When providing the best solution to a customer’s problem, you must stay ahead of the competition with innovative new solutions.
It is easier said than done. Five factors or barriers to this innovation are as follows.
Culture
When a strong culture exists in an organisation, the norm is to stay within this comfort zone. Unless the organisational culture promotes the desire to innovate, the repeated habits become a preferred choice for organisation and the desire to innovate can slowly fade out.
Emotions
The fear of failure. It is something that we have all faced in one form or another but it is without a doubt a major barrier to innovation. No one wants to produce a solution that doesn’t actually work. A strong organisational emphasis on encouraging innovation can aid in overcoming these negative emotions to facilitate innovations, even through failure.
Intellectual
The ability to communicate ideas clearly can be a significant barrier to expressing the brilliance of a potential idea. No one will support an idea they cannot understand clearly enough to believe it will work.
Perception
In this case, the barrier can arise when individuals simply don’t see the problem or cannot see the bigger picture so they have no reason to innovate. If no one ever thought that walking without shoes on the sharp ground was a problem… then why invent shoes? The problem must be identified clearly in the mind of someone to innovate and provide a solution.
Environment
This barrier ties in with the cultural factors as it is determined directly by the physical space you operate in. A person can forget the thought of innovation if they are in a hostile environment that condemns failures rather that supports creativity.
References:
Hooley, G, Piercy, N, Nicoulaud, B & Rudd, J 2017, Marketing Strategy & Competitive Positioning, 6th Ed., Pearson, Harlow, UK.
University Marketing Blog 