How to Innovate for Business Profits
Positive Pressure = Successful Innovation... For a company to compete effectually in this very competitive global marketplace, it is essential to foster successful innovation. A big influence on innovation is Pressure. Competitive pressure pushes companies to innovate and adapt in the market. furthermore, innovation can be fostered from within a businesses by applying that need to for innovation pressure to company employees. This pressure within a company helps employees to initiate the creative process. Constructive and positive influences from the CEO and top of a company is really important to keep employees stimulated and thinking creatively outside the box.
The real conundrum is converting the creative ideas into a business practice and a solid Business Plan. This is when and where your employees need the most encouragement and positive reinforcement. As CEO you must demonstrate as much interest and commitment in new product development as you are in existing product lines. Innovation isn’t only producing new ideas but adapting new product versions from your inventory of developed creative ideas. We must foster environments which applies creative imagination to problems and then finding excellent solutions to those problems.
As CEO you can foster innovation in your Company by:
- Reorganizing Individual Contribution
- Providing a Bonus Incentive Program to reward Individual and Group innovation contribution
Innovation is mastered by being an Expert in your particular field. Leading with technology prowess and having a commitment to understand and know more about your industry than the other company is essential in closing the innovative gap. Just having a strategic alliance or partnership won’t automatically close that innovation gap; rather, it is your competency and expert knowledge when augmented by the partnership which really makes successful innovation. How to beat the competition is your number one question. Sell products with a technology the competition can’t match. Competitive advantage in this competitive global marketplace is only achieved through not just having an innovative product but being able to successful implement that product’s development and distribution. If people haven’t heard of the product, no matter how competitive, they won’t buy it. However, this innovative product must be:
- Cost effective enough to earn Big Margins of 50% or more
- Beat the heck out of your competition
- Save your customers crucial money
Profit Margins must be big enough to allow for product investments to sustain your competitive advantage. You need to be continually reinventing yourself in order to produce innovative products which are essentially better- you need to effectively obsolete your existing products to truly compete. Having a well developed Strategic Plan will analyze the profit potential and determine if sustainable and realistic.
Innovation takes years to develop, yet you must bring products quickly to market to compete. Therefore, stream lined corporate systems must be in place, so as your company structure grows, and you don’t lose the ability to innovate and subsequently market the product in a market leading manner. Your Marketing Plan has to be continuous as you develop innovative products so when it hits the market, it quickly sells and adds pressure to the competition, grabbing market share. Then once in the market, you must aggressively protect the proprietary nature of that “edge” product by making aggressive utilization of Trade Marks and Intellectual Property Rights.
About the Writer – Frank Goley with ABC Business Consulting
Frank Goley is a business consultant, business turnaround consultant and business plan consultant for ABC Business Consulting. Frank is considered an expert in writing, developing and implementing business plans, business turnaround plans, business funding plans, marketing plans, strategic plans and web marketing plans. Frank offers comprehensive business consulting, business coaching, business turnaround consulting, along with web seo, web development and web marketing consulting, to small and medium size companies. Frank is the author of a business plan book, The Comprehensive Business Plan Workbook – A Step by Step Guide to Effective Business Planning, and he has over 50 published articles and e-books on business success strategies. He also writes the Business Success Strategies Blog.