‘Disruptor’ is often used in a bad connotation, usually meaning to cause a disturbance or problem. But in the business world, it has a much better reputation. Disruptors produce innovations that ultimately create a new market or push existing leaders out of their stronghold. They do this by creating a product, service, or process that circumvents the setbacks of current trends. 

The list of disruptor companies for 2020 feature businesses that are projected to come out of the COVID-19 pandemic strong. With dominating tech platforms, they are reinventing online services in health, finance, education, agriculture, and commerce with the foresight of a business giant.

Stripe

Stripe is an e-payment software company founded by brothers Patrick and John Collison. It was launched in 2010 with the vision to ease the process of online payment for businesses of any size. Their goal is to break the barriers to online commerce, thus enabling companies to scale up and reach the global market.

The payment platform is complemented by powerful apps to help manage revenue and ensure security. Aside from payments and billing, their products include software for fraud and risk management, as well as startup incorporation.

Stripe’s main income stream comes from its 2.9% swipe fee, plus 30 cents for every processed transaction. With huge clients like Amazon, Google, and Spotify, the company is now worth $36 billion.

Coupang

Coupang is a South Korean-based business led by Bom Kim. In 2010, Kim dropped out of his MBA program at Harvard to get the e-commerce business off the ground. Observing the long and busy work days of citizens, he sought to provide an on-demand delivery service to reach even the most densely populated cities. 

Coupang currently has over 5,000 drivers who deliver more than 99% of shipments in less than 24 hours. It also introduced Dawn Delivery, allowing patrons to receive items by 7 am the next morning if the order is placed before midnight. 

The company surpassed Amazon as the largest online retailer in South Korea and ranks third as the world’s largest e-commerce market. Eyeing to expand further, Coupang is set to appear on public listing in 2021. Its current valuation is at $9 billion. 

Indigo Agriculture

Indigo Agriculture is an agricultural technology start-up founded by David Berry, Geoffrey von Maltzahn, and Noubar Afeyan. Its mission is to leverage natural microbiology and technology in improving grower profitability, environmental sustainability, and consumer health. 

It all began with the hypothesis that certain microbes are actually essential to plants’ health. Their seed treatments improve yield, milling quality, and resilience to environmental stressors. The company also connects growers to consumers online through Indigo Marketplace. 

Despite the pandemic, Indigo Agriculture continues to grow. In May, the company joined an alliance to provide real-time agricultural data in an effort to promote food security across the globe. Six years after its launch, the company is now worth $3.5 billion.

Coursera

Coursera was launched in 2012 by Andrew Ng and Daphne Koller. The online learning platform offers over 3,000 courses you can take at a fraction of a cost. Traditionally, you’d have to spend at least $80,000 for a master’s degree. At Coursera, you can earn the same title for only $15,000 to $25,000. 

The company has partnerships with top universities and instructors to ensure the quality of their courses. They have lectures on business, computer science, data science, language, and many more. There are also free courses available on the site. 

Coursera is all about accessibility and flexible learning. Amid the pandemic, the company rolled out its Workforce Recovery Initiative. This project gives unemployed workers access to 3,800 job-relevant courses without charge. Today, the company is worth $1.6 billion.

Klarna

Klarna was founded by Sebastian Siemiatkowski, Niklas Adalberth, and Victor Jacobsson in 2005. The company essentially functions as a financial middleman between a retailer and a customer to give buyers better payment alternatives. 

Klarna works by paying the store immediately after purchase while giving the buyer an option to make four installments without interest. A customer can also choose to pay over 30 days interest-free or over 36 months with interest. An added perk is allowing buyers to try items first before completing their transaction. By reporting returns using the Klarna app, one would only have to pay for pieces worth keeping.

Backed by H&M and American rapper Snoop Dogg, the company is valuated to be worth $5.5 billion.

It’s easy to think that the success of disruptor companies happens overnight, but even the most innovative ideas take time to gain public traction. Products or services are first released to the lower end of the market and slowly work their way up to more profitable sections. As such, disruptive companies are defined not just by their innovations, but also their evolution within the market arena over time.

To be a disruptor, you need to think outside the box but also have the patience to see things finally fall into place.

Maybe you’re a team that works with an overseas partner, maybe you’re a team made up of several different people all of which are overseas, or maybe you just happen to find yourself stuck at home during a global pandemic with no feasible way of traveling from your home to your workplace and back.

Regardless of where you find yourself and your teammates technology is right at your fingertips ready to offer easy ways for you to work together and manage projects with ease and convenience. But no tool is perfect, they have their strengths and weaknesses so it really boils down to what you and your team are more comfortable using.

Jira

Jira is a great tool for managing multiple projects and tasks. This tool allows you to track and easily manage hundreds and even thousands of projects throughout a company’s life span.

Jira even allows you to collaborate with foreign partners with incredible ease as well as being able to see and respond to different projects and tickets allowing the user to go through a project’s expansive backlog including comments and posts from different workers so long as they have access to your team’s specific Jira page/account.

But that’s not all, you can unlock more of its features with the Premium model allowing you access to advanced roadmaps, unlimited storage, and 24/7 support. However it falls flat when it comes to its flexibility due to it being primarily used to keep track of software projects and development. But hey more power to you if you want to use it for something other than software development.

Pricing

• Free – No trial period.
• Standard – $7 a month per user.
• Premium – $14 a month per user.

Basecamp

One of the more popular tools for managers and freelancers to use and with good reason. Basecamp offers a wide variety of features that becomes an all in one tool for you and your team to use.

Basecamp lets you send messages, have real-time chats, set up schedules and to do lists, store and save files, and organize an unlimited amount of projects.

However most of these features are locked behind a significant paywall but on the bright side Basecamp guarantees that it will be the only remote tool you and your team needs to keep yourselves organized and productive. 

Pricing

• Free – 30 Day Trial.
• Standard – $99 per month.

Dashlane

As a team operating remotely, security can be a big risk especially with Freelancers who would know your team, or even the company’s, passwords and this is where Dashlane comes in. Dashlane is a password manager here to keep your accounts and passwords secure. With this tool you are able to save passwords and logins on the fly, access them from anywhere, and sync your data anywhere.

Dashlane is built to keep your privacy and makes sure to alert you and your team whenever there’s a breach in your system. But the most important part of this tool is the password management, with this you can give your passwords to team members and Freelancers alike without compromising your online security. 

Pricing

• Free – No Trial Period. 
• Premium – $3.33 a month (billed annually).

Officevibe

Is your team big on being low maintenance? Do they thrive with minimal supervision? Officevibe offers you and your team to connect better to develop trust, understanding, and a drive for better performance.

Officevibe is a digital space that lets your team take surveys and reports anonymously, allows you to build relationships with your team with one-on-one meetings, and gives you and your team the ability to send messages and feedback anonymously.

It even gives you suggested talking points when speaking in one-on-one meetings.  All of which is offered for free, the only difference between the Free and Premium model is that the paid version allows you to view an unlimited amount of history from your chat logs.

Pricing

• Free – No Trial Period.
• Premium – $4 per user a month 

Trello

If you ever feel the need to organize more Trello is another great tool for the job. Trello offers you a collaborative tool that lets you set up boards of projects, assigned tasks, deadlines, and time tables letting you prioritize and organize in a fun and easy way. With fun templates to brighten up the mood and a flexible interface that lets you drag and drop items on the fly. They even allow you to go into as much detail as you can with these notes.

You can even upload files and attachments form anywhere and is synced to all devices allowing you access wherever and whenever you want. For a small team everything you might need is on the free model but of course Trello has models that give you more and more features that are helpful for your workspace such as more templates, higher upload limits, better security features, and more app integrations.

Pricing

• Free – No Trial Period
• Business Class – $9.99 a month.
• Enterprise – $5000 a year for every 20 users.

Dropbox

Dropbox is simple to use and easy to access, with just 1 sign up you have access to a large storage space to back up your files, keep track of different logs, and manage projects globally. This tool allows you to quickly share, comment, and even edit files remotely with ease.

Also you don’t have to worry if someone in your team is unable to access a file due to not having the program for it because Dropbox allows you to view files without installing any extra software. Dropbox also notifies you whenever changes to a file or document has been made, so if you’re worried about that Dropbox has you covered.

Not to mention that you can even access files offline which is helpful for times when you’re having a little trouble with the internet. However like most of these tools, it’s very limited with its free version; allowing you access to 3 out of 7 features but the price isn’t too bad.  

Pricing

• Basic – Free
• Plus – $9.99 per month.
• Professional – $16.58 per month.

Zoom

Possibly the biggest cloud-based video conferencing service on the market that can host up to a thousand people at a time. Zoom can also be used from any device you have available making it one of the best tools for people who work remotely to communicate. Zoom offers high quality sound and video, screen or desktop sharing, and even plug-ins that you can use on your web browser to set up Zoom meetings from the comfort of your home.

Unlike some of the tools on this list, the free version of Zoom doesn’t limit the users too much with the only limiting factor being the 40 minute call duration but if that’s too short of a time for your team to discuss and connect well upgrading to Pro lets you keep the call going for upwards of 24 hours.

Pricing

• Basic – Free
• Pro – $14.99 a month per host.
• Business – $19.99 a month per host (Starting at 10 hosts for $199.9 per month).
• Enterprise – $19.99 a month per host (Starting at 100 hosts for $1,999 per month).

Slack

Need a handy tool for communications? Slack is the right tool for the job. Slack offers multiple channels for different teams to use for messaging, private messaging for one on one meetings, a shared channel for your team to communicate through, and a conference call functionality for team meetings.

Slack is also highly customizable allowing your team to make referential jokes and memes via emotes to keep a lively and cheerful workspace. With over a 1000 integrations Slack is a very flexible tool for Remote professionals. However it only takes the number 2 spot because the free version of Slack is very limited and if you don’t pay you can find yourself unable to access old chat logs and threads from just over a few months ago.

On the flipside, luckily Slack’s price ranges aren’t too high.

Pricing

• Free – No Trial Period.
• Standard – $6.67 per month.
• Plus – $12.50 per month.
• Enterprise Grid – Contact Sales.

Notion

Post it notes are useful, they’re helpful, and it’s hard to miss them but imagine if you never ran out of space for your notes? Notion is kind of like that but digital. Notion allows you to keep track of notes, wikis, projects, tasks, and documents; Notion is an all in one workspace (It’s even on their site).

Notion keeps track of everything you need for a project including but not limited to creating project templates, flexible databases, and the ability to connect to other databases with relations and roll-ups.

However the free version can only sync up to 5 people and maybe that’s already good for you and your team but with only $4-$8 a month you can gain access to an unlimited number of file uploads and guest users and with the $8 a month subscription you can gain access to more advanced features and a collaborative workspace.   

Pricing

• Free – No Trial Period
• Personal Pro – Free Trial then $4 per month after.
• Team – Free Trial then $8 a month per member.
• Enterprise – Free Trial after that contact sales.

Google Apps and Essentials

When you clicked on this list you knew this one would be here and we’re putting all of them in the same spot because if we didn’t then these Google apps would take up the entire list. The best part about Google apps like G Drive, Google docs, Google sheets, Hangouts, etc. is that most of the features you need to help with projects and tasks are available for free and can be quickly accessed with one click.

These tools allow you to organize files, make changes to a group document/sheet/presentation, and has an incredibly high storage space that any employee will find convenient in their day to day work life.  However that is only the tip of the iceberg because they have a paid version with even more features.

Their G Suite Essentials offers bigger storage space, allows business through gmail, and allows conference calls for upwards of 150 to 250 people and only for $4 up to $25 per month. The best part, you really don’t even need to pay to make full use of these tools effectively.

Pricing

• Free – No Trial Period.
• Basic – $4.20 a month per user.
• Business – $12 a month per user.
• Enterprise – $25 a month per user.

Wrike

The onset of the COVID-19 CoronaVirus has caught most people off-guard. It has not only plagued people’s health but also the business sector as a whole. Public and private sectors are struggling to survive as the world finds a cure for the CoronaVirus.  

Global Lockdowns and Limited Movement

Schools and most businesses have closed their doors as part of safety measures, while establishments that provide basic necessities are struggling to meet demands amidst limited resources and manpower. 

It is difficult to describe how every part of the supply chain is scrambling to maintain operations during this crisis. 

Supermarkets have implemented new guidelines such as reduced operating hours, queueing or entering the establishment in batches to reduce crowding, and limiting purchases of basic necessities to only a few pieces per customer. 

Meanwhile, retail stores, services, and most restaurants have closed during the quarantine, with only a few that could offer take-out or delivery services remaining open. Closure of malls are affecting small and medium enterprises the most, but the current situation is also taking its toll on large scale businesses. Airlines and hotels are likewise incurring losses.

Production of ‘luxury’ items, from cars to cameras, have all but ground to a halt, while production of basic goods such as food and sanitation are trying to meet demand while only running on limited capacity. 

Global imports are also at a standstill, leading to further bottlenecks in production even if local manpower was available. 

The quarantine guidelines that differ between cities have made delivering these products to the market difficult as well. The customer-facing side of this supply chain, at least those that are still open, also need to implement social distancing and safety measures on top of other concerns. 

ECommerce in the Time of a Pandemic

To avoid going out of their homes, most households have opted to get their groceries and other necessities delivered to them. From supermarkets who offer this service to eCommerce sites like Amazon, online means of profit seem to have found a foothold during nationwide lockdowns. 

It’s worth noting that this total shift from brick and mortar to online shopping has happened before during the SARS crisis in 2002 and 2003, with Alibaba and JD.com earning significantly from that.

At first glance, we might think that online stores will serve to gain from this situation. But even online retailers are experiencing the supply chain and logistical issues even if they remain ‘open’. 

The reason for this are the much stricter lockdown laws being implemented in different countries. Shipments are getting stuck in ports and ocean shipping contracts are being held up. And this isn’t just on the national level, eCommerce sites themselves have started restricting the items being shipped from their warehouses. Amazon has currently stopped accepting items that are not medical supplies and household staples. 

For now, some online stores are still operating even with limited mobility. However, the sales are expected to also dwindle as people experience restrictions in cash flow. 

Addressing the Consumer Cash Flow Predicament

Utility companies and credit cards have delayed their monthly billings in consideration of their consumers and employees. Some CEOs and executive board members have also cut their paychecks in order to ensure the salary of their workers. 

Some governments are also planning to release a certain amount of money per household to compensate for the money lost because their jobs have closed down either temporarily or permanently. 

But there is an acknowledgement that these may not be enough because no one knows for sure how long lockdowns will last or when there will be a significant flattening of the curve. For now, the combination of public and private sector efforts to make sure everyone has enough money to spend are continuing and evolving.

Business Continuity Plans

Businesses that are able to are now utilizing work-from-home models to maintain workflows. Services such as online banking, video conferencing, and online collaborations are now seeing heavy use, with Skype reporting an increase of 220% in Skype-to-Skype calls. 

Zoom has also become one of the most downloaded apps as it is used for video conferencing. This increases the demand for stronger and wider internet connection. 

This shift to remote working isn’t just isolated in commerce, but medical practitioners are also exploring the possibility of remote diagnosis.

Telecommunication companies are now being challenged to provide more reliable internet services as more people are depending on it. 

Mitigating the Economic Effects

Even with the exchange of essential goods and services still going on, the general condition of the economy is already dire. 

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) declared that the world is in a global recession due to the virus, but they also said they’ll do everything they can so that the world can bounce back by 2021.

After the meeting of the Financial Committee, representing 189 countries, the IMF Managing Director said, “…there may be a sizeable rebound, but only if we succeed with containing the virus everywhere and prevent liquidity problems from becoming a solvency issue.”

Amidst all of this, the IMF has asked countries who are in need of help to apply sooner rather than later as the organization finds a way to double its financial capacity to provide the assistance members need to alleviate the crisis.

With lockdown extensions happening to contain the virus, businesses have started coming up with contingency plans to avoid laying off employees and to shift seamlessly to remote operations. We’ll have more to summarize as events unfold, but while it looks dim, the efforts being made to alleviate the effects of the crisis already makes a huge difference.

It takes a whole team of experts to get the biggest return on investment on your marketing efforts. Marketing requires a certain level of focus, experience, and even aggression in order to be successful and sustainable, which can be difficult to achieve when you’re also busy with the other core aspects of your business. 

For these reasons, many startup and even well-established companies opt to get help from a reputable marketing service provider. Below are some of the main reasons why you should do the same:

Access to seasoned professionals

Building a productive team of in-house marketers is no easy task. First, you’ll have a very small pool to choose from if you’re trying to find applicants that are highly-qualified, a good cultural fit, and live within a reasonable distance from the office. 

It’s also unlikely that you’ll find them all at the same time, which means you’ll need to conduct induction and training multiple times before they’re able to work efficiently as a team. It’s a slow build-up, which means you’ll be wasting both time and money in the process.

On the other hand, outsourcing enables you to immediately tap into the skills of multiple experts who already have a good sense of teamwork. An external digital marketing company will give you access to seasoned professionals like digital marketing managers, content writers, graphic designers, social media managers, data analysts, web developers, and more, all of whom are ready to apply their expertise when needed.

Induction won’t take as much time either. A good digital marketing company will already conduct an initial research and assessment of your company and current marketing efforts. Afterwards, you’ll discuss the budget, scope of work, and targets before letting them work their magic.

Don’t worry about losing any sort of control either. Frequent touchpoint meetings give you the opportunity to approve or reject any strategic and tactical approaches they recommend. They will also provide full transparency of all metrics so you always know what’s going on.

Getting a fresh perspective

There’s no doubt that as a business owner, you know your products or services better than anyone else. While this is generally a good thing, it’s also likely that you have a very biased perspective. Gaining insight on your company not just from customer feedback but also from outsourced marketing experts will help you understand the best way to approach your marketing. They are trained to explore all opportunities; whether it’s tweaking branding, targeting, improving your website’s UX, an outsourced digital marketing team will cover all bases in order to meet your goals.

Access to tried and tested tools

Where do you even begin to decide what tools to use? Digital marketing companies are always up to date with new developments and technology in the industry, and also already have subscriptions to tools that are proven to be useful in getting results. You won’t need to waste time and money with trial and error!

Reduced risk and cost

Outsourcing is the most cost-effective way to drive the results you want with minimal effort on your part. Having a digital marketing team outside of your company enables you to take a step back and let experts stay on top of making your marketing efforts successful. There’s also no need to worry about going the extra mile to keep the team motivated to perform well. An outsourcing company is already highly driven to perform well sans incentives in order to keep you as a client.

Additionally, outsourced digital marketing agencies are well aware that you might not need them forever. They lay the groundwork for your marketing efforts until the time you’re able to have an in-house team that can take over and continue on the path they’ve already paved for you, normally after a couple of years. By that time, you’ll have a good idea of what to expect from your in-house staff and have a baseline for what counts as well-performing campaigns.

Your business can run 24/7

Trying to achieve a good work-life is near impossible if there’s always a possibility that something urgent comes up at 1AM in the morning. Running digital marketing campaigns in particular is notorious for needing to be monitored consistently to ensure that you’re not using up your budget for low conversions, or that you’re losing customers because an error has come up on your website.

Having teammates with a different work schedule from you may seem counter-productive at first, but it’s a great way to ensure that your business keeps running smoothly even when you’re asleep. Knowing that there’s someone manning the desk as soon as you clock out gives you and your employees freedom to decompress and enjoy their time off.

However, choosing an outsourcing company in the same time zone is still extremely beneficial in keeping your business running. As marketers, they committed to ensure ongoing optimization. Rest assured that they have their internal strategy in place in order to deliver on their proposed end goals.

Bearing all of these advantages in mind, there shouldn’t be anything stopping you from getting your free consultation with a results-driven outsourced marketing agency today.