How to Keep Your Company Technologically Innovative

Posted on by ASCENT: Administrator Support Community for ENT

Innovation is the key to survival. Businesses that place an emphasis on continuous transformation are better positioned to remain a step ahead of their competitors who remain stagnant. This is especially important if you’re a tech company.

Tech Companies Must Strive for Innovation

Woman working at a tech company

While innovation is important for all businesses, it is more important for some than others. Tech companies, which rely on introducing new and improved products and services on a regular basis in order to thrive, are especially driven by a focus on innovation. It’s a crucial component in expanding their value proposition and helps explain why there’s a new iPhone or Fitbit tracker every year. Balance is important; tech companies must remain faithful to their original product lineups while expanding them. This can be tricky, but the following tips will help ensure you remain innovative.

  1. Reframe your buyer. Harkening back to Apple as a prime example, Steve Jobs was able to successfully turn the company around by reframing and introducing a new narrative based upon simplicity, positivity and emotion, thoroughly changing consumer perceptions. You can take the Steve Jobs approach by determining whether your current products are meeting people’s needs. It’s helpful to put yourself in your customer’s shoes and ask questions such as, why are you selling what you’re selling, and why are your customers buying what you’re selling? This can help spark new ideas and sales and marketing approaches.
  2. Take a team approach. Many companies promote teamwork in order to improve efficiency and boost creativity, and this is especially important for those in the tech industry. Sharing ideas helps generate growth and innovation and is encouraged by companies who want to be viewed as forward-thinking. Creating an open environment in which suggestions are welcomed from everybody almost always leads to new ideas.
  3. Don’t innovate just to innovate. It’s tempting to come out with a new or upgraded product on a regular basis, but if your innovations aren’t valuable, you’re better off waiting. It’s best to hold off until your innovations have been thoroughly tested, work well and are easy to explain. Otherwise, you risk upsetting your customer base by encouraging them to spend their hard-earned money on a product that isn’t very different from their current one. If your innovation is truly radical, promote it by creating hype and excitement. Consider a beta version that is invite-only in order to build buzz, and roll it out slowly. This will help drive home the point that you are focused on innovativeness.

Innovation is something you need to work at, and there is no one-size-fits-all approach. Try to stay true to your company’s identity and innovate based on your value proposition and company structure. This way, you aren’t trying to fit a square peg into a round hole (though let’s face it, if you could do that, you’d truly be considered innovative!), but rather, doing what comes naturally.