Every time I speak to a roomful of marketers these days, the conversation always seems to make its way to a phenomenon I like to call “digital disruption.”
No, I’m not talking about the “digital disruption” that happens when your computer crashes while you’re working on an important project! When I use the term digital disruption, I’m talking about the way new technology and ideas are shaking up the status quo and transforming business-as-usual at your workplace . . . and in the global economy, overall.
30 years ago, email was a digital disruptor, sending communications in an entirely new direction. There are plenty of other examples, but the difference now is that digital disruptors are more pervasive and evolving faster than ever before. As Shelly Palmer, author of Digital Wisdom: Thought Leadership for a Connected World, told me a few months ago:
“It took 30 years to connect the first two billion people to the internet, it will take about eight years to connect the next two billion - that is how I define ‘digital disruption.’”
And digital disruption isn’t limited to the internet. It’s impacting virtually every aspect of business, including marketing, logistics, risk management, finance . . . and even manufacturing. Case in point: Let’s take a look at 3-D printing.
These days, printers aren’t confined to only two dimensions, and some say printing hasn’t been revolutionized like this since Gutenberg invented the printing press in the mid-1400s. Today, 3-D printers take two-dimensional designs and turn them into 3-D reality, creating everything from customized eyewear to human organs(!) to pizza for the international space station.
Here’s a 3-D printer in action. It’s a good example of how a 3D-printer works.
How will 3-D printers change the way marketers do their jobs? Here are a few key points you need to consider. 3D printers have the potential to:
- Radically transform the way goods are manufactured. Mass production used to be the most efficient way to get goods to the consumer, but 3-D printing is changing that paradigm. As it becomes easier and easier to produce smaller batches of highly personalized, unique products in a variety of categories, companies will be expected to adapt much more quickly to consumer demand – and that means agile marketing is going to become increasingly essential.
- Put production power in the hands of the consumer. Most are still pricey, but 3-D printers aren’t completely out of reach for the average consumer, and developers are working to make them even more accessible. If consumers no longer need to rely solely on companies to produce certain goods, marketers will need to re-think how to position their products and brands in the global marketplace.
- Make customer touch points tangible. Successful marketers focus on creating strong relationships between brands and customers. Tangible rewards can be a big part of that relationship, strengthening the connection to the brand and giving the customer something to talk about and share with friends. 3-D printing makes it easier to give those rewards whether they are printed by the consumers themselves or are part of a larger marketing campaign. (Great example from Coca-Cola here.)
As you can see, there are plenty of reasons for marketers to stay tuned in to what’s happening with 3-D printing. Let’s not forget the cautionary tale of digital disruption caused by video-on-demand. Video rental companies that were unwilling to see video-on-demand as serious competition failed to adapt to a changing marketplace –even though they were losing customers in droves. By the time these traditional video rental companies tried to catch up, it was too late, and their demise was rapid and complete.
3-D printing will drastically alter the manufacturing process and is already changing consumer ideas about production. It’s never too early to think about how marketers can adapt their practices and position their companies as this digital disruption unfolds. It won’t be long before it’s too late.
