We help innovators bring their business to life

“What does it take to successfully launch a new product or service?”

“I’ve had a brilliant business idea…

Many of our readers have emailed us with questions similar to the ones listed above. Perhaps you’re considering starting a business or changing your current business plan. Perhaps you’re in charge of a huge corporation’s new product/service innovation. The main challenge is the same: How do you turn a concept into a reality?

The ability to successfully exploit new ideas determines a company’s ability to improve processes, bring new and improved products and services to market, increase efficiency, and, most importantly, increase profitability.

Local, regional, national, and international markets are all becoming more competitive. Competition has increased as a result of increased access to new technologies and the enhanced trading and knowledge-sharing opportunities given by the Internet.

This article describes how to make innovation a key business process and provides examples of various techniques. It offers guidance on how to plan for innovation and how to create the ideal corporate environment in which to explore your ideas. It also explains how innovative enterprises might get help and support.

Justifications for workplace innovation
Innovation strategies
Planning for innovation
Encouraging innovation in your company • Investing in innovation

It’s crucial to understand the difference between invention and innovation. The concept of the invention is novel. Innovation is defined as the commercialization and effective exploitation of a concept.

In its most basic form, innovation entails introducing something novel into your organization. This could include: improving or replacing business processes to increase efficiency and productivity, or allowing the company to broaden the range of quality of existing products and/or services developing products and services that are completely new and upgraded – often to meet rapidly changing customer or consumer demands or needs adding value to existing products, services, or markets to differentiate the company from competitors and increase perceived value to the customer

Innovation can be defined as a single significant breakthrough, such as the development of an entirely new product or service. However, it can be a series of little, progressive changes. Competition has increased as a result of increased access to new technologies and the enhanced trading and knowledge-sharing opportunities given by the Internet.

In any shape or form, innovation is a creative process. The sources listed below may provide inspiration:

externally, from suppliers, customers, media reports, market research published by another organization, or universities and other sources of new technology within the firm, from employees, management, or in-house research and development work externally, from suppliers, customers, media reports, market research published by another organization, or universities and other sources of new technology

Filtering those ideas, recognizing which ones will be prioritized by the company, and allocating resources to exploit them are the keys to success.

Introducing innovation can help you to:

improve productivity
reduce costs
be more competitive
build the value of your brand
establish new partnerships and relationships
increase turnover and improve profitability

Businesses that fail to innovate face the following consequences:

losing market share to competitors
falling productivity and efficiency
losing key staff
experiencing steadily reducing margins and profit
going out of business
Approaches to innovation

Introducing new or enhanced products, services, or procedures into your organization can be considered innovation.

Investigate the market

It’s pointless to think about invention in a vacuum. Examine your market and think about how innovation might help your firm grow by providing value to its customers. See the article on planning innovation in this guide for further information on analyzing your market.

Find ways to be more innovative

By adapting your product or service to the way your market is changing, you can discover new opportunities for innovation. For example, if you’re a specialty hamburger vendor, you might consider lowering the fat content of your burgers to appeal to health-conscious clients.

You might also expand your company by identifying a brand-new product. You could, for example, start making both vegetarian and beef burgers.

You could innovate by introducing new technology, techniques, or working habits, such as streamlining operations to improve product quality consistency.

If studies suggest that people have less time to buy, you may rethink your distribution operations by offering customers a home-delivery service, which could be combined with online and telephone ordering.

Instead of trying to undercut your main competitors on price, consider redesigning your marketing to stress the quality of your product – and charging a premium for it.

Planning innovation

It’s possible that some new ideas will suddenly occur to you out of nowhere. However, ideally, you should have:

Innovation as part of your business strategy a strategic plan for how you want your company to grow – You can focus your innovative efforts on the most critical areas if you devote time to tracking trends in your industry.

Not only will innovation help your firm survive, but it will also help it expand and generate more revenues. There are a few practical ways to see if your ideas have a profit potential:

Examine the competition

Find out who your rivals are and where they do business. Find information about their products, prices, and operating culture by using the Internet and advertising sources such as the Yellow Pages. This will offer you a good idea of their selling features as well as any potential opportunities.

If the competition is primarily focused on price, you may want to emphasize the quality of your product or service. On the YellowPages.ca website, you may look for business listings all around the world.

Market or industry trends should be studied

It will be easier to plan if you are aware of the environment in which your company operates.

On the Internet, you can access a wealth of information on your industry. Articles from business and trade journals will also be useful.

Build a relationship with your customers

Knowing who your target market is isn’t enough. You must also be able to communicate effectively with them.

Communication entails not only listening to their demands but also actively observing their behavior about present products and services and brainstorming ways to improve them.

Involve your suppliers and other business partners

Combining your resources with those of your suppliers or other business partners will aid in the development and production of innovative ideas. Business networking opportunities might also help you form potential collaborations.

Next, examine the implications of taking a certain innovative step for your company. Consider the following questions:

how it will affect your business operations and procedures
what more education and training your staff may require
what extra resources you may need
how you’ll finance the work
if you’ll be developing any intellectual property that has to be protected

Finally, your vision should be included in your company plan by:

defining your long- and short-term objectives, as well as how you plan to attain them
tying goals to monetary objectives, such as attaining a certain turnover by a certain date
reviewing your plan regularly
Encourage innovation in your business

There are numerous resources available to assist you in coming up with new company ideas.

Suppliers, business partners, and connections in your professional network can all contribute to the creative process by offering support and encouragement.

Your staff is also a valuable resource for coming up with new ideas.

You must establish an inventive environment and foster creative thinking to get the most out of them.

Steps to promote innovation

Ascertain that you have procedures and events in place to capture ideas. Set up suggestion boxes across the office, for example, or host frequent workshops or company away days to brainstorm ideas.

Create a welcoming environment where people may freely express their opinions without fear of being judged or ridiculed.

Encourage them to take risks and experiment; don’t punish them if their new ideas fail.

Individuals and teams should be more open to one another. It’s important to exchange good ideas and information from one area of your organization with another. Knowledge exchange and creativity among your staff can be aided by teamwork, newsletters, and intranets.

Emphasize that workers at all levels of the organization share responsibility for innovation so that everyone feels invested in the company’s success. The fewer layers of management or decision-making in your company, the more people feel like their opinions are valued.

Celebrate accomplishment and recognize ingenuity. Appropriate incentives can go a long way toward encouraging employees to think imaginatively.

When hiring new staff, look for those that are imaginative and creative. Keep in mind that inventive thinkers aren’t necessarily the ones with the most impressive resume.

Funding innovation

You can support your innovation-driven growth in a variety of methods, including using your funds or obtaining external funding in the form of loans or equity financing.

Any route to external investment, however, will necessitate a high-quality business plan that outlines your company and provides specific projections for its future.

Depending on their borrowing needs, businesses frequently turn to their banks for a line of credit or loans.

You could use equity financing if you’re willing to give up some control of your company to outside investors. Business angels and venture capital firms are the two most common ways to do so:

Business angels are rich individuals who make small investments in private businesses, usually between $30,000 and $500,000.

In exchange for shares in the company, venture capital firms provide larger levels of funding.

Government-sponsored initiatives

You could also want to look into applying for a government-sponsored program. This will normally only cover a portion of your project, but you will retain ownership of your company’s shares. R&D and Innovation Consult Programs

Other sources of assistance

On suitable research and development spending, small and medium-sized firms can claim tax refunds and credits.

More than mere coding is required in the development of software products.

A complete approach to the overall process and the problem you’re trying to solve is required for a successful software solution. Innovative ideas are reshaping the way the world operates, therefore it’s critical to move your vision from the drawing board to the marketplace. Have you ever had a great product or service concept and then wondered, “Now what?” Perhaps you have a wonderful company idea but don’t know where to begin. It’s not easy to bring a concept to reality. Passion, patience, and, most crucially, the capacity to execute are all required.