To prove the phrase stated in the title of this essay either wrong or right, we’ll have to define the meaning of the word ‘innovation’. A random dictionary translates the word innovation as ‘the introduction of something new’. But in today’s world, what is new? Is it body lotion with ‘skin-identical lipids’, extra large coffee-pads for a mug of coffee instead of a cup, or a cell phone with a 3.0 megapixel camera instead of 2.0? These products are all introduced to the market as innovative, but are they really? Or are they just improvements of products which ones were innovations? And even more important, what is the role of the value a consumer attaches to the so-called innovation? Should the word ‘innovative’ be related to the value the consumer attaches to it? Can a product be tagged ‘innovative’ if the consumer doesn’t want it?
A perfect example of a case which emphasizes that innovation without a customer is not innovation is the Nestlé story in April of this year. With the help of many experts, Nestlé decided it was time to ‘innovate’ their chocolate brand Cailler. A new recipe and a new wrap were the result. One thing Nestlé ‘forgot’ was to research whether there actually was a need for this innovation. What should have been a boost for the traditional chocolate brand eventually ended up as a total failure. One of the causes for this failure was the non-recyclable wrap. In a time like this, where climate changes and environmental issues are a huge trend, Nestlé could have easily known the non-recyclable wrap would not be a good idea. Not only research about the needs and wants of the customers lacked; apparently research lacked at all points.
A person with an interesting view on new products is Gijs van Wulfen. This economist, writer, marketer and innovation accelerator doesn’t only have an opinion about what innovation is, but also knows the importance of customer insights.
Gijs van Wulfen sees it this way: each ‘new’ product can be placed in a category. There are three different categories: new to the world, new to the market and new to the company.
In his opinion, innovation can be applied in all three categories. The classification just decides what the amount of innovation is. Clearly the new to the world products are the most innovative; new to the company products are innovative as well, but just for the company.
I consider new to the market and new to the company products not as innovative. I rather see them as ‘me too’ products or improvements of products that already exist.
But let’s say there is a new to the world product. It’s never been seen before. This would then be called a truly innovative product. But then there is the customer issue. Does the world, to which the product is so new, need it? When innovating, Gijs van Wulfen emphasizes the importance of customer insights: “A customer insight is a fresh and not-yet-obvious understanding of customers that can become the basis for competitive advantage.”
Especially in this time where (potential) customers can so easily be reached (internet), this should be one of the first steps in the process of developing a new product. But Nestlé is not the only company who lacks researching customer insights. Recent research done by MarketResponse shows that marketers lack to explore good ways to get customer insights. The current developments on the internet make it easy for marketers to contact their (potential) customers. All they have to do is take a look at social networking websites to find out about their preferences. It appears from the research that many marketers don’t know how to handle the information.
In my opinion in the process of innovating could be enriched with customer insights easily this way. All the marketers have to do is take the step into this world that seems so hard for them to reach.
I think a product can only be tagged ‘innovative’ when it meets two requirements:
1. The product is new to the world
2. There is a market for the product
When the newly introduced product doesn’t meet one of these requirements, I think it is not innovative. Is it not new to the world, but there is a market for it? That is fine, but not innovative. It is simply a ‘me too’ product or an improvement of an existing product. Is the product new to the world, but there is no market for it? Then the product is useless, it will not generate profit and it is not worth the word innovative. It’s clear that an innovation defined as above, results in very little innovations a year. But isn’t this what being innovative is all about? Not every company can simply define themselves as being innovative; it is something you have to earn by introducing a world-changing product. It takes understanding your customer and whole lot of creativity and competence, not just adding to word ‘innovative’ to your positioning.
Literature
Jacqueline Fackeldey. Innovatie zonder de klant is geen innovatie: Nestlé chocola voor alle Zwitsers. Molblog.
No comments:
Post a Comment