How to use innovation to grow your business
Tools & Resources
In a nutshell
- Don’t fall behind the times, keep up with current ways of thinking
- Innovation can spur business growth for companies of any size
- The goal of innovation is to create more value for your customers
The most effective businesses are constantly innovating their products and processes to ensure they’re meeting market demand and running as effectively as possible.
But for a lot of businesses, innovation can seem like an abstract concept that only the Googles and Teslas of the world can benefit from. But this couldn’t be any further from the truth.
In this short guide, we’ll walk you through exactly what innovation is and a few ways you can start implementing it in your business today.
What is innovation?
Innovation can be a daunting prospect for many business owners. Many think it’s the kind of thing only tech start ups and manufacturing giants should be concerned about, not owners of small and medium sized businesses or start ups.
But the fact of the matter is that innovation is available to companies of any size at any stage of their growth, and you should look to embrace it in your organisation for the best results.
Innovation is the process of updating your processes, products or services, or business models based on the latest technology, legislation and industry knowledge. So, it lends itself suitably to all businesses.
Why is innovation so important to businesses of all sizes?
The goal of innovation is to create more value for your customers and improve productivity within your business.
Through embracing innovative models, you’ll ensure your product or service benefits your customers and that your processes are running at maximum efficiency – both of which can pay huge dividends to your bottom line.
What’s more, if you fail to embrace innovation, you could quickly lose your competitive edge. Especially if you miss the boat on a big leap forward in technology.
How to embrace innovation within your business
Innovation isn’t always a big, dramatic change in the way you do things. It could simply involve a small tweak to your processes or a slight change of approach.
Here are a few areas your business could potentially innovate in today:
Click each box for more information.
1
Your processes
The first place to look when it comes to innovating within your business is your internal processes. Perhaps the biggest example of the power of innovation can be seen in the rise of Japanese car manufacturers in the 1980s. These companies could provide more affordable and reliable cars than the incumbent brands across Europe and the USA because of the incredibly efficient manufacturing processes they developed. Their competitors took years to catch up, and brands like Honda and Nissan established firm footholds in the global market that they still enjoy to this day.
So, be sure to regularly review your internal processes so you can identify ways to work more efficiently and effectively. Seemingly small improvements add up over time, and even they can make a big difference to your bottom line in the long run.
2
The latest technology
Artificial intelligence, virtual reality and automation are just a few of the technologies currently transforming industries across the world in all kinds of new and exciting ways.
No matter what sector you work in or what product or service you provide, there could be an opportunity for you to utilise the latest technological advances to provide a completely innovative product or service within your space.
3
The latest trends
It’s crucial for your business’ success to keep your finger on the pulse of the latest trends, both within your industry and in wider society. This will allow you to tailor your product or service, as well as your brand offering, to reflect current thinking.
For example, companies that haven’t adapted to the latest social media platforms are unlikely to thrive unless they adjust their social media strategy.
4
Your business model
One area where you can reap some serious rewards from innovation is by reviewing your business model.
An example is software space, where companies have stopped selling software as a one-off purchase that sits on users’ computers. Instead, these companies charge users a monthly fee to access their software, which is now hosted on the cloud.
By innovating their business model, these companies have increased revenue despite still offering the same product. It’s well worth considering how you could do the same within your business.
Innovation can often sound like it’s in the ‘too hard’ basket. However, organisations of any size and in any industry can gain significant benefits from innovation, and there’s a few simple ways you can start looking at how to implement it in your business today.
Next steps...
- Thoroughly review your internal processes and business model.
- Research new technologies and how they could positively impact your business.
- Keep up with the latest trends by setting up Google Alerts for topics within your sector that influence your product or service.