Innovation is something that changes meaning from person to person. For some, it’s about new tech, for others it’s about new ideas, and some thin innovation lies in creativity. So to remove some of the confusion from the frame, let’s see what is innovation and how innovation consulting can improve your business:
What is innovation?
In short, innovation involves taking an idea and turning it into reality. Innovation usually adds value to the lives of users and customers. Innovation and invention are two very similar things, but innovation always results in value or causes a change in behavior or interactions, which is not necessarily the case with inventions. Let’s see an example: the first light bulb stayed an invention because it was replaced so soon that it didn’t provide any real value to users. On the other hand, Edison’s light bulb is an innovation. When it comes to business, you want to aim for innovation, because it has value.
What is innovation consulting?
Innovation consulting is here to help people solve issues and adapt to change as quickly and effortlessly as possible. Clients looking for innovation consulting usually ask for a strategy that’s ambitious or help with creativity and innovation. People might want to company transform their company philosophy, push employees to invest in innovation and put their ideas to work. Many clients want their employees to think, be curious and exercise their creativity, as well as act with agility. Through innovation consulting, businesses and customers can relate well together, collaborate and get the best out of each other.
Why do you need innovation consulting?
According to research, only 6% of managers are satisfied with their business’ level of innovation, yet more than 80% of them identified innovation as a key strategy for growth. This statistic shows how easy it is to neglect innovation. Many brands start with many innovative ideas, but over time, they focus more on keeping their brand alive than innovating ideas. To make innovation a priority, it’s necessary to invest in innovation consulting that will create a culture of developing new ideas. It’s important to embrace curiosity and creativity, but also be consistent in pursuing innovation if you want your brand to keep pushing forward.
How does it work?
Now that you might be starting to get the picture of why innovation consulting is important and how it can benefit your business, it’s time to look at the process and see how it works. Every project, company, team and innovation consulting agency is different, so the process varies from instance to instance, but it usually contains actions like identifying your needs, creating strategies and researching future trends.
· Identify Your Needs
Your consultant team will probably start by studying your operation and identifying your needs. No matter what you’re looking for (product development, developing a new business team, etc.) your consultants will make sure both of you are on the right page before becoming partners. Then, they will put you in contact with the right people, and give you access to other consultants, etc.
· Creating Strategies
In most cases, you and your innovation team will collaborate through strategy creation. They can help you create a mission with clear and concise aims that will point out the importance of innovation for your business. Your team of executives will collaborate with innovation teams, create a strategy, pass it down to the rest of the team and make sure everyone agrees.
· Looking to the Future
No matter why you hire your innovation consultants (for digital innovation, product development, new business team development, etc.), you will spend a lot of time together researching future trends. If your goal is to become an industry leader that’s two steps in front of their competition at all times, it’s important to know what the target market wants. A good innovation consultant will be able to tell you about the ways you can affect customers, services and products, and use your knowledge to your advantage. By looking to the future, you can create new products and services and improve people’s lives—this is a critical step if you want to become an industry leader or simply stay afloat in this demanding economy.
Any modern business can use innovation consulting to avoid their brand getting stuck in a rut. The business world is very competitive, but investing in innovation can help you stay relevant in a saturated market.