Digital Darwinism — Why Do Brands Die!

What is digital Darwinism? How it affects the brand?

Digital Darwinism is the evolution of consumer behavior when society and technology evolve faster than the company's ability to adapt.

We all are aware of the increasing speed at which technology is evolving and expanding into new areas of our lives. Everything is transforming from the automation of transport mode to the way big data is changing our consumption patterns.

Social media has taken over the Internet. These are the devices that are disrupting markets. One of the effects of this is that companies are falling away as fewer natives are making their way into the market in larger numbers.

Being online has never been more practical, with technology impacting our every analog decision technology advancement combined with evolution in our behaviors is affecting business, government, education, and well just everything. The world we knew is getting farther and farther apart. We always talk about the future, what will happen in the future but the future is already here and for some, disruption has followed closely behind.

We are left with opportunities and challenges.

Today markets and consumer behavior are all directly impacted by technology. Customer behavior is changing, causing tremendous shifts in our markets. We can still benefit from understanding not only what is happening but also why. We have to understand the way we approached the market was only good enough for yesterday, today is a bit different and tomorrow will require a new perspective and a new approach because the future is here!

Adapt or die survival of the fittest

Natural selection means that only some businesses will survive! All the technology is becoming more and more approachable by anyone with an idea to do something different or better. Innovation is the consistency of a successful business. Products are disrupted, leadership and management systems are disrupted, and business models are disrupted. Everything can change, everything is changing!

Previously, many leaders have two options either react or be disrupted. Now rather than reacting to the change or be disrupted, some companies are recognizing the need for change, and the vision to create a path towards renewed relevance among the new generation of consumers is what stops a brand to fall into digital Darwinism.

Adapt to the disconnected environment and join the evolved digital system or become extinct. Disrupt or die- This is the new phenomenon.

You need- perspective, empathy, and courage to push forward when everyone around you is seemingly pushing back to survive digital Darwinism and Excel in digital transformation. Still, there is a general lack of urgency and understanding preventing acceptance that digital Darwinism is real. Businesses are the risk of forever reacting to market changes until they can no longer do so. It can lead to an inevitable extension. Another problem is how companies see the role of technology within the organization. Historically businesses value technology to improve efficiency optimizes scale to increase productivity. At the same time- technology investments have unintentionally created distance between businesses and the people they are meant to serve. For instance, when we think about customer relationship management, we could argue that most organization put their effort into quantifiable results like sales productivity and not to enter the relationship itself. Technology is all about sales and automation and in some cases forcing customers into non-human challenges to minimize costly engagement, the ability to become customer-centric is impossible at best. People are forgetting their values; businesses still see customers as strangers. Technology is the key to scale personalization and engagement, after all, we use technology as consumers to offer a distinct clue into who we are and what we value.

Everything begins with embracing a culture of innovation and adaptation - a culture that recognizes the impact of disruptive technology and how consumer preference and affinity are evolving.

Smartphones, tablets, e-commerce or augmented reality are some of the basic game-changers that businesses must either embrace or deeply study for the best possible results. You cannot just sit and ignore things. If organizations cannot organize opportunities to further compete for attention and relevance, they will fall behind.

The brand, as a result, will lose preference in the face of consumer choice, which may lead to its succumbing to digital Darwinism. Jobs put it best:

"This is a very noisy world; so, we have to be very clear about what we want them to know about us."