Business innovation: what and when to change

To innovate means to make new, this involves change and transformation into something that does not yet exist. For companies, it means developing a new look that may concern a product, a process, marketing, internal organization or the entire business in all its elements. Understanding what and when to innovate is crucial to the functioning and growth of a renewed business.

First step: the right mindset

Transformation into something new means overcoming the usual patterns and building new foundations, starting with the approach to this change. Habit to what is known and routine make the mind lazy and it can therefore find some obstacles in facing change, but it is essential to have the right attitude to break away from the past and reach the future.

Furthermore, having established the right approach and being clear about the goal of transformation, with a renewed mindset, it is necessary to actively involve all the rest of the company, from employees to suppliers to financiers if necessary.

Second step: what to innovate

Product innovation means introducing a new good or service, or a significantly improved version of it, e.g. materials, components, software or other important features.

Process innovation, however, occurs when it is the performance of a certain activity that changes, which may concern the production of a good or the type of service delivery.

Bringing innovation into marketing occurs when significant changes are to be made in the approach to promoting what the company offers; it may involve changing the price or the target audience, or even the positioning of the entire company.

When it is the organization that innovates, on the other hand, it means that the transformation concerns the internal aspects of reality, such as the company’s operational flows, business practices or internal services.

Third step: identify the right transformative moment

Fundamental to ensuring sustainable innovation, not only in the short term but also in the long term, is to make the change at the right time, avoiding anticipating the timing and risking failing to sustain the transformation, or delaying the profitable moment and being out of the market.

Fourth step: strategy

Successful innovation requires a strategy to follow that can help develop the right mindset, to understand what to change and when to change. It is therefore necessary to establish the starting point and the end point in order to design the direction to follow and achieve the desired result.

Omninext as innovation partner

The Omninext group, thanks to constant internal innovation with a research and development department that collaborates with universities and research centers, and through the specialized multidisciplinary teams that compose the companies of the entire ecosystem, possesses knowledge, expertise and a long-range vision that allows the group to be an expert advisor to be trusted to renew a business.

Omninext consultants support companies during all stages of innovation: from defining the potential to studying the target market, from codifying the starting points to achieving growth objectives, from defining the strategy to concrete and tangible transformation.