Often when thinking about innovation, what comes to the fore are new technological inventions such as the latest generation mobile phones, apps, robots, space capsules, 3D printers, among other gadgets. However, there is much more to the world of innovation than new products and technological inventions available on the market. So, broadly speaking, what is innovation and what defines it?
What is it?
In a business context, for example, innovation can mean the ability to design, develop, implement and scale new products, services, processes and business models for customers. In this context, in particular, innovation often represents the driving force or the watershed that leads to the economic success of companies.
Taking the previous example as a starting point, innovation then refers to the introduction of new products, services, strategies or business models. Even if it means something supposedly simple like improving a production line or even changing the way training or employee training is carried out in a given organization. In addition, innovation can also increase the usability and longevity of the aforementioned items. Sometimes it’s an idea, sometimes it’s a concept that helps you stay ahead of the competition and drives creativity and efficiency in business. One of the classic examples of innovation is the development and adoption of steam engine technology in the 18th century. Steam engines enabled mass production and revolutionized transportation. More recently, information and communication technologies have transformed the way companies produce and sell their goods and services, opening up new markets and creating new business models.
WHY IS INNOVATION IMPORTANT IN BUSINESS?
One of the biggest benefits of innovation is its contribution to overall economic growth. It induces increased productivity by allowing more goods and services to be produced, at the same time it can enable companies to generate more profits, which in turn allows for greater investment and the hiring of more employees.
With the help of innovations, companies can give their businesses decisive impulses that can guarantee their long-term survival in an increasingly competitive market. Useful business skills such as efficiency, renewal, digitization or automation are some of the main features that innovation imprints on the business world. These unique characteristics help solve various problems and ultimately benefit organizations, allowing companies to be able to solve the complexities of the market and bring uniqueness and novelty to the business process as well as to have a competitive advantage when reducing costs and increasing revenues, among other benefits.
HOW TO INNOVATE IN A COMPANY?
To develop this growth, there are several actions designed to guide where innovation should be directed in a company: firstly, it is necessary to study the market and identify current consumer trends or the proposals that its competitors are printing. Another utilitarian action consists of actively listening to customers and detecting possible weaknesses in their products or services.
It is also important to look beyond the sector in which the company operates, in order to identify business models or patterns of innovation that can be transferred to the sector.
Above all, it is important to promote innovation internally, helping to disseminate employees’ ideas and always encouraging their participation in the search for proposals, suggestions and transformative ideas.
TECHNIQUES TO APPLY INNOVATION IN AN ORGANIZATION
Among the main strategies that can be put into practice in work teams to promote innovation, it is worth mentioning:
Creative debate.
Also known as brainstorming, it seeks to generate the greatest number of initiatives and solutions from a specific scenario.
SCAMPER.
SCAMPER was introduced to address targeted questions that help solve problems or spark creativity during brainstorming meetings. The name SCAMPER is an English acronym for seven techniques; (S) replace, (C) combine, (A) adapt, (M) modify, (P) give another use, (E) eliminate and (R) reverse. These keywords represent the necessary questions addressed during brainstorming sessions.
Design thinking .
Design thinking encourages organizations and companies to focus on the human point of view above all else and to embed this focus at every step of the product development cycle. This means designing products and services taking into account people’s needs and preferences, thus increasing the chances of success.
Agile method.
It starts from the premise that it is not convenient to attack an entire problem to find the solution, but that it is opportune to divide it into small blocks to act more quickly and flexibly. The success of this system lies in choosing the best option at all times without compromising the project.
INITIATIVES TO APPLY INNOVATION IN A COMPANY
Create a creative department.
It allows everyone to contribute new ideas and the most appropriate method to put them into practice.
Implement customer relationship management.
A customer management system favors obtaining important information about business processes. In this way, a business can better understand how it interacts with consumers and what areas for improvement exist.
Develop a strategy focused on sustainability.
In this way, in addition to capturing the interest of consumers who are more committed to the planet, a continuous internal process of innovation will also be fostered so that activities are increasingly sustainable.
Bet on digitization.
It reduces costs in the company and streamlines several processes, modernizing customer service.
Seek alliances and partnerships.
It is important to collaborate, as long as there is trust, with other agents in the sector to develop actions aimed at innovation, creating synergies between the work teams of both companies. In addition, the corporate culture is enriched and new ways of thinking and dealing with problems within the organization are absorbed.
As seen, through innovation, any company can differentiate itself from its competitors and take an advantageous position to conquer the market. It has become a fundamental aspect for companies today and contributes decisively to their growth. Through innovation it is possible to offer a real sustainability of the business model in the medium and long term and a differentiated strategic vision. Currently, only with innovation can companies achieve excellent competitive performance in the market and add value to their offer of goods and services.
