To Be or Not to Be like a Big Tech Co.
A blueprint for winning in your industry and defending against competitive, disruptive threats
“Our experience should be the ‘Big Tech Co.’ experience of insurance.”
“I want to be the ‘Big Tech Co.’ of food and beverage.”
“We measure ourselves against ‘Big Tech Co.’”
I hear it all the time. Colleagues and clients alike hold “Big Tech Co.” (BTC) up as the king of business — the model to aspire to and compare your performance against.
And really, I can’t blame them. BTC’s got the buzz. Renowned. Bursting with cash. Graduating engineers flock to their ranks. Their interviews are tough as nails. BTC may be the new kid on the block for one industry, but it may have already stolen another entire block’s lunch. Before you know it, BTC becomes the talk of the town, permeating through our lives, from daily website visits to buzzing in our pockets. BTC can balance speed with patience, poised for impactful moves.
The reality is that this BTC could be any of your favorite (or maybe least favorite) tech companies, sharing the same appetite for disruption. BTCs represent a paradigm shift in our competitive business landscape.
BTC as a parity marker
When our customers ask, “How might we make a BTC-like experience?” we dig deeper. What do customers really mean when they ask this question? Do they just want to create a “cool” experience or product? Are they worried that BTC will disrupt them in the very near future? Are their shareholders influenced by the buzz of disruption and BTC’s technological prowess?
Parsing out their answers, we typically land on one of three scenarios:
- “We want to be BTC’s equal.”
- “We want to be better than BTC.”
- “We just wish BTC didn’t exist.”
So, what should our customers do? Unfortunately for most, BTC is not going anywhere anytime soon despite some hopes it will implode on its own.
Becoming the BTC of your industry
What does becoming the BTC of your industry mean? The value you deliver to your customers must be rooted and differentiated in:
These three core tenets are central to competing in today’s market landscape; they are customer experience tenets that need no survey, focus group, or interview to confirm. They are inherently valuable, according to our most basic needs as consumers.
To be the BTC of your industry, you should start by asking yourself:
- Are you faster than everyone else and beating your core market’s expectations?
- Are you meeting the members of your core market where they are at or where they want you to be?
- Can you meet your market in the norm AND at the edge?
Almost every company is trying to give their customers what they want and need faster. Customers don’t have to look far to have their needs met almost instantly at home, on the road, on their phone, or in person. It’s no longer as unique as it once was to help customers form a personalized journey — flexible to the edge cases and the average buyer.
Just becoming faster, more convenient, and more flexible can only take you so far. Moving to parity sustains your position, keeping you up with the times, but these sustaining technologies are surface-level fixes to a more deeply rooted problem.
Designing for your existing consumers and innovating in only incremental ways on top of your existing offerings make you ripe for disruption.
Sure, you can become the BTC of your industry, but BTC could decide your home world is next.
Self-disrupt before you’re disrupted
BTC was born in niche, underrepresented target markets. It grew its base by solving problems in new ways and creating new value propositions.
BTC did not extinguish entire industries by only innovating for its current customer base. It adapted for changes in customer preferences, it created revolutionary experiences for new customer segments, and it broadened and evolved its experiences for its current customers.
BTC followed a repeated framework, time and time again, spinning off teams and organizations within its walls — teams that are allowed to fail and enabled to test and learn what could be possible. On paper, these strategic moves are how you can make an impact and beat BTC at its own game.
Yet, it requires so much more than strategic thinking and planning.
Your organization must be willing to break the barriers and supposed protections of the bottom line. Have an adaptive culture that embraces disruption and building anew. Incentivize experimentation and be willing to fail instead of only investing in what you see as a “sure” success.
BTCs do it time and time again — to themselves and to others.
Practice makes perfect, and each time they disrupt themselves, they get even better at disrupting you.
Slalom is a next-generation professional services company creating value at the intersection of business, technology, and humanity. Learn more and reach out today.
