by Guest Writer Tim Andren
A great idea brought to life will shoot a business to the moon.
A bad idea, on the other hand, can drive even a perfectly-managed company to the grave.
Startups and existing businesses alike hugely benefit from understanding the importance of practicing regular innovation.
The Foundation
It’s a well-known fact that great companies are made or broken by the products or services they offer. Popular products like Nike shoes or Moleskin journals were once an idea, born on the day they sparked into the imagination of an entrepreneur.
Business lives in the daily activity of people and the decisions they make. Virtually everything we do in our lives, whether it’s for want or need, is enabled by the tools and inventions of entrepreneurs. Given this nature of business, it’s startling why so many entrepreneurs neglect to invest the time or pay much attention to creating innovative solutions for the people who will put money in their pockets.
The results of neglecting to innovate produces mountains of ‘me too’ offerings and brands that are impossible for customers to distinguish. One Google search for a product category will make anybody’s head spin.
Innovate and enable
My high school physics teacher used to always answer student questions about speed or motion with his own question. “In relation to what?”, he’d reply. Mr. Wright wanted qualification. Progress can’t be measured unless there is a benchmark for comparison. The same reasoning applies to businesses of any size. Products like the iPhone or the Post-it Note can only be considered great if they stand out compared to what came before them.
Was the pocket calculator a good idea? Absolutely! What was life like before everyone had the ability to solve math problems with a handheld device? It’s hard to even imagine now. On the other hand, change solely for the sake of change is not a good idea. When Coca-Cola brought out it’s New Coke line it was about as popular as Kanye West after ‘The Great Taylor Swift Fiasco.
The sizzle and the steak
It’s important to look for ways to differentiate not only the product or service but also the positioning of the company brand. It does a company no good to develop a great idea that’s packaged with a poorly-positioned brand or logo that blends into the sea of competition.
The global reach of today’s technology requires a company marketing strategy that differentiates itself in the audience’s mind while creating disruptive ads and campaigns. Nyquil is a great example of this. Vicks recognized how their cold remedy made people drowsy, so they created (and for many years owned) the nighttime cold remedy market.
Slow down and go further
Economies and trends ebb and flow like the tide. The cyclical nature of life guarantees change will always occur. Businesses have to adapt and change along with it. Entrepreneurs must sit down and ask themselves if there is a great idea in their offering. If the answer isn’t positive, it’s time to sit go back to the drawing board, procure some market research, conduct a focus group or create social communities to receive customer feedback.
It can be argued that the majority of time spent developing either a startup or existing business should be focused on ideas first and everything else second. Management, marketing strategies and operations can always be altered, but if a company lacks the foundation of a great idea it has virtually no chance to succeed.
The benefits of maximizing business innovation before investing years of hard work and money will go a long way toward success. As the saying goes – ‘a stitch in time, saves nine.’
Tim Andren is the founder of Guideas, Inc. an innovation and marketing company in Irvine, California. He is also the author of a popular blog. View his full profile here.
