Transcript

Hi this is professional innovation catalyst Toni Newman and welcome to another episode of the Innovation Advantage Podcast series –  the place to be if you want to continuously discover new and different ways to use innovation and customer experience to drive more customers, more revenue and more growth in your business.

And I guess that you could say that today’s show goes to the heart of what this podcast series is all about and that is how to gain and sustain your innovation advantage in the marketplace.

But to gain an Innovation Advantage, you and your organization need to innovate in three key areas of your business –areas that we call the 3 critical Innovation Advantage Imperatives.

Imagine those 3 imperatives as a Venn diagram with 3 circles and a spot in the middle where the circles overlap.  Well, when your organization out innovates and out differentiates your competition in the 3 critical innovation imperatives, you end up in that innovation sweet spot in the middle and that is where you begin to gain and sustain your Innovation Advantage.  And that is how you stand out in today’ highly competitive and increasingly commoditized marketplace so that you gain drive more customers, more revenue and more growth in your business.

So those 3 critical Innovation Advantage Imperatives.

• Create Value (think products, services and even business models); (highlight Create)
• Demonstrate Value (think sales and marketing in the broadest sense); (highlight Demonstrate)
• Deliver Value (think operational excellence via all delivery methods).

The first Innovation Advantage Imperative is to Create Value

This is where businesses put innovation to work by continuously creating and designing new and innovative products, services, processes and experiences that provide strategic value to their customers.

Case in point, UK based company ARM creates the code that powers the processors that drive over 90% of smart phones worldwide.  Considered to be one of the most innovative companies in the world, ARM continuously creates strategically innovative value for its customers not only by designing new code that companies such as Apple and Samsung can then license for their own use, but by adapting and repurposing applications of that code for everything from digital networks to refrigerators^.

The innovative products, services, intellectual property and business models that you create for your customers make up your unique code.

But ask yourself this…

When was the last time that you created new and innovative code for your customers?

And speaking of your unique code – Is your unique code truly unique? Simply put – Is it innovative enough to differentiate you from your toughest competition?

And are you continuously re-inventing and repurposing your unique code in ways that continue to drive your innovation advantage in the marketplace?

The second Innovation Advantage Imperative is Demonstrate Value

The Demonstrate value imperative encourages us to apply the principles of strategic innovation to how we demonstrate the value of our unique code to our customers so that our message stands out in the crowd; so that our customers are not only aware of but also intrigued by the innovative offerings that we have created.

Because regardless of how innovative your code may be, if no one understands and appreciates the difference between the value of your code and that of your competitors – or even worse, if no one even knows that your innovative code exists – your innovations are destined to remain perilously invisible to the very customers that you created them for.

When Ikea transforms a staircase into an innovative chest of drawers they demonstrate and differentiate the value of their unique code.  When Reebok designs a shoe that actually grips the top of the shoebox, they demonstrate and differentiate the value of their high grip climbing shoes. When the Australia Post creates a campaign that turns handwritten letters into hugs, they demonstrate and differentiate the value of sending letters as opposed to emails to loved ones.

Your sales and marketing efforts provide you with countless opportunities to use innovation to demonstrate and differentiate the value of your unique code to your ideal customers, but ask yourself this…

When it comes to demonstrating value, does your organization dare 2b different?

When was the last time that you Do you use innovative approaches to demonstrate the value of your unique code? to your customers?

Do you consistently out-innovate your competition by demonstrating value in a way that actually makes you different?

The third Innovation Advantage Imperative is Deliver Value

For some reason many organizations completely overlook the multitude of innovative opportunities that exist in the deliver value phase.  Opportunities to create strategically innovative customer experiences that can differentiate them from their competition by delivering more value for more customers more often when they least expect it.

For example, Umpqua delivers banking services in stores (not branches) that have water bowls for pets, freshly baked cookies on Fridays and a comfortable café environment where customers can have a coffee, read the newspaper and surf the internet. At Pike’s Place Fish Market in Seattle shouting fishmongers deliver their fare by throwing it across the room to each other.  And in the not too distant future, companies like Amazon may well use drones to deliver your grocery purchases to your front door.  (love pet bowl and cookie… can we add a cup of coffee?)

Identify the moments in your customer journeys when your organization delivers value and then ask yourself …

When it comes to delivering value, does your organization dare 2b different?

When was the last time that Do you out-innovate your competition when you deliver value to your customers?

Do you strive to design innovative delivery experiences? Does your delivery experience really deliver?

So there you have it…

Create value, Demonstrate Value and Deliver Value

Three critical innovation imperatives that will help you gain and sustain your own unique Innovation Advantage in the marketplace so that you can drive more customers, more revenue and more growth in your business.

I hope that this video has provided you with some valuable insights – as well as some questions to consider.  Questions like.. Where do you stand when it comes to the three Innovation Advantage Imperatives,

Where are your strengths and where are your challenges?

What steps do you need to take next to gain and sustain your Innovation Advantage in the marketplace?

And as always, I invite you to head over toninewman.com and check out the Innovation Advantage blog where you will find more videos as well as articles, podcasts and downloadable resources that can help you grow your business.

And while you’re there, make sure to subscribe to our email list and become an Innovation Advantage Insider. You will get our Innovation advantage Insider’s report with our best content– tips, techniques and tutorials that will help you drive more customers, more revenue and more growth in your business.

This has been Toni Newman with another episode of the Innovation Advantage podcast series.  I appreciate your time and I look forward to catching up with you next time but until then, remember your innovation advantage depends upon your ability to create, demonstrate and deliver more innovative value to more customers more often than your competition. Imagine the possibilities!