Innovation and Marketing

Innovation and Marketing

When we think of the word innovation, what do we tend to think of? - In a lot of cases people believe that innovation is always technology-based, but they’d be wrong.  

Stuart Eames of Waitrose hit the nail on the head when he said ‘innovation is just a modern day word for evolution’.

The definition of innovation is ‘the process of translating an idea or invention into a good service that creates value, or for which customer will pay’. So in reality, all businesses need to be innovative in order to have a viable product to sell. Without it, your business will get lost in the competition, or worse still, left behind altogether. But aren’t marketing and innovation separate parts of my business?

The answer is, in our fast paced and ever changing world, no they aren’t.  In fact, in order to move a successful business forward, innovation and marketing need to work together in harmony, it is vital to balance the two to ensure business success.

Look at it this way, what is innovation without marketing? Because however good an idea, product or service is, if people don’t know about it, can’t access it, or don’t know why they should buy it, then it can never be a success.   

It is crucial therefore that the two go hand in hand.

Not only that, but marketing should also be innovative itself, hence a new term innovation marketing has been born.  Simply a method of marketing that has never been used, where businesses are able to adapt to changing consumer behaviors and demands, all the while maintaining a strong brand identity and customer focus.

Through clever marketing strategies and campaigns, businesses can establish themselves as key players in their field, but this won’t happen by sticking to the safety of traditional marketing.  In order to stand out, innovation in marketing must shine through. Think of some of the largest companies in the world and their recent innovative marketing campaigns, L’Oreal and their digital makeover app for example, why does it work? – Because it’s different.

So remember, innovation should be something that your business behaves and feels, rather than something ‘to do’.