Innovation is not just about shiny new toys

Innovation isn't just about the toys we use, the big and bold, disruptive, or the 'Game changing' industry-changing product or delivering radical new technology. In our market, and a good many others, from the major consultancy businesses to the one-man operations the survey equipment and software is so excellent and limited in choice it's hard to stand out against the competition. How, when we all use the same delivery process, even down to the same line width, can we do that?

However, it's often not about being the early adopter, the first with the flashy new scanner or sonar, it's often just small stuff, and you don't need to 'look outside the box' to find it. Quite often, the answers are already hiding in the dusty corners of the container you happen to be sitting in. Innovation comes in many guises. What we old dogs call 'New dogs, old tricks'. And it has nothing to do with your kit, how many millions of points you can capture a minute, or whether you are a GPR Jedi.

Here's a secret. YOU are not in the business of surveying or reality capture. You are in the business of marketing that service.

Your success or failure in this is defined by the stories told about your organisation; Stories that will engage the trust of potential customers or get you the opportunity to see the best CVs of future employees. When trying to find the story you need to tell, here are four simple areas to focus on where any business, both large and small, can be truly innovative without spending a lot of money on R&D and translating marketing consultantspeak.

1. Map and add value to your selling process, polish, and then repeat.

Most of us don't have an organised step-by-step selling process that predictably converts prospects into paying clients. You just can't leave this to hit and miss or luck. When someone is interested in meeting with you to talk about your services, the hard work of marketing is over. But the work of selling has just begun. What works, what doesn't? Don't know? Then find out. The first order is just the first step, and to realize a sale is not a sale until you get the second order. What story are you sharing at each step?

Ask yourself, how can I add value to my customer at every step of the sales process.

...a free white paper, a lifetime warranty, free training, sending an SMS before delivery or to say you are on-site, an on-line copy of an agreement.... the list is endless...

2.Think Bigger

We have no idea what the economy will do this year, but, having now gone through five recessions, I know one way to combat complex and uncertain times is to think more expansively - make bigger plans, involve more people. Above all, don't go off the radar waiting for things to get better. Instead, be responsible for making things better. It is amazing how 'lucky' people work hard and put themselves out there, and simply turn up.

Ask yourself..... How can you behave bigger? How can you tell your story on a larger stage?

It really doesn't take much; spend ￡25 more on your business card, wear a better quality logoed shirt.... have a website that doesn't look like your 12-year-old nephew did it. Have a website that doesn't just tell people how good you think you are. Actually, nobody is interested. All they want to know is, can I trust this person to solve my problem. Email your list of contacts who have given you permission to do so, with non- salesey content, to introduce other people. What does that content look like? You know what you wouldn't want to receive yourself. Why do we think everyone else is any different. Why send out karaoke rubbish, you yourself would delete in a hummingbirds heartbeat.

Tip- Don't share screen-shots of topo plans which everyone does or a fly-through model of a church down the road. It tells me nothing. Tell me what the problem was and how you solved it and you get my attention.

3.Visibility.

A very simple marketing maxim is that people like to do business with people they know, like, and trust, but that will never happen unless they know you exist and are visible and consistent. Marketing activities like networking, social media, publishing articles, and speaking make you more visible to your target clients. Visibility is an appropriate marketing target, it's a ( very) good thing.

All you can reasonably ask of any marketing strategy is that if your services are required in the future, then your name pops up in the customer's head. That is all marketing can do. It can't wave a magic wand and conjure business out of thin air. This is why the role of marketing manager has the highest churn rate of any position in any organization. Unrealistic expectations of the impact it can have in the short term. It can just create an opportunity for you.

Ask yourself... How can you add impressions?

Tip. Implore, beg, cajole your staff not to park your logoed van in between other cars at the supermarket or mall. Why not park company vehicles at the end of the row, preferably near the exit? It's free advertising. While they do their own shopping. And pay them expenses to keep their vehicle clean.

4.Consistency and clarity

If you ask your best friends and business associates what you do, you may be surprised by the answer! In almost all cases, they'll give you a vague answer, such as "something about surveying?." And it's not their fault - it's yours! They just don't know what your story is!

Find a consistent and attention-getting message and use it in all verbal and written marketing messages. It isn't dull for your clients so don't think you have to change it every five minutes. You'll get tired of it long before your potential clients do.

Tip - Ask yourself... how can I simplify what I tell people what I do into one sentence.

Mine is "I help my customers be there from anywhere.

5. Use a rifle, not a shotgun

It's not enough to be visible and use good marketing messages. That will only get you so far. A marketing campaign is a plan to communicate to specific potential clients about a specific service that you offer with the intention of setting up one-on-one selling conversations. The more qualified selling conversations you set up, the better your conversion rate, the higher your income.

Ask yourself.... how can I sanity check my customers and leads, so I know that they really are my potential customers.

How well do you understand what you are selling really? If I am selling a CAD drawing or a point cloud or am I selling peace of mind and information, not just pretty models to look at

Tip - Ask yourself. Is this a RELEVANT message to customers? Why am I talking about a railway project when my customer is a house builder?

If you apply the above ideas in your business, you really can increase your income this year and be way more 'innovative than the competition. That really is all you are really trying to do, and it only needs a small difference at key points in the sales and follow-up to make a massive difference.

Now that is Innovation. And dare I say, just Common Sense.