Innovation is obviously important to tech companies like Apple, but how important is innovation to the success of most companies? A secondary question is "is innovation as important in a b2b context as it is in a b2c enironment? Thanks.
Based on your question I think you are only considering innovation as a technological advancement and I would say all business' B2C or B2B need to innovate, simply because our world changes quickly. Consider the difference between what the U.S. Postal service today compared to the unchallenged market share they had just a few years back. Because methods of delivering a message changed, their business changed and because they were not as innovative as they should have been they are now facing major business challenges.
Consider innovation as both the technological advancements and the "way we do business" and the question answers itself. As far as B2B, I am Corporate Marketing Manager for a large worldwide Engineering, Architecture, Construction and Environmental firm and we are definitely B2B as far as our sales and marketing and we sell innovation to our clients and apply innovation daily to our business.
I am Vice-President of Innovation for Bluescope Buildings North America. We go to market with the Butler Manufacturing building brand as well as the VP Buildings brand. You might term our business as B2I as in Business to Industry. Our innovation is focused on differentiating our products and bringing more value to the building owner in the form of a more durable, long lasting product, as well as in the form of lower operation expenses over the lifespan of a structure. Without ongoing innovation our product would become a commodity. There is much more opportunity in selling value and creating a customer who is satisfied over the long haul.
The term Innovation can be very misleading. It does not represent another variable in a business organization and certainly not in future marketing. To a certain extent, it is the future marketing strategy of any company....directed toward any customer i.e. consumer or B2B. A company cannot be successful without having a 3 to 5 year plan. Categories are always being redefined based on changing needs and behavioral lifestyles. In order to be successful, one must identify what is the future category going to look like. Only by thinking from an innovative perspective can you accurately project that redefined category.
Based on your question I think you are only considering innovation as a technological advancement and I would say all business' B2C or B2B need to innovate, simply because our world changes quickly. Consider the difference between what the U.S. Postal service today compared to the unchallenged market share they had just a few years back. Because methods of delivering a message changed, their business changed and because they were not as innovative as they should have been they are now facing major business challenges.
ReplyDeleteConsider innovation as both the technological advancements and the "way we do business" and the question answers itself. As far as B2B, I am Corporate Marketing Manager for a large worldwide Engineering, Architecture, Construction and Environmental firm and we are definitely B2B as far as our sales and marketing and we sell innovation to our clients and apply innovation daily to our business.
I am Vice-President of Innovation for Bluescope Buildings North America. We go to market with the Butler Manufacturing building brand as well as the VP Buildings brand. You might term our business as B2I as in Business to Industry. Our innovation is focused on differentiating our products and bringing more value to the building owner in the form of a more durable, long lasting product, as well as in the form of lower operation expenses over the lifespan of a structure. Without ongoing innovation our product would become a commodity. There is much more opportunity in selling value and creating a customer who is satisfied over the long haul.
ReplyDeleteThe term Innovation can be very misleading. It does not represent another variable in a business organization and certainly not in future marketing. To a certain extent, it is the future marketing strategy of any company....directed toward any customer i.e. consumer or B2B. A company cannot be successful without having a 3 to 5 year plan. Categories are always being redefined based on changing needs and behavioral lifestyles. In order to be successful, one must identify what is the future category going to look like. Only by thinking from an innovative perspective can you accurately project that redefined category.
ReplyDelete