Does your business position itself as an innovator? Whether you’re aiming to overtake your competitors or simply hold your ground, implementing creative ideas could be key to meeting your targets.
Many businesses have already been forced to adapt their strategies in order to survive this year. The UK economy is officially in recession following two quarters of negative growth – and failure to innovate could still be the kiss of death for many.
Below we outline the forms and benefits of innovation and how to create space for it in your organisation.
What does business innovation look like?
You may think innovation is all about ideas – and you’re partly right. However, true innovation involves taking those ideas a step further and implementing them successfully.
This covers game-changing breakthroughs as well as incremental gains. To your business, that could mean any number of things such as:
Improving or replacing processes to increase efficiency, productivity or profitability
Developing new products and services to appeal to new markets or evolving customer demands
Enhancing existing products and services to strengthen your position or gain a competitive advantage
What are the benefits of innovation for businesses?
It’s easy to make a business case for innovation.
The most obvious argument is it’s potential to increase revenue by improving margins and taking advantage of new opportunities. In turn, failure to do so could allow competitors to get in first.
Innovation can also strengthen relationships with existing customers by demonstrating a proactive desire to improve and meet or exceed their expectations.
And crucially, promoting innovation can improve talent retention. Ambitious people want to work for ambitious companies, and valuing their ideas is likely to keep them around for longer.
How to promote innovation internally
Unfortunately, innovation rarely happens organically. Businesses need to create and maintain environments that allow it to flourish.
This process starts with designing an innovation culture. Employees need time and opportunity to share ideas with people from different positions and backgrounds, without fear of retribution.
Getting to this stage could involve offering transformative training and investing in new tools, analysis and other resources. If it’s not clear what’s right for your business, you may benefit from hiring external support.
The next step is to recognise and implement the best ideas quickly. Doing so prevents opportunities being missed and demonstrates to employees that they’re having a direct influence on the direction of your business.
Once ideas begin to be created and acted on, the key is to maintain this momentum. Install regular initiatives and check-ins, and lead by example by listening to others.
Is your business set up for innovation?
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