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Photo of Sarah Bryars Chief Executive of Target

How does your business innovate?

 

Innovation has become a buzzword often associated with entrepreneurialism, tech and R&D tax credits. But is that the whole story? What does it mean to innovate in your business?

Author: Sarah Bryars, Chief Executive at Target

A ‘light bulb’ moment on a QuoLux leadership masterclass changed the way I thought about innovation and started Target on its innovation journey. Now, we’re on a mission to talk to businesses about the ways that expert communication can drive innovation, whether you’re a manufacturer with a long list of patents, or a small service-led firm that’s never had an innovation strategy.

We think it’s helpful to think about innovation as a spectrum of activity, from continuous improvement to radical disruption, each progressively different from your core existing offer and customer base.

Decisions about what type of innovation to pursue come down to business strategy, vision and objectives. A firm ready to embrace ‘risk’ may choose diversification, experimenting in a new market with a radical innovation that is a departure from its core product.

This often grabs the spotlight but it’s the pursuit of incremental innovation that drives sustainable growth. And, crucially, has so much potential for every firm to embrace, whatever their size or sector, whether manufacturing or service-led.

Wrap your head around that and then consider these questions:

  • How will you achieve buy-in from staff for your strategy?
  • Are you really sure what will add value to your customers?
  • Can you succinctly describe a compelling reason for customers to choose you?
  • How can you encourage more of your potential market to get on board?

The answers all lie in effective, expert communication. It’s the basis of our research among SME chief executives, which you can read in our free whitepaper ‘Driving innovation through expert communication’, available via Target’s website.

In a fast-changing world, standing still means falling behind. So, don’t leave innovation to the inventors. Innovation is for everyone.

Target is an award-winning agency that helps clients to communicate brilliantly; to be understood, distinctive and chosen.