Our 4-Step Approach To Innovation

Good partners in business are honest and do that they say they will do. Great partners in business (which is what we strive to be at Blend) are also innovative. Not only do they live up to their word, they introduce new solutions that you did not even know were possible. Products and services that fix problems you were unaware of.

Our carefully crafted approach to innovation is below. Many of our industry partners and even some competitors have asked how we are able to consistently, month after month, introduce new product lines and services to customers without overextending ourselves. Here's how we do it.

Understand The Customer

Innovation is ultimately the process of introducing something new to the world. Our industry partners and the other industries where we are looking to make an impact are our world. If we can fully understand what they are going through every day, then we can know what products or services are missing from their arsenal.

One recent product line that we introduced, is SurfaceLiner+. This is a surface protection solution that allows our industry partners working with sensitive surfaces to have some peace of mind. When utilizing this product, they do not have to worry about mechanical damage, liquid spills or their employees slipping. I recommend my article "Preventing The #1 Injury" for more information regarding this innovative solution. Before being introduce to SurfaceLiner+, many facilities were having to repair surfaces that had been damaged during transit or throughout their manufacturing process.

Consider Darrell Velegol's similar approach in "How to Innovate During a Crisis":

"The first step is to determine the product that you want to make. In an innovation process, this is akin to identifying and refining the future voice of the customer (FVoC). The FVoC is the definition of your customer's needs and wants at some future time. The FVoC is not what the customer wants right now, but what they will want in the future. Your innovation process must predict what the customer will want when the innovation launches."

Know The Iceberg

Making any semblance of an impact on several industries simultaneously is challenging. We think of it like an iceberg. The majority of the mass is below the water line. Only 1/8th of the iceberg is visible according to the U.S. Coast Guard Navigation Center.

The vast majority of the effort and activity that you are actually going to do will go unnoticed and unseen. It has been helpful for us to go into these efforts with this mindset.

We have had several visible successes. Published articles, big product launches, happy customers, etc. What is not visible are all of the orders entered by our customer service team, phone calls dialed to present new innovations, products shipped and website pages created (just to name a few).

We have found one of Grant Cardone's principles to be true: "People optimistically overestimate how well things will go and then underestimate how much energy and effort it will take just to push things through."

Derek Clinton in Indianapolis Business Journal said something similar:

"Most see the disruptive solutions, fun workspaces and invigorating employee engagements. But below sea level is a world of nitty-gritty, painstaking planning and effort... Persistence is your ally."

Learn To Love Problems

Around our headquarters in Fort Worth we refer to problems as "opportunities." Anytime a customer presents a problem, we see it as a chance to gain their trust and provide a unique solution. It is amazing to see some of the situations we are presented with and how our team is able to help resolve them in a new way.

One example of a recent innovation is Vantage Specialty Chemical's Bioact 280. We have been approached by several facilities that are looking to decrease their environmental impact moving into 2022 and keep their employees safer during chemical use. They've been unable to meet their environmental goals in the past, which is a problem. We have utilized our relationship with Vantage to introduce environmentally-friendly alternatives to help customers meet their goals. This solvent cleaner is a good replacement for Methylene Chloride, which has been linked to multiple fatalities.

Many paint shops around the country have simply been abandoned by their supplier, resulting in paint failures. When we come across these situations, we smile and don't give up because it means we have another opportunity to use our expertise to help someone.

Consider Jim Fier's approach, he is Cummins' chief technical officer:

"We currently do not have all the answers as to how we are going to meet these targets, and we recognize we will not be able to do this alone. But, by putting the difficult challenge in front of the team, we create the atmosphere to encourage innovation, pushing one another to find solutions."

Never Stop Learning

We are a training-focused company. We are very intentional about giving each employee ample opportunities to grow in their role and get better at what they do. No matter their title or tenure, they all have training goals. As a distributor of industrial supplies and coatings, many of our gaps in knowledge are related to these new products. Our response to this is that hands-on training is not only encouraged but required. Only by using the products ourselves can we come to fully understand the problems and needs of our target market.

Our ability to understand our customers' needs and environment is what truly allows us to stand out in our industry. It gives us the ability to continually sense and act on our industry partners' needs. This is how we have known what services and products need to be introduced ahead of time.

Consider Ikuiro Nonaka's take from "The Knowledge-Creating Company":

"In an economy where the only certainty is uncertainty, the one sure source of lasting competitive advantage is knowledge. When markets shift, technologies proliferate, competitors multiply and products become obsolete almost overnight, successful companies are those that consistently create new knowledge, disseminate it widely throughout the organization, and quickly embody it in new technologies and products."

Sources

"How Much of An Iceberg is Below the Water." - U.S. Department of Homeland Security, United States Coast Guard

“How to Be Innovative at a Big Company.” Indianapolis business journal 41, no. 14 (2020): 16–17A.

“Innovation.”?Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster.

?Slater, Stanley F. “Learning How to Be Innovative.” Business strategy review 19, no. 4 (2008): 46–51.

Velegol, Darrell. "How to Innovate during a Crisis."?Chemical Engineering Progress?116, no. 8 (08, 2020): 52-56.