Innovative ideas – what are they about?
Businesses are increasingly realizing that it is getting more important to come up with, and manage innovative ideas. But what exactly does this mean? According to an article on businessweek.com, innovation nowadays is about much more than new products. “It is about reinventing business processes and building entirely new markets that meet untapped customer needs. Most important, as the Internet and globalization widen the pool of new ideas, it’s about selecting and executing the right ideas and bringing them to market in record time.”
Innovative ideas: Coming up with them
It’s a competitive world, and no secret that innovative ideas are the key to success. An innovative idea is one that introduces something new, or puts a spin on an existing idea to introduce something new, and often, practical. Take a look at the image to the right; this is an example of taking two existing ideas and making a new one. It takes many companies weeks, or even months to come up with a certain innovative idea that drives their business to success. Most companies conduct surveys and hold numerous brainstorming sessions to find out what customers want. The challenge in doing this is that they must ask the right questions, and from surveys, guess what the customers really mean.
Innovative ideas: Born from what customers aren’t saying
When international conglomerate 3M, known for manufacturing adhesives such as post-it notes, noticed that customers were leaving post-its and jotting down notes on cell phones and laptops, they knew that they had to come up with innovative ideas.
Noticing that digital photography was on the rise, 3M researchers asked to see their customers’ photos. What followed was always a clunky process: Consumers would scroll through screen upon screen of photos or have to dig through a drawer for the few shots they printed. Thus, the Post-it Picture Paper, photo paper coated with adhesive that lets people stick their photos to a wall for display, was born. “We listened carefully to what consumers didn’t say and observed what they did,” says Jack Truong, vice-president of 3M’s office supply division. (source: businessweek.com)
Develop innovative ideas with OneDesk
It’s been proven that for every customer complaint, there are 26 other customers who have remained silent. This occurs when they don’t respond to customer surveys, or if the customer survey does not ask the right questions. With OneDesk, your company can listen to the social web and find out what customers really think about your product or service. You can collaborate with your customers, ask questions, and read the discussions they have amongst themselves. This will surely help you and your team develop innovative ideas and build a stronger business.