Business success is attributable to many things. Generating a better bottom line is the result of many steps, so it is often difficult to make such a sweeping statement. Despite that, there is still a strong case to be made that those who innovate are the winners in business.
Innovation can occur in any number of areas, and it is the job of a business leader to seek out, nurture, and create a culture within their business that makes innovation happen. That is one of your many jobs as the leader of your company. Following are some pointers, and some examples of companies that have managed this process. I hope they serve as guides on your own journey toward a higher level of innovation.
The iPod technology has been around for a while, but the application by a computer company into the music business has generated billions of dollars for Apple. The move from a computer company to a mobile device supplier using computer technology has transformed and reinvigorated Apple.
But innovation is not exclusively the domain of technology companies, and it is not exclusively coming from the executive suite. Often the best innovations come from listening to your customers and your employees.
Mission Foods is a tortilla manufacture that had slipping sales. Faced with this they instituted traditional and expensive product taste tests and store placement evaluation research. It was only after speaking with customers that they discovered the one innovation that that would reverse this trend. The product tasted fine, but customers were ruining the tortillass trying to separate them for individual use. When Mission Foods began to place a thin plastic sheet between each tortilla, it made the product significantly easier for their customers to use and turned their sales slide around. This change came through a review of customer complaints.
A radio and TV retail chain was trying to determine the best way to reach its customers. They had looked at all the audience research, all the syndicated consumer profiles, and all of the TV and radio audience information. They were still not sure which would be the best place to spend their limited advertising budget. They had an active return and repair policy taking in hundreds of repairs per store each week. An employee in this department suggested that they look at what radio stations and TV channels these repair and return units were tuned to, and in a very short time they had a very good sample of exactly which radio stations and TV channels their customers were tuning in to and/or watching. This enabled this retailer to target their advertising exactly where their customers were looking and listening.
Innovation can spring from any part of the customer/company community, but only if support and encouragement for this exists at every level of your company. We hope that you will harness innovation to create greater business success for your company. •