There seems to be a lot of confusion in many business circles over the difference between invention and innovation. Inventing means to create an idea, service or product that has never been used or heard of before. Innovation means to take that same idea, service or product and improve upon it.
With the business world changing at a rapid pace, the pressure to be innovative is immense. How can a small business compete? Since the basis of innovation depends on expanding on ideas, bringing in outside help is sometimes necessary. Having others to brainstorm with may be just what you and your business need to come up with new methods of providing existing services and/or alternative ways to expand on and promote your customer’s favourite products.
Take for example, Idea Rebel, a Vancouver based digital agency. They are moving ahead in leaps and bounds, the company’s main success being that of identifying a need in content management systems. This is a company which has doubled its profit annually since it first launched in 2008 and all of their work is completed digitally. They know that the size of a company isn’t what’s important, it’s the people who are doing the work and their ability to wear many hats.
Take a look at your business and discover ways in which you can change the way you have been doing things. This will mean listening carefully to your customers. You’ll need to be the first to fearlessly try out new ideas that may appeal to them. Sometimes necessity will drive innovation and this is especially true in any tech driven business. There is always your competition to think about and by never changing or improving upon that which you already have, you can be left behind. An economy in recession would seem to be the time when innovation wouldn’t be important, but it’s actually the most important time to come up with new services and products that are in line with what you customers can afford while still giving them what they need the most.
Innovation is all about giving your customers new options – choices that will mesh with the changing times and their changing lifestyles. It can mean small changes which lead to real improvements, not necessarily earth shattering ones. Take a look back to see what hasn’t worked. Remember it’s better to work smarter, not harder.
© Chris Draper, DemGen Inc. 2013
image courtesy of impact99
