Using design thinking to understand your unique business needs, identify opportunities and recommend effective, practical solutions to help grow and develop your business.
Innovation is a key component of productivity and long-term sustainability of an SME, however its unique nature means the approach to implementation differs between every business (due to turnover, number of employees, sector or location goals).
Innovation isn’t just thinking about how you provide a product or service, but considering how you can make improvements to each area of your business and grow your business to a better level than it was previously. The world around us is always changing and SMEs need to change and adapt with it. Markets can appear and disappear overnight and there are always improvements you can make within your business or to your service offerings.
Having innovation embedded in your company culture allows you to remain one step ahead of your competitors and preserve the long-term sustainability of the business. This can bring its own challenges but ultimately keep you and your business on its toes and is extremely worthwhile.
By working closely to understand your businesses unique needs, means the right ideas and practical solutions can be implemented to help you grow and develop the business.
The following are the business areas that focus on innovation;
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Strategy & Culture
Looking at how innovation sits within your company culture and how innovation is facilitated within each team is key. Your employees are full of ideas, so not tapping into this resource is a wasted opportunity. Encouraging ownership and giving them the time and freedom they need to develop new ideas will benefit the business overall. -
Customers
Understanding your customers’ needs and wants is key to innovation and ensuring you have meaningful interactions with them. They will tell you what they need or want, which can guide you. Negative and positive feedback is crucial for innovation and how you encourage repeat business and referrals. Looking outside your business at market trends and opportunities and threats is also vital. -
Structure & Resources
Looking at how you uniquely organise your assets be they financial, physical intellectual or human to deliver maximum value and ensuring they have a meaningful goal is key. Ensuring that you only invest time, money and energy in concepts that show the greatest likelihood of success to avoid wasting resources is also important. -
Core Delivery Process
Making sure your core competency in operational delivery of your product or service yields competitive advantage and higher margins is key to innovation. -
Value Proposition
Delivering outstanding benefits to your customers and creating an innovative value proposition is vital for business success. -
Revenue
Maximising all potential revenue streams is key for business success. -
Brand & Channel
Developing a brand and portraying this effectively and consistently online and offline is a big part of innovation as well as your methods of reaching customers and your engagement with them. -
Network & Partners
Leveraging partnerships with other non-competing strategic alliances will also encourage business growth.
Want to learn more?
If you would like to discuss our Business Innovation service, book a Discovery Call here.
Sign up for a 1-2-1 Mentoring Session
Ready to start working on innovating your business? Sign up for a 1 or 2 hour 1-2-1 business mentoring session with Eileen here.