Eight Questions to Help You Identify Innovation
Perhaps innovation is as much about people’s’ perceptions as it is something new in a product or service. To what extent is innovation a product of brilliant marketing? Sometimes it’s possible to promote something old in a new way.
Sometimes business owners have a good product or service but take time to understand its market. They may find they have marketed to the wrong market. So, they can market an innovation to the new market even though the offer has been around for a while.
If you remember the diagram from my last post, the innovation diffusion curve represents the market for the offer and not the whole world! The model represents how the market for an innovation works for a relatively large market. The market is not always huge but even a small market can support a small business so long as it is possible to contact the market.
Here are a few questions you can ask to help you work out what is innovatory about your offer:
Is it better than the status quo?
This question relates primarily to step 4 on the awareness ladder. This is the stage where the potential customer is aware of your offer and you need to show how your offer is better than other offers addressing the same problem.
The status quo is the solutions to the problem that are already on the market. You need to show why your innovation is superior, at least for some potential customers. If it is better for some customers and not so much for others, this will help you target your market.
Occasionally the status quo is a problem your market believes has no solution. You will be working at rung 1 of the awareness ladder or even rung 0 (where people are not aware of the problem). Your marketing will need to establish the problem and then show there is a solution to it.
Will people perceive it as better?
People may have a fixed idea of what solves their problem. If you offer a different solution, they may not perceive it as better.
If people do not perceive it as better, you have a problem. You perceive it as better but potential customers do not. This is essentially what an innovation is. It is introducing a new product or service that changes expectations. This is why sales can be frustrating, because people resist something new in the face of evidence that it will be better for them.
This is why you need to marshal evidence and understand your offer. However, it is also important to understand the potential customer. You need to listen to them and help them decide whether the offer is really for their benefit.
Does it fit with peoples’ past experience?
If it does, it probably isn’t an innovation. Innovations challenge experience. This is why the innovation diffusion curve begins with customers who enjoy trying out innovations. The challenge for many businesses is finding these people in a small market.
Past experience forms the expectations of markets. Markets do not look for new ways to tackle old problems, unless the old ways are inadequate. If everyone is reasonably happy with the old ways, few will sacrifice reasonable happiness for delight!
Does it fit with peoples’ current needs?
When old ways are proved wanting, some people seek alternatives. Sometimes people need a new approach because everything else they’ve tried does not solve their problem. It can actually be difficult persuading people that there is a solution to their problem.
Or perhaps the problem is new and any solution worth a try!
Does it require a change in existing values?
This is exactly what many innovations offer, a new way of understanding an old problem. So, organic gardening requires a change in values from the old ways, using chemical fertilizers and poisons. The point about organic gardening is that people need details of techniques and approaches that substitute for their old approach. The incentive to learn these new techniques is driven by a change in values.
A household seeking lower fuel bills might opt for solar panels and in so doing, value the environmental benefits.
Sometimes a change in values will drive sales and sometimes sales will drive a change in values.
How difficult is it to understand and apply?
Organic gardening may be a difficult idea to promote because it involves maybe dozens of changes to the way you garden. However, someone who values organic gardening may be willing to learn and seeking help in various ways.
Something difficult might be perceived as challenging and therefore worthwhile because of the benefits it brings further down the road. Don’t forget some prospects might value the challenge.
Don’t forget for online offers in particular, a monthly retainer for support can be a big incentive.
Can people “try it out” first?
There are two aspects to this. Innovators and early adopters (see the innovation diffusion curve) may value an offer that provides benefits for being in at the start. For early offers, it may be possible to offer a low fee and allow early customers to stay on that fee so long as they continue to support your scheme.
For majority customers, online offers often begin with an first offer of 30 or so days free service. This enables them to try it out and decide whether they need it. If the monthly rate includes support, upgrades, etc it can be attractive once the customer believes the product will benefit them.
If people adopt it, can the difference be discerned by others?
This makes a difference where there is a large market. A visible presence helps make the breakthrough from early adopters to early majority. If word gets around or the offer has some visible presence, this will enable the wider population to see its value.
Perhaps the most common difference is through word of mouth. The benefit may be invisible but something people will tell their friends about.
These questions are not mine and I don’t know who first assembled them. Do you find them helpful? Are there other questions you might ask?