Innovate or Die
Posted by Jaci Russo
Innovate or Die
Businesses are facing tougher challenges than ever before. More competition from other businesses and more distracted consumers. Add to that the amount of control that consumers now possess and it puts companies, most companies at least, at the bottom of the pile.
So what should an organization do? There are literally thousands of opportunities to grow the brand. New technologies that can be embraced. Conversations that can be joined. Potential consumers that can be courted. Opportunities that can be investigated.
What is the first step?
Admitting that you have to change. And that is the scariest step of all. I sit in a lot of board rooms right now and listen to CEOs tell me that their industry is different. Their consumers are different. They either don’t see, or don’t want to see, that change is here and if they don’t adapt they will die.
I leave those meetings and wonder why they don’t see it. Why don’t they want to embrace the change? Why not start doing something differently and getting a different result?
“Good Enough”
They aren’t in enough pain yet. Their profits haven’t dropped to a low enough point yet. They aren’t compelled to do anything differently because it is still “Good Enough”.
Good enough is the enemy of great. Good enough is the beginning of a loss of brand equity. Good enough is what happens right before the profits start to slide.
Consumers aren’t interested in good enough. Consumers want you to work for their love and loyalty. They want to connect with you and they want to know you care enough to work for it. It’s like the early stages of dating. If you aren’t innovating, changing , looking for ways to do it better, then it’s like you stopped opening the car door, bringing flowers, and complimenting her. She will start feeling taken advantage of and will start looking for that attention somewhere else.
Yes, it used to be easier. But it’s not anymore. Start looking for ways to make your brand better than just “good enough”. Or your competition will come along and redefine your space. And then it will never be good enough again.
photo by David Armano
