The Story Behind the Picture: Disrupt Amazon! Before It Disrupts You.

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In more industries than you think, Amazon is the elephant in the room. My experience has taught me that in every single industry, regardless of what you do and what you sell, you are or will soon be faced with a situation in which they will challenge your business model, and shake your belief in the future to the core.

Why not change that before it changes you?

What do you do as this situation comes about? Don’t wait for Amazon to disrupt you – disrupt yourself and disrupt Amazon first!

This particular photo is from an event with several hundred insurance brokers. Might Amazon disrupt the world of insurance? It’s certainly possible -the phrase used for this type of disruption carries the fancy term “disintermediation” – it simply means that that the middleman is cut out of a business relationship.

Let’s coin a new phrase for what is happening — the Amazonification of industries.

The fact is, Amazon (and other companies with the same strategy as Amazon) isn’t just changing the world of retail — its’ changing and challenging virtually every type of business that involves a middleman.

In the last few years I’ve been called into an increasing number of events where this is the new reality going forward — with clients seeking insight on what they should do when their business model is under threat. In quite a few of these events, I’m asked to address the ‘elephant in the room’, which is Amazon.

My key message? Don’t compete — transform!

When Amazonian scale disruption occurs, you can’t hope to complete on price, the sophistication of the online interaction, or the other areas in which Amazon (and similar disruptors) clearly excel. You need a different proposition, different ideas and a different strategy.

In many cases, this will come about through an implicit decision to compete based on the unique value you can bring to the relationship – service, support, person interaction and other factors. In doing so, you specifically choose to not compete based on a race to the bottom and price.

The examples of the challenge are manyfold. I was invited in to speak at the quarterly leadership meeting of a company that is one of the leaders in the medical supplies marketplace. Clearly, a good chunk of their business could be subjected to risk as Amazon gets into their line of business.

How do they survive? Not by trying to offer a better price, but by working to ensure that their sales and professional representatives are working harder top provide greater value ion then service relationship they have with their clients,.

Similarly, I’m speaking to a group fo agricultural dealers who sell products to farmers. The simplistic view is that they buy products from the manufacturer, and then sell them to the farmer, with an obvious markup in price. Amazon could do this (and will) with a more sophisticated online system, and avoid the cost of the markup, thereby offering a lower cost alternative. How to compete? Become an invaluable partner to the farmer in terms of advice, expertise and personal support for new initiatives, products and ideas. Don’t hope to compete on price — because you will watch your business disappear!

It’s evening happening with optometrists — with a recent video clip where I’m on stage talking about what eye-doctors need to do when patients are focused more on price. In that case, focus on service!

The “Amazonification of industries” can get even more complex than that, when Amazon decides to offer a service element too! This is coming about quickly in the home repair industry — buy a door or window on Amazon, and they’ll line you up with a contractor that will do the installation for you. How can you complete if you are an established home contractor with a successful operation? It’s not an easy question, but is a reality that you might need to address!

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THE FUTURE BELONGS TO THOSE WHO ARE FAST features the best of the insight from Jim Carroll’s blog, in which he
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