fail. However, this type of marketing has the chance of going viral. Are you a risk-taker like me?

Why Should My Marketing Be Disruptive?

The modern-day consumer is quite intelligent. They know when they’re being “marketed” at and are sick of the traditional norms of advertising.

Disruptive marketing involves you doing something unique to allow you to stand out in an over-saturated industry.

Consumers value innovation. In fact, they expect it. There is a sea of repetitive marketing trends out there and your target audience craves something different.

This type of marketing makes your products or services stay top-of-mind by being unique and memorable. 

The Top 10 Disruptive Marketing Tips

Have I convinced you to be a disruptor yet? If so, I’ve streamlined the top 10 tips that I use in my own disruptive marketing efforts. Write them out on a sticky note and post them on your monitor so that you can always remind yourself how to be disruptive.

• Stay up to date with social media trends and success stories
• A/B test different strategies
• Capture data and implement the insight you glean from it
• Consult your buyer personas to ensure you’re reaching your target audience
• Challenge current marketing assumptions and do the opposite
• Speak to consumer pain points
• Embrace technology
• Follow disruptive thought leaders for inspiration
• Be unusual but not bizarre 
• Implement storytelling best practices

Examples of Disruptive Marketing

Uber appalled people when they announced that they came out with an app in which people essentially get into a stranger’s car. Today, there are competing apps, and “ubering” is part of our English language.

Bitcoin is the world’s largest bank but has no actual cash. That didn’t stop them. They kept promoting their values and honed in on target consumers who don’t trust traditional banks and now look at how far they’ve come. 

Dollar Shave Club came out with its first commercial in 2011 and flipped the entire razor industry on its head. They studied what consumers were REALLY looking for, addressed those pain points in a brand new way and the rest is history.

REI took a risk and set itself apart from other brands vying for consumers to spend money on Black Friday. In 2015, they started  #OptOutside and actually discouraged consumers from shopping at their store on the biggest consumer spending day of the year. Many consumers actually respected this stance and it clearly didn’t hurt business because REI still encourages consumers to opt outside on Black Friday. 

In 2015, HBO released its HBO Go app. Instead of pushing typical pain points like watching HBO from anywhere, they released a commercial of a family watching awkward HBO shows together. They then showed how the family went to different rooms in the house to avoid awkward viewing. They thought outside the box and it worked.

Air Wick implemented disruptive marketing with their Scent Decorator quiz. They invite consumers to take a quiz to find the perfect scents for their homes. Typically, people want to actually smell something before purchasing but Air Wick found a way around that and they did it successfully. 

A Balance Between Traditional and Disruptive

Disruptive marketing creates quick impact and brand awareness. However, this strategy doesn’t mean you throw traditional marketing out the door.

There is a balance between holding onto traditional marketing that works and using your tried and true strategies to power your disruptive efforts.

Just like in traditional marketing, when implementing disruptive marketing, look at things like the consumer’s journey, pain points, value propositions, etc. when allocating your time and budget for 2023.

Final Thoughts: How to Be Disruptive With Your Content

So much of modern-day marketing is content-driven. Naturally, some of your disruptive marketing efforts will be rooted in content. After all, 91% of brands use content marketing and it brings in 6 times as many leads as traditional marketing at 62% of the cost.

A great place to start with disruptive marketing is through your content. 

UGC is popular and effective. Consider challenging your audience to post content about your brand with a theme that gets people’s attention. You can then promote your UGC using marketing strategies that you already use.

The beauty of content creation is that it allows you to experiment with disruptive marketing. Look at your competitors’ typical blog posts and publish the opposite. Be bold. Be experimental.

Same with the content you put on social media. Do something risky and measure the results against your other social posts.

You don’t have to re-work your entire marketing strategy, you just need to not be afraid to be different and think outside the box.

Have you implemented disruptive marketing strategies for your brand? I’d love to read all about your efforts and results in the comments below!

Ready to revolutionize your brand's marketing strategy with a twist of innovation and a dash of creativity? Look no further than Marketing.Biz, your one-stop solution for disruptive marketing that promises to not just meet, but exceed your expectations. Imagine having an entire marketing department at your fingertips, powered by the latest AI technology, all for less than the cost of your daily lunch. Sounds too good to be true? We thought so too, until we made it a reality.

With Marketing.Biz, you get access to unlimited marketing services including SEO, social media management, website design, paid advertising, organic content creation, branding, and email nurturing. Tailored specifically for SMBs, we bring Fortune 500 marketing tactics to your business without the hefty price tag. Our data-driven approach has already propelled over 300 businesses into the spotlight, generating countless leads and building robust, lifelong audiences.

Don't let your brand blend into the background. Let Marketing.Biz craft a unique, AI-driven marketing strategy that sets you apart from the competition. We're not just about creating noise; we're about creating a buzz that resonates with your target audience. Whether you're looking to overhaul your existing marketing department or start from scratch, we've got you covered. Dive into the world of Marketing.Biz and watch your business grow beyond boundaries.

‍