
Innovation – Where Does Your Business Start?
Yes, your business does need a strategy to innovate. But, there is not one clear path for crafting an innovation strategy. Nor is there a one-size fits all for businesses to start the innovation process.
Yes, your business does need a strategy to innovate. But, there is not one clear path for crafting an innovation strategy. Nor is there a one-size fits all for businesses to start the innovation process.
Have you ever wondered what business would be like if the industry you’re in suddenly changed overnight? I know this sounds rather nutty, but seriously. What would you do? What typically ushers in sudden change is technology and new ways of thinking about and solving existing customer problems.
The strategy first starts in the minds of the business leaders who are trying to solve complex issues and ways to acquire new customers. But there are many missing components commonly overlooked for your strategy to be successful.
When the brand is the problem, this is something that most marketers don’t have the right experience to face head on and I would venture to say don’t know how to tackle it with the right logic and resources. When the brand (or business) has a problem, it’s probably much more than figuring out how to turn around lackluster marketing efforts because of a bad quarter. At the heart of it, when a brand has problems, it could be a combination of many issues that are not easily identifiable, or worse, not easily fixed.
Is your company always looking for new ideas? Or, are you waiting for someone else to think of them for you? If you are working in digital marketing every day like me, coming up with new ideas, is critical. Ask your team to have an “always on” alert system for creative, innovative ideas. Some employees may fully embrace this concept and some will not do anything. However, this exercise keeps your marketing department sharp and always thinking of ways to keep the brand on the leading edge. It also keeps your department thinking, cultivating, percolating and looking for new and different ways to reach your business goals.
We see businesses closing their doors all the time and this unfortunate circumstance even clashes even with the businesses that appear to be healthy. How does this happen and how can business leaders stop the inertia that’s driving their business into the ground?
Innovation comes in many forms and variations. Some people think about innovation as a new product or device the world needs. Others may say it is something that has never been produced before. I also think there are creative types like me that believe innovation can also come in the form of just thinking different, experimenting in your mind and on paper.
The term Intrapreneur is a relatively new term for employees who work for a company that are highly skilled at seeing new opportunities and figuring out how to bring them to life. As a lifelong marketer I see this as an immensely valuable trait. Why? Because as technology, apps, social, big data, predictive analytics, new business models and new marketing methods arise with every passing day, visionaries are needed to help stay ahead of the curve and the competition. In marketing, this has never been more true than today.
We all know that live video isn’t going to be the only way you market your brand. However, if used well, it can be leveraged in ways other mediums can’t match.