Innovation is in, so many companies are currently trying to stand out from the crowd through innovations. The thing is, however, innovations are not that easy to achieve for everyone. As the manager of a possibly shy team, how can you motivate your employees to be innovative and show them how to do it? Well, this is where innovation management comes in! Here are some great ways to guide your team on how to innovate.
Simply apply an already existing idea to your company
Innovation doesn’t necessarily mean coming up with something new. You can also take an existing idea and improve it as best as possible. But you can also take an idea from another industry and apply it to your company. If it works and makes someone’s life easier, you did everything right!
Ask your customers
When it comes to innovation, there are no better advisors than your clients. Because they know your products inside out – after all, it is they who use them! Your customers may use your products very differently than you originally imagined. So ask your customers, because you never know what ideas this will bring you!
Observe the behavior of your customers
Go a step further and organize a meeting where you can watch your customers’ behavior. You can see with your own eyes what your customers are actually doing with the products and you can possibly find something that makes their lives easier. You may also recognize that customers have already found innovative ways to use your products. You can then pass this knowledge on to your other customers.
Take a look at the customer complaints
When people don’t like something, they complain. So, look at the complaints that have been made to your company and identify the points that are proving to be particularly problematic. If a particular complaint occurs frequently, you can innovate and change something so that future users won’t face it.
Mix and match ideas
Have you ever thought about combining different functions? No? Just give it a try, it’s definitely innovative!
Get rid of useless functions
We can imagine how attached you are to a product you have created. Nevertheless, you should listen to your customers here. If there are features they don’t like or just don’t use, leave them out and invest your time in something that makes more sense.
Ask your team
Your sales or marketing team will surely have wonderful insights into what customers want. Share these findings with the production department so that everyone is on the same level of information.
Work together
Have you ever considered partnering with a competitor? It may sound crazy, but two heads are always better than one when it comes to innovation. So put the rivalries aside and work together to create something awesome!
Organize a competition
Outside inspiration – involve people outside of your company. Of course, when you work on a product all day, it is more difficult for you to think outside the box than for someone who is not involved in it. Find something you’d like to do and then organize an innovation contest. This will not only help you to generate new ideas, but also increase your marketing presence. Plus, all you have to do is organize a nice, work-related award!
Use social media
The people in your marketing department certainly swear by social listening tools. So ask the marketers to set up such a tool for you and watch what your users write about you. Maybe it will bring you inspiration!