The world in which we operate is no longer predictable – whether this is due to political, economical, social or disruptive technology. The events of the last seven days provide further evidence as businesses try to cope with ever changing consumer behaviour. So let’s explore some of these in turn…
1. WPP – the largest marketing agency saw its share price drop by 11.2 % this week as it admitted that its clients were looking to deal directly with social media platforms such as Google and Facebook rather intermediate through WPP. The traditional model of advertising and using agencies such as WPP can begin to be confined to the ‘bin’. ‘The digital disruption is a fundamental one. If you are a manufacturer and you have to reach people directly through for example, Alibaba then this is going to change things’ admitted WPP CEO Sir Martin Sorrell. The customer is calling the shots….
2. Dixons Carphone also saw its share price fall by 30 % as it conceded that customers are no longer upgrading their phones as they used to. Customers no longer ‘accept incremental innovation’… their expectations are much higher…Businesses that rely on incremental innovation can expect a luke response from customers and cannot demand excessive increases in price.
3. Spotify ( Music tech giant ) has agreed terms with Warners Music which means that they are now close to an IPO ( Public offering ) – I can still remember that days we used to buy CD’s – the music industry is still the prime example of an industry that was not able to cope with technological disruption.
4. Finally, The Mayweather and McGregor fight was another example of further disruption…
Mayweather and McGregor could see that boxing was witnessing its premier position as the ultimate combat sport strongly challenged by MMA ( Mixed Martial Arts ) as figures show that the latter as a sport has now greater appeal. Mayweather saw the potential of an enlargened marketplace – appealing to both fans of both boxing and MMA ( similar to the music industry who have been selling tracks featuring multiple artists ).. Traditional fights were financed by tickets sold but now different channels are now being used to maximise ‘monetisation’. Pay per view now outstrips all other forms of monetisation generating a $600 million in revenues for this fight. And of course with all of these tools at his disposal, Mayweather was able to take full control of all aspects of promotion and marketing rather than needing agents and other intermediaries. With access through various mobile devices, consumers can now access live entertainment from anywhere on the globe.
Entertainment businesses now have to understand the full spectrum of offering their products through all channels and not think purely of ticketed physical attendances.
With disruption at its core, the customer now calls on the shots…and can render your business obsolete by the mere pressing of a keypad/keyboard.
See you at the Nachural Entrepreneurship Awards 24th November 2017 at King Power Stadium