GUEST POST: 3 assumptions holding your innovative business back

Check out this guest post from Hong Kong-based digital marketing strategist Sara Devi Earnshaw, who shares a few quick truths on innovation for large-scale companies.

Large businesses, especially FMCGs, are deluged with data. With this data comes a belief that “I understand how my business works,” and with this belief, and arrogance that I would argue is a barrier to innovation.

Truth #1: You don’t know your products.

The disconnect between those who make products and sell them and those who use them is a perennial issue. An old but still-relevant story is that of Haier’s washing machines being used by potato farmers to clean their harvest in rural China. Haier’s ability to adapt their product is a legendary innovation story, but too often companies do not understand the actual usage of their products.

One of my favourite stories is about a tool an agency I worked at produced for our clients to use within their organization. Early in testing, the clients “couldn’t see” much of the content or use the functionality. Turns out, they couldn’t view Flash. Fortunately, this was early enough in the process that re-scoping was possible, but (having not been in the room!) I can only imagine the conversations between the clients and the account manager.

Eat your own dog food. 

Truth #2: You don’t know your users.

Companies, particularly those who market to consumers, love target audiences. The messages are finely crafted to speak to a particular type of person, with an income level determined as being between two brackets, probably living in a certain type of neighbourhood and reading particular magazines. The trouble is that this may or may not be the person who actually buys your product, and this person who actually buys your product may or may not be the person who actually uses it!

Get face-to-face and ask some questions. 

Truth #3: You don’t know your competition.

The assumptions we make about how our products are used and who we sell to not only causes a disconnect with the end users, but also can make us blind to our competition. Gartner reported last month that global PC sales had their worst decline in history during 2013. In developed markets, the market seems to be saturated and products are purchased at the rate of replacement, but no more. In emerging markets, however, there should be room for growth, and their is growth… in devices. Tablets, seen as a recreational device in developed markets, are seen as substitutes to PCs in other markets.

Again and again, this pattern of disruption emerges (thank you, Clayton Christensen). How long can Microsoft continue its dominance? Early free competitor OpenOffice may have been basic, but the new tools are just as good. Google’s free alternatives, accessible anywhere, forced Microsoft to look more seriously at cloud storage, but Google Docs is now well-established in many circles.

Look for the good-enough competition.

Learn From the Minnows

Companies that do not have the luxury of research budgets, businesses that need every sale they can get, and frustrated customers starting their own businesses know that they don’t know everything. This belief can be powerful, because the lack of data forces a process of asking questions.

 Besides working with large consumer brands from airlines to fashion, Sara has also helped small businesses and startups map their digital presence and grow online audiences. She blogs about technology, digital marketing and working in Asia (especially China) at www.realdigitallife.com