How Innovation Can Create Competitive Advantage For Your Business
Tim Bennett
AI Training Workshops for business leaders and teams | BOB-E AI Founder & MD at Powerhouse Digital + My Cloud Media
Innovation is key to success, especially across highly competitive industries in the SAAS tech and manufacturing sectors.
The good news is that many businesses are starting to work towards building a strong, innovative culture. A culture that not only supports employee development, boosts the employee experience, and ultimately, motivates them to do their best work, but also embraces and encourages innovation.
An innovative culture is about defining your business’ values, and ensuring everyone shares the same vision for the brand.
And, when it’s done right, it could be what enables you to become a leading innovator in your industry.
The challenge
‘Organisations of all sizes struggle to innovate as successfully as they’d like.’ That’s according to a Gartner survey, which notes six big obstacles to innovation. These obstacles include managing a change-resistant workforce, limited opportunities for collaboration, and simply not being ready to take the leap.
But innovation is key to success, especially across highly competitive industries such as manufacturing, engineering and tech. So how can you work to develop a strong culture of innovation in your business?
65% of businesses believe that an innovative culture is key to innovation success. If you believe the same, then it’s time to act.
Embrace these 3 tips on your journey to achieve greatness...
1. Lead by example
If you want your team to be forward thinkers, you must be prepared to adopt a forward-thinking mindset yourself.
Ask yourself what you could do that’s different, unusual, or unexpected within your niche.
Don’t be afraid to embrace digital transformation to help achieve it.
For example, you could launch a new digital marketing strategy, or adopt AI and machine learning technologies into your processes.
2. Reconsider your brand identity
What does your brand say about you?
While many businesses build a brand for their customers and clients, brand identity can also have an impact on employees.
If your brand is rigid and firmly rooted in tradition, then it might be time to change.
Consider moving from saying ‘this is what we do’ to ‘this is what we could do’; to being an open-minded brand not limited by its history, but empowered by its future.
3. Get everyone involved
As Gartner notes, limited opportunities for collaboration are a major barrier to innovation.
So it’s important to look for chances to bring different teams – and different perspectives – together.
One such area is marketing.
In fact, marketing is often more effective with cross-departmental input, as each team can provide their own insight into the buyer journey and target persona. It’s time to break down silos.
Achieving greatness
With the right attitudes towards challenging the norm, businesses can achieve great things.
Whether it’s introducing new technologies, modernising the manufacturing process, or engineering new products, developing a culture of innovation is the stepping stone needed to gain a competitive advantage.
As technology advances, opportunities for innovation are growing.
Don’t miss out on them just because you haven’t worked to develop a strong and resilient culture of innovation within your organisation.
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3 年I love to think of greatness as belonging to those who have mastered the ability to focus relentlessly on their ambitions and take decisive action towards them Tim Bennett