A proactive approach to reconsider and alter a brand’s goals, staying true to the consumer’s changing demands, is the beck and call of these perilous times. It all essentially boils down to how often the target audience shifts their preferences and how long does each of these shifts last. 

A common notion that runs around is, “Nothing lasts forever.” While no one really considered the pillars of marketing while coining this phrase, it does apply to the field without a doubt. Individual traits and environmental changes might seem excessively prominent to begin with, but more often than not, they are fickle and temporary as well. 

And that is precisely where the troubles of a professional lie. No matter how prudent, a marketing function struggles to keep up with the customer needs that shall define a product cycle. Although the original thought is always to meet the business targets, the system to approach it can leave the company haywire. 

Failing to meet the consumer demands may lead to an upturned market share, diminishing returns and undue friction from a formally loyal clientele. The only road out of it is by keeping a close eye on the constant overhauls and making a calculated guess on their gestation period. Organisations at the crux of the sphere optimise their messaging and planning using adaptive marketing techniques that differentiate between the momentary and the permanent. 

How a disruptive strategy works is by leaving behind preset notions of your ideal buyer persona and seizing the opportunity to create fast-tracked experiences that lead to brand loyalty. It entails altering the company’s capabilities and reach to develop objectives that react to the changing circumstances. The end-goal is to create ongoing communication through a series of short responses for long-term brand recall. 

A simple way to achieve an adaptive stance is by shuffling the company’s listening channels in a manner that they address the consumer at every touchpoint. 

Continuous Re-Segmentation

Consumer tastes and understanding of brand messaging is changing by the day. What is considered empathetic today can just as quickly come off as insensitive too. Therefore, it is imperative to evaluate the new propensities of your audience and incorporate their moves in the planning process. You can look for further opportunities that place your brand in the spotlight be addressing the reformed challenges your customer base may have. 

Create Decision Trees

At the planning stage, organisations usually set up a straight path from the inception to the objective. But, disruptive marketing is never a straight line. Instead of creating the best and worst-case scenarios, opt for a multi-branch approach that lays the foundation for a reactive environment, giving the brand a proactive reputation. Furthermore, conduct an in-depth analysis of consumer demands today and form an expectation map under different outcomes. 

To put it in a box, the company’s messaging should remain relevant to the rapidly changing needs, wants, challenges and experiences of the modern consumer. The key is to accumulate as much information as possible from all the entry points such as consumer’s voice, buying patterns, existing client knowledge, interviews and detailed assessments. 

Once cumulated, the next step is to either elevate the current strategy to meet the updated conditions or create a temporary plan to focus on diversifying the lasting behaviours effectively. Either way, there is an undue risk that can be mitigated by prioritising the issues that affect your target audience the most.

The process is completed by – 

• Re-segmenting the customers based on their new behaviours, 
• Repositioning the brand to adjust the messaging
• Reassessing the environment for the maturation period

It works as an endless cycle in disruptive scenarios. With each shift, further information is gathered, and newer hypotheses are put in place for timely alignments. 

Ending Notes

As CMOs react to the onset, plateau and offset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the communication and strategical movement of the marketing landscape shall look for what’s new on the horizon. 

Disruptive marketing is all about shaking things up to carve a fresh perspective of your brand’s offerings and market position. It goes from pushing the envelope to outright tearing it up, with the goal of meeting your consumers where they are. 

The approachable, affordable and imitable approach benefits the users and the creators in a similar manner. By establishing a common touchpoint at every curve, companies can set new lines of expectations written in the sand rather than stone.

Positive reinforcements shall as always play an encouraging role in defining a team’s adaptability quotient, further leading to efforts towards retention and scalability. Nevertheless, the environment’s potential shall be brought in question to identify the factors that drive an organisation’s response.