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How Small Business Owners Can Overcome Innovation Obstacles

Guest post by Denise Wilson and Willie Pena

innovation 2 How Small Business Owners Can Overcome Innovation ObstaclesInnovation is naturally born in a high-pressure environment. Thinkers must vie against others offering competing ideas. Proposed ideas must compete against what’s already in the marketplace now as well as products set to debut in the near future.  Innovation must be swiftly done or else run the risk of being obsolete. On top of these demands, are other barriers that can choke innovation. These barriers often come from within the company. If you want to be a true innovator in your field, here are some common small business innovation obstacles you must surmount and suggestions to mitigate these barriers:

Faulty Process: Creating with the End in Mind

The innovation process in many small companies presupposes a fixed end result.  Thinkers move toward that anticipated result by brainstorming a goal, concocting creative ways to achieve the goal, acquiring the required resources, executing numerous plans, building prototypes and selecting the premier one. But what happens when your process is done and the market has changed? Market dynamics move quickly; sometimes during the time it takes to complete the innovation process, the proposed “innovation” is eclipsed by another creation and is no longer novel or cutting edge.

Small business innovation requires a flexible process where participants remain aware of all market changes and are prepared to dart in a completely different direction if need be. It requires a process that develops in small steps and then recalibrates, adjusting to ever-changing variables. There can be no absolute fixed goal; the goal must be toward a specific direction, but always negotiable. The shorter the individual steps and phases of development, the more the process can be responsive and adaptable. The end product can always become greater or different than initially imagined in order to truly be fresh and resonant with not only the contemporary market but future conditions and audiences.

Finally, when it comes to process, focus on concrete steps and actions more than the planning. Don’t languish in the planning stage. Start manifesting so you can see the errors in an actual prototype or model and correct them in time to launch the next prototype.

Rules & Red Tape: Too Many Restrictions

In a small business, there are many limits, whether it’s money, personnel or a micro-managing owner. Unfortunately, it’s hard to accordion innovation inside restrictions. Experimentation and engineering new systems or products can be costly for small business budgets.  Companies sometimes cannot afford to innovate or to hire innovation consultants. To gain funding for specific innovative projects, develop the gift of grant writing. University, government and private sector grants abound for entrepreneurs who can contribute something needed and inventive to society. It might be helpful to contract with a grant writer or ensure you hire a business manager or secretary with grant writing experience.

When it comes to personnel, not every employee pool is a brain trust. Some small businesses are restricted because they simply do not have qualified personnel for the inventions they propose.  As a solution, businesses can elect to look outside the company to forge partnerships with local universities, business think tanks and other community experts to create solutions and propose projects.  This can create conflict over intellectual property rights, however.  Agreements should be in place ahead of time to see who will own any creations from the partnership. Realistically, every company, even small ones, have some in-house talent that can propose clever and original ideas; it may only be necessary to look outside only to contract with technicians to simply provide construction or manufacturing.

Lastly, when it comes to cutting the red tape, time and autonomy are needed by workers tasked with coming up with cutting edge solutions. Managers and owners, despite worry over risks and potential failure, must give freedom and trust so as not to stifle creativity.

Rejection by Target Audience

The most thwarting obstacle is failure to win over the target audience who may be resistant to new offerings that are perceived as too avant garde, unproven or revolutionary. Not everyone is progressive enough to embrace futuristic ideas before it becomes a popular trend.  While focus groups can be cheerleaders, it’s not unusual for participants to be critical or even nonchalant about early prototypes.

In such cases, ask for detailed feedback on what works and what does not, what is appealing and what makes the product undesirable.  Have critics propose changes.  In the end, after solid reflection and correction, be confident that you have interpreted the wave of the future correctly and have created an invention that is essential. Often, it takes the conviction of a company and its message to sway the masses.  Innovators can have no fear of failure.

To develop a strong marketing strategy for you small business, read “The Infusionsoft Guide to Sales and Marketing.

This post is a collaboration between Denise Wilson and Willie Pena.  Pena is a freelance writer, video producer, visual artist, and music producer. He prefers the Oxford comma. In addition to writing for firms such as IBM, Colgate, Transunion, Webroot and a multitude of private clients and websites. Connect with him on LinkedIn.

3 Elements That Have to be in Your Marketing Message

Mike Quill 3 Elements That Have to be in Your Marketing MessageGuest post by Mike Quill

 

Crafting the best marketing message for your business isn’t hard work, but it does require you to take a hard look at your business.  That look must include identifying what it is about your company that adds value for your customer.Gears 3 Elements That Have to be in Your Marketing Message

Good marketers will list their company’s or product’s strengths as the first step in developing a marketing plan.  From there they’ll pinpoint which strengths offer the best potential for differentiation from the rest of the players in their market.

This will help lay the foundation for the three key elements of the marketing message: clear benefit, compelling difference and solid proof statement.  Let’s break down each element.

Clearly state your benefit

The best marketing messages are benefit-driven, not feature-driven.  That’s because benefits are significantly more effective at selling.  And the best customer benefits are clear and obvious.

Tell the prospect how your service or product is going to make their life better, their job easier or their company more efficient.  Don’t lose potential business because your offer isn’t understood by your prospects.  There are several strategies to ensure clarity: test your offer with people that aren’t familiar with your service or product.  Use their feedback to tweak your message and make it clearer. Or apply the “What’s in it for me?” question.  Pretend you’re the prospect and ask yourself this question.

Finally, leave the jargon out of your marketing message if possible.  You could actually lose prospects if there is too much techno-speak in your offer, pitch, or value proposition.

Point out how you’re different (and better)

Asking consumers to switch from their current brand or product is risky for them.  What will they get from you that they can’t get elsewhere? If you can’t answer this question about your business or product, it may be time for you to work on this.

The reason this is critical is that most product categories are highly competitive, especially if you are in a mature industry.  Consumers have access to so many sources of information online and offline that they are exposed to many offers and pitches.  This is your opportunity to clearly spell out the uniqueness of your brand.

Fill in the blank with what is unique about you: “Unlike other companies in our space, we offer _____”.

Offer proof

There are four or five stages in the buying cycle.  Consumers are dynamic – they aren’t all in the same stage of that cycle.  Therefore, many have never thought about your product before.  In fact, chances are good that your prospect doesn’t know anything about your company. So why should they believe you can deliver on your benefit? They’re shouldering all the risk.  It’s your job as a marketer to address that risk with a solid proof statement.  Try one of several strategies for offering proof to prospects that aren’t familiar with your product – testimonials, data or research, before / after pictures and guarantees are among the most popular.

Unfortunately, we’ve all been burned at one time or another by brands that don’t live up their promise.  So it’s no surprise if your prospects are cautious about spending their hard earned money.  A strong proof statement will make it easy for them to trust your brand.

Conclusion

Nail down these three elements of the marketing message and you’ll be well on your way to delivering a top shelf offer to prospective customers.  To articulate a highly effective marketing message, you also need to have a strong understanding of the problems or frustrations customers have and how your product solves them.  For some folks, this seems like bragging.  This isn’t the time to be humble.

To make sure your marketing messages are being read, follow the tips in “Anatomy of an Email.”

Mike Quill has seen a lot during a 20 year career in marketing management and consulting.  Mike’s company, Affinity, helps entrepreneurs and small business owners improve their marketing strategy and implementation.  Mike has a passion for client results and helping clients grow their business.  Follow Mike on Twitter at @affinitymands.

Referral Fears, SEO & Infusioncon: Daymond John [SBB]

Our Small Business Buzz video series continues as we share what’s happening on the Big Ideas Blog each week. We have creative marketing ideas that can help you succeed!

This week’s Friday recap features:

  • Fear Factor: Asking for a Referral- This guest post by Skip Miller helps get rid of some fears that can come with asking for referrals. It’s all about putting yourself in their shoes and having a plan. Get the fear-fighting tips in this post.
  • Four Free SEO tools for Small Businesses- In this post you’ll hear about free options that can help you achieve great results when it comes to SEO. Daniel Page is the Director of Business Development for ASEOhosting, a leading provider in SEO hosting and multiple IP hosting and he shares his insights in this guest post.
  • Infusioncon Expert Insights: Daymond John- This is the first video for our new series where we interview experts to share tips for success with you! Daymond John, Urban Entrepreneur and Shark Tank Judge shares 3 things all entrepreneurs should know.

We’d love to hear what you think so please leave us your comments and remember to follow us on Twitter @BigIdeasBlog and like our Facebook page.

Daymond John: Follow Small Business SHARK Points

DaymonINterview 1024x819 Daymond John: Follow Small Business SHARK PointsAt InfusionCon 2013, we had the pleasure of featuring Shark Tank investor and FUBU CEO, Daymond John, as a keynote speaker. He shared his entrepreneurial success story that took the audience through his humble beginnings of selling hats street side in New York City to the multi-million dollar global empire he currently manages. Throughout his presentation John shared stories and anecdotes about his rise to the top that covered everything from luck (being able to secure $300,000 worth of orders for clothing from trade show goers without ever setting foot inside the expo hall) to strategic product placement (LL Cool J did a commercial for the GAP in which he plugged FUBU, which sent the urban youth running to the stores wanting to buy FUBU clothing).

John highlighted that America was built IMG 2111 300x300 Daymond John: Follow Small Business SHARK Pointson entrepreneurship and it is what will keep it at the top, which sent encouragement to the small business owner-filled audience.  He also mentioned that it is 22 times easier to upsell a customer than it is to acquire a new one, which means that if you don’t offer upsell products at this moment, you might want to find a way! Leveraging the power of social media while being mindful of your company’s online reputation is crucial to a small business’ marketing strategy today, so one has to be conscious or sending out the right messages.

The small business and entrepreneurial tips that Daymond John spoke about can help owners of all types and take small businesses to greater levels of success.  Follow John’s Shark Points and you’ll be on the right path:

S

Set goals. You can’t hit a target you can’t see.

H

Do your homework. The only thing that costs more than an education is ignorance.

A

Amor, for love. If you love what you do, you’ll never work a day in your life.

R

You are the brand. Sum up your brand’s pitch into 2-5 words.

K

You must keep swimming.

 

For more information on marketing and steps towards success, download “Market Like the Ultimate Marketers.”