Budding entrepreneurs tend to source their business strategies from books, online sources, and industry aficionados. For the most part, these practices follow conventional thinking and traditional systems. In a dynamic world dominated by rapid change, the Internet of things, and shifting cultural norms, out-of-the-box thinking is needed. Disruption is often deemed the bête noire of entrenched enterprise; it challenges the status quo and threatens to derail existing operations by providing new ways of managing business activity. Rather than shy away from this new-age paradigm, many entrepreneurs are turning towards disruptive innovation for their success.
The technological age is firmly upon us, what with online companies generating ever-increasing revenues from online customers across multiple demographics. Social media is a powerful tool in an entrepreneur’s resource kit, and it proves infinitely more successful in attracting business than conventional marketing material with flyers, magazine ads, newspaper ads and the like. The Internet presents business management with an ocean of opportunity, as opposed to a small pool of customers in the traditional media. Companies can benefit from embracing the inherent opportunities in online marketing, by transforming retail operations, advertising and marketing, and customer relations in ways never thought possible.
Innovation is often fraught with challenges, yet many of the opportunities that currently exist offer exponential benefits to businesses and their stakeholders. Sustaining innovations often lead to ongoing successes, and entrepreneurs who embrace disruptive ideas, foment a company culture conducive to change and creative thinking. Plus, they are also able to get to market before the competition. The Internet is peppered with literature on why disruptive innovation and nonconventional thinking can lead to sustained success. Credit goes to Clayton M Christensen for coining the phrase, ‘Disruptive Innovation’ back in 1997; a tribute to small organisations who successfully challenged existing enterprise.
Disruptive Enterprise Driving the New Economy
Nowadays, there are many examples of disruptive businesses, business models, and business services which can rightly claim the mantle of disruptor, or disruptive force. These include Netflix which totally smashed all existing models by providing a subscriber-based movie streaming service, Airbnb which is making travel and tourism affordable and available to anyone and by anyone, Uber and Lyft which totally derailed the taxi industry and its exorbitant costs, and companies like Tesla which are mass-producing electric vehicles and green technology, putting the entire automobile industry on notice. There are many more examples of such products and services enjoying the power of the Internet and disruptive technology to fast-track their success.
However, leadership is needed to engender this philosophy, and one name stands head and shoulders above the competition in this highly competitive milieu: Russell Ruffino. As a former bartender turned entrepreneur, nobody understands the power of leveraging assets better than him. Ruffino defies convention in everything that he does. Rather than focusing on the mass-market and capturing a small slice of a big pool of clientele, he goes after the big fish and focuses exclusively on catering to their every need. This is but one of the many marketing strategies employed by his company, Clients on Demand – an Inc 500 top-tier enterprise.
Embracing New Systems to Drive up Profitability
The 3 tenets espoused by Ruffino include:
- Attract
- Convert
- Deliver.
These functions are essential to any business, since businesses need a steady stream of paying clientele to remain profitable. New leads are essential for any business, regardless. The sales funnel details the process of driving interest which ultimately results in leads being converted into clients and perhaps even loyal customers. However, many businesses today are using outdated service delivery tools, such as in-person meetings, or limited operational hours. This restricts a business’s ability to convert leads into clients, and to drive huge numbers.
Business growth can be facilitated through eschewing convention and adopting a novel approach to marketing a.k.a. online advertising. By connecting with potential clients on their home turf through social media, Ruffino and his business model have successfully transformed into a multi-million dollar a year enterprise, and they’re doing this for scores of businesses around the world. A new approach brings myriad new opportunities for growth and development and the Internet of things is driving this change.