Being innovative in business is often more of an art than a science but there are plenty of ideas to implement to help encourage innovation within your business. How to be innovative in business can often be modelled or demonstrated but it can be hard to teach as it depends on many dynamic factors. Taggart & Partners provides an array of business advisory services and we present these suggestions on innovation in hopes that they help spark something new and productive in your organisation.
What does it mean to be innovative in business?
Ultimately being innovative in business means improving your profitability through more efficient processes, improved products, and better relationships with your customers. Exactly what this looks like will depend on your unique circumstances.
In broad terms, you will want to be comfortable with building pauses into your routines that allow you to assess and ask questions about what is working, why it works, and if it’s viable for the future. Your organisation will need to be comfortable with trying new things and the potential failure that comes with such experimentation. Knowing how to be innovative in business means being able to differentiate between good decisions and bad outcomes. Give your employees the ability to make decisions based on your business’s guiding principles not a strict set of rules.
How can a business be innovative?
There are many ways of being innovative in business, creativity takes many forms, and changes range from the small and simple up to the large and detailed. Whichever new service, product, or process you wish to implement will need to originate from people who feel encouraged to be creative.
Preparing for Innovation
Make innovation a part of your core business strategy as it will help you survive and grow stronger. Including innovation as central to your business helps create an environment where creativity is encouraged rather than simply random.
Communication
Maintain a consistent line of communication with your customers, suppliers, and partners. Send out surveys to your customers to generate feedback about possible areas of improvement. Communication and action will make people feel heard and creates a good relationship. Talk with your suppliers about current trends and work on making them better. Listen to your employees and make sure they have the skills and resources to excel in their work.
Models of Innovation
The following models can help innovate in different areas of your business:
- Industry-model: Examine the industry you work in and assess potential industries to convert over to. Can your goods or services be marketed to other industries?
- Business-model: Evaluate your business model for areas of innovation. Look at your mission statement, business processes, or partnerships for areas to improve productivity or to establish new relationships.
- Revenue-model: Appraise your revenue model to see how your products and services can be improved. Can you market your products to new customers or improve your supply chain?
Importance of Innovation
The importance of being innovative in business is vital to your organisation’s success. For example, observing how customers use your products can potentially lead to new ways of marketing them and help grow your business. Keeping in front of your competitors requires a consistent focus on trends in your industry as well as making your customers happy. Failing to innovate means constantly catching up to the creative leaders in your field and potentially being left behind. Innovation can also help you maximise new technologies that will make your business more efficient and competitive. Innovation is a creative process that can help build your brand, improved employee satisfaction, and push your business to be more competitive.
Looking for more innovative solutions?
Taggert & Partners is an accounting firm Brisbane businesses trust and value for its effective and valuable answers. If you have questions about growing your business, tax minimisation, or other accounting needs please contact us on 07 3391 1188 or get in touch with us online.