Innovation is a crucial part of maintaining or increasing the success of a company, so today we tell you how to be at the forefront of innovation.
INDEX
- Why is innovation so important in your company?
- Innovation in the marketing world
- How to innovate?
- Trends in the marketing world.
- The implementation of an innovation manager.
- Profile and career opportunities of an innovation manager.
- Functions of an innovation manager.
- Sectors where it could be developed.
- Tools to apply innovation.
- How to promote innovation in your company.
- Types of innovation.
- A study on innovation.
- The future of innovation.
1. Why is innovation important in your company?
We are used to hearing that we must offer a different product, covering the interests of the consumer and through business innovation, but what does that element that is among the indispensable requirements of companies mean?
In addition to meeting the needs of customers, companies must try to improve step by step, if they establish a business strategy based on facts and with objectives achievable over time, they can implement innovation in their companies.
To achieve this strategy it is very important to know the business in depth and above all, its consumers.
There are a number of sectors in which it is necessary to know which are:
- The company, the industry
- The competition
- Suppliers
- The products
- The demands to be met
- What are the elements that can improve the company.
- This innovation is very necessary, above all, to differentiate itself from the competition, when we launch a marketing strategy we hope that this has a positive development in the product or market.
To do this, we must have very clear our target audience and the positioning we want to achieve, so innovation is divided into 2 aspects:
- Creative: birth of new ideas.
- Implementation: transformation of the idea into a new product or service that meets the needs of consumers.
Once we activate the innovation process new ideas will emerge and we will be able to adapt them to the company’s products, to determine the strategic plan we must take into account both innovation and marketing.
A merger will give the product value so that consumers remain loyal to the company as it generates advantages over competition.
The term innovation encompasses so much information that it can be a huge challenge for the company. There is the idea that you need to create something very different to succeed. On the other hand, what is innovative is to cover a pending need with a product that performs the function well and is not on the market.
There lies the complicated, something that is not found in the market. Today we live surrounded by products and services, we believe that everything is invented and we can not think of anything.
We just need to make a merger between the marketing department and the department in charge of creating new products. This brainstorming can trigger great ideas and have very good results.
2. Innovation in the world of marketing
When thinking about the world of marketing we tend to be inclined to sell the product, but is that innovation? It is the first time it is launched, but there is much beyond.
For this you must consider how essential it is to take into account the 4 p s of marketing:
- Product.
- Price.
- Distribution (place).
- Advertising.
3. How to innovate?
Now that we know the 4 p’s of marketing, we can also find several types of innovation such as:
- In vertical marketing
Changes in the product can be varied:
- Size.
- Container.
- Design.
- Development of complementary services.
- In side marketing
This type of innovation occurs in the creation of new products that meet needs and meet objectives.
- Search for new markets.
- Development of new products.
- Marketing apps mix.
4. Trends in the marketing world
The digital revolution experienced in the world thanks to the pandemic has left a dent in companies. Businesses have realized the importance of digital visibility and have set to work.
Some elements that initiated its digital visibility are:
- Metaverse
With Zuckerberg’s announcement of the new metaverse companies must be on the lookout as it is not known how their marketing strategies will be implemented.
- No to cookies
The implementation of new legal measures to protect the user is already a reality. The 2022 has been marked by first party data, data first hand, this will not be a problem for Google or Facebook that will surely look for an alternative.
- Quality vs quantity
The core web update has led Google to bet on the quality of content, in 2022 Google continued to improve in each search intention and offering the best results.
- Conversational marketing
Chatbots have a key role in all e-commerce, security and accompaniment at the end of the process will play these elements.
- Video marketing
The positioning of videos was developed as it is the most consumed multimedia element, so today it is a fundamental tool of digital communication.
- Automation no code
The tools that help marketers develop their work with ease will have broad growth because with artificial intelligence, they will be more intuitive and sophisticated every day.
- Integration of experience in social networks
This element is already indispensable this year but every year gains momentum, online stores will gain even more prominence in social networks such as Instagram, Facebook or Pinterest.
5. The implementation of an innovation manager
This figure is not yet implemented in companies as it involves an investment and most prefer to obtain good results from their respective departments.
But if you decide to hire an innovation manager you will see that it is a person with leadership skills, creative skills and very good change management.
This employee will be able to guide departments towards business change and transform problems into opportunities.
Curiosity, creativity or open-mindedness are just some of the characteristics that this figure will have.
As a person who helps to find innovative elements, he must have a global vision of the market, the company and the competition. You must know these three areas in depth.
His field of work is usually related to the marketing department or ICT.
6. Profile and career prospects of an innovation manager
The director or manager of innovation has a very specific profile which needs university training (bachelor or engineering) with specialized MBA and experience of 5 years in relation to innovation.
In addition, you should be interested in a global and strategic vision, know how to deal with multidisciplinary teams, good communication and customer-oriented business objectives.
7. Functions of an innovation manager
- Development of innovation activities.
Encourage other departments to work together with a vision for innovation.
- Design and execution of the company’s innovation projects.
With the implementation of these projects, profitability and technology will be sought as a differentiating element.
- Systematization of the innovation process.
Define policies to achieve the marked strategy.
- Make strategic decisions related to innovation.
Coordination of areas by improving processes, products or services that have greater competitiveness in the market.
Sectors where it could develop
- Commercial and sales
- Human resources.
- Banking, accounting and finance.
- Fashion, retail and large distribution.
- Right.
- Automotive.
- Computer science.
- Marketing.
- Transportation.
- Engineering and technology.
- Feeding.
- Health.
- Real estate sector.
- Tourism.
9. Tools for applying innovation
We can use different tools for the process of innovation and development of ideas, these tools aim to improve collaboration between departments of a company and so, promote brainstorming to help manage product or service development.
To set this process in motion it is very important that you keep in mind the overall purpose of the company and the audience you want to target with this innovation.
10. There are a number of steps to implement business innovation:
1. Analysis of the competition.
If we carry out a thorough analysis of our direct competition we will be able to identify what preferences the consumer has and why that company covers them better than us. In addition, we will be able to obtain numerous ideas and develop them in our business.
2. Internal analysis.
If we analyze the competition, it is obvious that our company also needs an investigation about what goes wrong, well and what needs to be improved. It is important to align company objectives with business innovation.
3. Creativity.
To encourage creativity, the marketing team will be able to perform different actions and thus create a working environment that favors the creation of new products.
4. Team.
We must determine a specific department for the development of business innovation, the members must be people with much experience to know the disadvantages and advantages of the company, in addition to the procedure to resolve conflicts.
5. Idea design.
This is where creativity comes in. The moment to think and brainstorm together, analyze what could change the product whether it provides advantages or not to the company.
On the basis of the analyses carried out we will know in depth our problems and our audience to obtain better results.
11. Types of innovation
There are different types of innovation depending on the area in which your company is engaged and the objective you have marked as they are:
- Technological innovation.
This type of innovation is the one we have heard the most, technological advances are the order of the day.
- Organizational innovation.
The structure of the company is essential to obtain good results, if we experience a business restructuring we can obtain good results.
- Commercial innovation.
In this section is where marketing comes in, the way to publicize the product, here is the point at which the consumer will decide to buy it or not.
Therefore, it is very important to allocate more spending to commercial innovation because we will get good results from buying products or services.
12. A study on innovation
The National Statistics Institute frequently publishes studies on companies and their innovation processes so here are some figures from previous years so you can show it.
Spending was 3.8% more than the previous year with an amount of 19,390 million euros, innovation in companies remains quite low since only 20.8% can be called “innovative”.
Madrid, Catalonia and the Basque Country lead the communities with the most innovation, engineering, design, marketing, intellectual property or software development are just some of the sectors in which more innovation has been experienced.
Internal R&D is another of the sectors in which more investment is made, whereas, as we see in the table, external R&D is the area with the least expenditure.
The distribution of expenditure for innovative activities was mainly for motor vehicles, R&D and programming services, consultancy and computer activities.
13. The future of innovation
The technological development experienced during the break in April 2019 is having its effects on today’s reality.
The digitization of the business sector and innovation go hand in hand with the creation of leading companies, most companies claim to be experiencing changes at the creative level.
To develop this innovation in the sector is very important to have the best employees, workers are the key element to encourage innovation in the company.
There are three points to develop to continue growing along the path of innovation which are:
- Business technology.
- Reinvention.
- Sustainability.
As you can see, the pandemic has taken a 360º turn for the business sector and it must adapt to the new changes. Digitization, new tools and innovative ideas are the day to day of the market.
Have you already implemented the innovation process in your company? Do you need personalized help to implement it? Contact us.
