4 Benefits of Innovation in Business

By Mike Kappel

(Allbusiness) As a business owner, you should always look for new ways to improve your business. You must find ways to solve problems, increase productivity, and edge out competitors. I’ve been in business for 30 years, so I can tell you competition and problems never go away.

How do you find new ways to do things? You need creativity and innovation. Without those two things, you will be stuck doing things the same old way. And, you’ll end up copying your competitors so you can keep up with them, instead of creating original ideas that will help

you grow beyond your competitors.

The Benefits of Innovation in Business

There are many reasons why you should develop innovative thinking in the workplace:

1. Solve impossible problems.

Does your business have a problem that doesn’t seem to go away no matter how many times you try to get rid of it? Maybe the reason the problem persists is because you came up with a status quo solution. Perhaps what you need is a creative answer.

When you think outside the box, you might find an answer that no one else thought of before. Whether it’s a better way to make your product, store your inventory, or ship to customers, you can find a creative solution to better your business.

 2. Increase workplace productivity.

If you and your staff are bogged down with work and struggle to get everything done, it might be time to become more productive. But, to increase workplace productivity, you have to find new processes.

Use your creativity to think of better ways to do company processes. What things can you streamline? What things can you cut out? What can you delegate to other employees or outside agencies? Are there programs or workflows you can use to increase productivity?

At my companies, we use our homegrown project tracker system to assign tasks, monitor progress, and prioritize tasks. There are plenty of methods out there that we could use, but instead we built one that meets our specific needs. And, we can update the software as our needs change so we can remain productive.

In your business, test out your ideas. You might be surprised by the combination of ideas that work together to make your new, innovative productivity plan.

3. Showcase unique qualities.

You can use creativity and innovation to make your business stand out from other businesses in your locality and niche. This is where unique small business marketing comes in.

You need innovative ideas that make people remember your business. Maybe you come up with a unique brand story, develop a quirky business personality, or work with a local nonprofit.

Once your business has a unique character, you need to market it. Show off what makes your business different. Innovate a marketing plan that matches your business’s personality. You don’t have to be like all the other businesses. Customers will probably remember you better if you aren’t like other businesses.

4. Beat tough competitors.

When you are an innovative thinker in business, you can beat out your competitors. With a little creativity, you can come up with better ways to design products, connect with customers, market your business, and develop promotions.

Instead of using standard business ideas or copying your competitors, you’ll be coming up with your own ideas. And because your innovations are like no other business’s, hopefully potential customers will take notice and go to your business instead of another.

How to Add Innovation to Your Business

Now that you know the advantages of innovation in business, you need to add innovation to your business. Innovation isn’t a one-time deal, though. Innovation must be nonstop so you have a continuous stream of ways to improve your business. So, how do you make innovation a part of your company culture?

You certainly can bear the sole responsibility for creative thinking in the workplace. You can set aside time every day or week to work on innovation. But generating new ideas and ways to do things can take a while.

If you have employees, rely on them to help with innovation. Come up with a way to gather ideas from employees. Support employees and encourage them to create more ideas. Stress the importance of creativity in business to the organization’s future success. Be transparent and let them know what happened with their previous ideas. Accepting, using, and giving updates on employee ideas will help foster an innovative staff.

When you hire new employees, ask them about their previous innovations. What did they come up with at previous jobs? What is their creative process? By asking the right questions, you can hire great employees who can contribute to the creativity in your business.

Also, talk to your customers. Ask for reviews on the buying process and your product. Your customers might say something that sparks your creativity and causes you to improve your business.

When you integrate innovation into your business, you need to become comfortable with failure. Not every innovative idea will work, but the possibility of failure shouldn’t scare you off from trying your creative, new ideas and reaping the benefits of innovation in business.

Mike Kappel is the founder and CEO of Patriot Software, LLC, and has over 30 years of entrepreneurial experience.