ABSTRACT
Disruptive technologies have gained significant attention in the era of digitalization. New values have been instilled which focus on enhancing the sales through digital marketing. However, establishing a marketing strategy for disruptive technologies need more knowledge that whether they can flourish in a market where the incumbents are already present. Since the potential customers have different competencies and incentives, it is difficult that the disruptive innovations are adopted easily even though some customers demand them. Along with the positive impacts of reducing the labor and automating the processes, convincing some customers to buy such technologies and adopt them could be a difficult task. The possible challenges in the B2B sale is the cautious attitude of established corporations towards adoption of new technologies which are outside the technology world. There is a need to upgrade the manual approach with the aid of disruptive technologies. The cooperation and organizations do not upgrade themselves unless there is some sense of urgency. Therefore, a tactical alignment between the marketing and sales department needs to be done. Since the marketing department is responsible for delivering the content and vision and sales department is responsible to utilize the content provided by the marketing department to match the customer needs and offering the solution which is the perfect match of their desired requirement, the synergy between sales and marketing can lay down the new foundations to the digitalization. B2B sales for SaaS can be enhanced by marketing it in such a way that it conveys the message to the consumers of easy accessibility, cost effectiveness, flexible payments and auto updates rather than hiring expensive staff to replicate the digital technologies. CRM, web analytics, content management, hosting, shopping cart, storefront, and other important functionalities for e-commerce merchants, internal communication and collaborations and several other functionalities can be achieved now by using software as a service (SaaS). This research paper will examine the path of the organizations that offer disruptive technologies to replace the manual work with automated software free from errors. Adopting the new marketing and sales techniques and merging and integrating them, the disruptive organizations are on their way to create a direct impact on the businesses. This paper will further highlight the approaches which gained significant success in delivering the disruptive technologies by focusing on sales and marketing.
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION
1.1 Overview
B2B sales require the synergy between marketing and sales department which determines the success strategy of the whole company. The marketing provides the compelling vision and direction to the company while the sale department is responsible for utilizing that marketing content to align with the customer or business needs. The purchase for disruptive technologies can be enhanced by educating the customers and spreading awareness about the adoption of new technologies. Marketing the disruptive technologies have an additional challenge to disrupt the status quo and spread awareness among the non tech businesses. The customer’s economic drivers play a significant role in purchasing the technologies. Therefore, a thorough analysis of such economic drivers is necessary to educate the customers about the effectiveness of these technologies.
The important factor here is the right marketing and sales strategy where the strategy success for disruptive technologies can be determined by the wiliness to try new innovations, while the market is waiting for the results of the experimental technology. This is the chasm period in the lifecycle of the innovative product. Once the chasm product is crossed, the ultimate success factor of the companies offering disruptive technologies can be determinant of the success.
1.2 PROBLEM DEFINITION
The term disruptive technology was devised by Harvard professor, Clayton Christensen, which describes the term as a product or a service that transform the way the organizations operate. The technologies completely upgrade the existing system with reduced manual work. However, these technologies are slowly adopted in companies
These new innovations challenge the status-quo by disrupting the old processes by complementing or replacing human abilities with new technologies. Disruptive technologies experience a slow adoption within industries in the beginning of their lifecycle and usually acquire growth within small number of pioneers willing to test drive those technology against the status quo of the industry standards. Eventually those innovations, once fully accepted and proven to maximize operational potential, take the industry by storm. In majority of the cases disruptive innovators emerge from smaller organizations and start-ups, with a mission to upset the established processes within large, sustained corporations
Established corporations such as manufacturing, where sustaining innovation and anchored knowledge is difficult to disrupt, especially by small players such as start-ups.
To sell an innovative product into these organizations can be challenging for multiple reasons. The end product these organizations manufacture, has a direct impact on customers. The cautiousness, and sometimes skepticism towards embracement of new and disruptive technologies requires a special approach. When selling disruptive technology, the challenge is to overcome the status-quo. Established corporations outside of technology world are known for bringing innovative products to markets themselves and at the same time are slow adopters of new technology within their own organization. In some sectors, within these organizations, certain processes have been in place for over a century and are in need of an upgrade in order to keep with the technological advancement of today. The pen and paper manual approach have yet to be complimented by a new technological solution – a disruptive technology. Usually industries are slow to adopt new technologies, until they are in crisis mode, when new technology is the only way to bring the company out of this crisis. Or when companies experience a significant growth, when innovation is the sole tool to keep up with the growing demand.
To identify companies before they are in crisis or exponential growth mode and achieve commercial success with disruptive technology, a tactical alignment between the marketing department, that provides content, and the sales department, that closes business, is needed.
1.3 RESEARCH OBJECTIVE
This research paper will examine the path of a companies offering disruptive technologies, that develop disruptive technology for everyday business to replace manual, error-prone process. After adopting new marketing strategy and integrating multiple sales processes the company is on its way of crossing the chasm. The paper will highlight the learnings of successful and failed approaches disruptive companies’ experiences utilizing marketing and sales strategies along the way and how those successes can be replicated by other disruptive technology organizations.
1.4 RESEARCH QUESTIONS
- Major research questions: Is the synergy between marketing and sales the success ingredient when it comes to commercialization of disruptive technologies to established industries?
- Minor research questions: Are there certain marketing strategies and sales establishes industries?
1.5 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
The data collection for this thesis is based on quantitative and qualitative data. Quantitative data includes but is not limited to: sales performance, length of the sales cycle, win and lead conversion ratios. Qualitative data is analyzed using information on market segments, lead sources, marketing approach.
The information from the data is evaluated to support the research question. In this thesis the data will be visualized and presented in charts, diagrams, tables and graphs as examples. The mixed method approach established the complexity of the data and gives a complete and comprehensive overview of the dependencies between sales and marketing
1.6 THESIS STRUCTURE
The thesis comprises of the literature view, data analysis through different methods , research methodologies and conclusion along with future recommendations.
CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 INTRODUCTION
2.1.1 Definition of Disruptive Technology
The disruptive technology changes the way the businesses and customers. It replaces the old traditions and systems of doing work and replace it with latest digital trends.
2.1.2 Adoption of Disruptive Technology
The businesses selling disruptive technologies accelerates the sale of its products through its promotions. To promote advertising, and sales, it makes a clever use of the digital and electronic media. Every other website or blogs advertise this technology as to help it gain the attention of concerned parties and clients.
The promotion ads are really thoughtful, exciting and appealing. With these, the added functionalities and features inform its customers about new services they offer. SaaS software designs its sales and promotional campaigns in a way as to focus on target markets. It further investigates about the desires of businesses prior to making any announcements.
The digital technologies have surpassed trends in society over the years. The SaaS software always offer free trail which is a strategic marketing technique for customer onboarding and to gain more attention, praise and popularity. Here the question is that what exactly is it that enables the finest customer product enterprises to grow every year? Customers’ ratings are one of the most significant characteristics of the success of such technologies. It has been a front-runner in achieving market share in each of its fundamental businesses and endeavors to remain known in the market so that it would be able to stand firmly in competition to its competitors in the marketplace. Another characteristic deal with continuing to set bench marks is its strong and very well-recognized product names; domestically and internationally.
That is the chief reason why digital technologies maintain top-quartile economic growth in temporary as well as in long-standing basis. Along with that, making global investments in significant areas of targeted product categories is its other clever move that yields sustainable growth. The basis of growth of SaaS software and disruptive technologies is grounded firmly on the six main durable developmental policies explained below:
1. Expanding the Worldwide business through different social media platforms: The marketing strategy involves the latest trends in digital marketing. It’s combination of these marketing and sales strategies worldwide which make these products ultimately makes it stand out of its competitors in the marketplace making it the customer’s first choice. These technologies have gained positions across developed and developing regions in which these operates as well as capitalize.
2. Ensuring Sustainable, Profitable Growth Globally: It’s distribution system when pooled with the sustainable practices is game-changing. This is to let the technologies accelerate its top-line growth and also to expand its productivity. Thus, it continues to grasp significant areas of universal digital development, chiefly in emerging markets and in sprouting categories.
3. Uncheck the “Power of One.” SaaS is undoubtedly in an exceptional practice to influence the consumer classes that have distinctive significance to vendors across the sphere. As they are known to drive retail traffic; are very profitable delivering an outstanding cash flow. The blend of different features including the High availability, data security, application security, makes it an indispensable companion for large-scale as well as small-scale vendors.
4. Swiftly Expanding its assortment. The SaaS software and digital technologies are growing rapidly. It will be a growing river of knowledge-based revolution originated from the Research and Developmental proficiencies that it has maintained over the past few years, also from directed findings and common projects.
5. Continues to cater to its Environmental preservation Objectives and Assurances: Sustainable digital technologies are being established that has been dedicated sponsors in shielding the Earth’s innate assets and is going really well on its path to meet its communal objectives for significant declines in electricity and heat consumption. Its worldwide sales are applying advanced tactics to be significantly more proficient in the use of sustainable practices–and thus it is enthusiastically functioning.
6. Cherishing its Connections and developing the Management to maintain its Progress: The disruptive technologies has a strange talent base across its worldwide association in its enterprise facilities, its sales organizations, its marketing assemblies, its staff occupations and its general directors. As it continues to expand its business, it put more stress on certifying that it maintains an all-encompassing atmosphere on the professional progress of its employees. It is in order to continue to have features, capabilities and the proficiency to grow its in the future.
These six approaches are employed under the supervision of knowledgeable administration team that is geographically determined and synchronized by the worldwide axes of quality and globally purposeful headship. 
The SaaS software has used diverse ways to market their services. Their partnership with different platforms is among the key strategies used.
The marketing mix includes six core elements, they are:
•  Publicity
•  Direct Promotions
•  Internet Promotions
•  Sales Elevation
•  Digital Marketing
•  Personal B2B sales
It is already recognized that advertising is all about getting the just product to the just place, at the just time, with a just price and by employing the most appropriate advertising tactic. Owing to its expertise of advertising in a way as to draw customer’s utmost attention, these technologies have always been enough to come-up with the most appropriate marketing mix. Since its early days, disruptive technologies have grounded its sales using an international strategy based on three everlasting doctrines:
•  Acceptability – With the help of its operational marketing, SaaS and other disruptive technologies have now become a fundamental part of people’s day to day lives making it the acceptable all around the globe.
•  Affordability – The prices and subscriptions of the products are finalized keeping in mind the affordability factor. It is because in this way a large number of customers/enterprises would be able to buy these technologies.
•  Availability – This is to make sure that the products/services are available everywhere owing to its well-rooted worldwide network.
SaaS software has successfully formed a wide, very well-managed, universal acceptance to confirm the ubiquity of its products/services. (Ubiquity is defined as the capacity to give the perception of being in all places simultaneously) Its method is founded on the certainty that the company must be capable enough satisfy the needs of individuals as well as businesses and enterprises.
Liable promotional policy is the set of supervisory doctrines during the course of its marketing methodology. The rules associated to the does and do nots are strict enough to determine what these technologies should and should not accomplish. It also employs independent auditors to make sure that these digital technologies comply with what rules have already been inscribed in its policy.
1.2.2 4 principles from our Responsible Marketing Policy
1. CHOICE – Providing a variety of options/subscription plans to sustain consumers in having a functional choice as per the norms.
2. BALANCE – To inspire practical usage of the functionalities as to maintain a balance between digital technologies and human input.
3. SECURITY– To promise secure features as well as data security in all kinds of promotional/marketing activities
4. RELIABILITY – The services ensure the reliability factor that the services are reliable and can be accessed in real time anywhere with minimum resource usage
The companies selling SaaS software has always laid special emphasis on improving its relations with its valued customers and businesses. Listening to the demands and queries of their customers is really essential for this label. The companies, thus, promise to continue to take continuous feedback of other concerned parties about the liable marketing, so that it can certify that it always provides customers with a varied assortment of functionalities, features and subscription plans. 
Advertising Strategy
Social Media
Apparently, Social Networking Platforms appear to be of much worth when it comes to marketing and advertising products and services. Over the years it has become a tool of much worth. It is undoubtedly an excellent means for businesses to interact with their customers and to launch valuable offers, discounts and enthralling product/service range for their customers. By an extended use of these social networking sites and digital marketing, companies are now getting very well-aware of how to grasp a large number of customers. It is certainly providing brands a competitive edge.
Advertising
There are several disruptive technologies in the market which have been each other’s rivals for years and years. This has led to a high expenditure on advertising for the SaaS companies. Even though some services have clearly surpassed its opponent when it comes to catchy and useful ads commercials, some companies still continue to spend over $1 billion per year, on an average, for its advertisement.
Sales
When it comes to the generation of revenue, SaaS software has been consistent as compared to other services. However, these really rely on their global sales for most of their income.
The Customer Perceptions about disruptive technologies and Digitalization
The product as a symbol: In order to have a thorough analysis of disruptive technologies, perception in businesses is we first need to know that which products have got certain myths circulating about it and which one is the most well-known among public in general? Along with that we also need to examine that when we listen to the name of these technologies, which technology takes hold of their mind first?
Expertise in Open market Performance
The SaaS technologies Company’s idea for certifying current customer importance and distinction in the open market centers on five essential ideologies:
• Accessibility means insertion of its assortment of goods within easy access o
• Affordability is to offer an extensive selection of anticipated, first-class products, in sets suitable for the time, at a right price.
• Acceptance directs to the distribution of a wide and rising assortment of merchandises that meet the uppermost excellence principles for each country to improve its acceptance by consumers. Its expertise in excellence control, client-based services and efficient distribution, pooled with a thorough know-how of customer needs and admittance to the greatest communication stations enables it to grasp customers of the marketplaces in order to fulfil their demands.
• Stimulation is about inspiring buyers to select the company’s services by refining product accessibility and appeal at the area of consumption and also by establishing brand power in the local marketplaces.
• Attitude is the manner the company’s sales person and its people perform each time in their dealings with their customers confirming that it fulfils their desires with an aim to be an ideal supplier. It has also launched the combined worth creation theory with significant customers that is assembled on the evidence that software offers momentous development not only for itself, but also for its wholesale consumers.