What is Innovation? Definition and 6+ Examples

What is an innovation?

An innovation is often confused with an invention. However, the impact of an innovation project on the company goes far beyond that. To understand what innovation consultants do, we must first differentiate between these two concepts. So, what's an innovation? How do you start an innovation project? What is it used for? How do you innovate?

A digital innovation in a company improves productivity, i.e. the speed of execution of a task, but also its quality. However, the role of an innovation is not limited to the purchase of the latest generation of equipment. Indeed, technological innovation processes are primarily aimed at optimizing the functioning of the entire company. They are managed through the implementation of new, more efficient procedures, the use of better quality resources or the adoption of a new product on the market.

Depending on the needs of the company, there are different solutions to launch an innovation. There's no point in spending a fortune to boost your business if the solution ultimately generates a budget deficit. Innovation consultants are there to design the best innovative ideas that you can then decide to implement.

An invention is not an innovation

Innovation consultants don't invent. They won't just come up with a novelty that will seduce your customers, no! An innovation is not just about inventing new products or services or setting up a more efficient process. It consists of accelerating the entire process, from the design of new offer categories to their sale. This is the main difference between an invention and an innovation. This is a real step forward in the business process of the entire structure.

The invention is nothing less than the creation of a totally new concept. The inventor can protect his creation in order to receive benefits when another person uses his concept. An innovation, on the other hand, exploits an existing concept and improves it to attract more customers and facilitate the operation of the structure. The management of an innovation benefits customers as well as human resources and board members.

The key to a successful innovation project

For the invention to be considered innovative, it must be marketable. Indeed, the invention is useless if it does not succeed in seducing customers.

In addition, you should not create a concept that runs counter to the company's principles. The novelty must enable it to differentiate itself from its competition, otherwise it would not really be an innovation, but just a pale copy.

Finally, innovations must be feasible and reasonable. Even if the results of an innovation seem beneficial, the resources that need to be allocated to it should not exceed the means available to your company.

An innovation appeals to customers

Innovative products and services in a company must satisfy several levels of customers. In general, an innovative product benefits the end customer and the basic consumer. The first one is the one that benefits from the innovative criterion of supply. The other is the one who uses the product or service just for its basic characteristics. If the results differ from the basic offer, the risk that the project will not be successful is therefore greater.

The operating procedures of an innovation

An innovation requires special skills on the part of the entrepreneur. However, it can encourage its employees to be creative by implementing an Innovation Action (American: IA - Innnovation Action), a Research Innovation Action (American: RIA - Research Innovation Action) or a Research and Development strategy. In general, the operating procedures of an innovation are divided into three distinct stages.

Step 1: Analysis of the market and changing needs

A company wishing to launch an innovation project first sets up a commercial prospecting operation. This makes it easier to understand customer needs. These are constantly changing. It is therefore very important to understand all the reasons that may affect this change in order to launch more suitable offers. The consumption trend follows a growth that a company can anticipate.

Innovation experts rely on novelty, especially digital devices and e-commerce systems.

Step 2: Creation of innovative offers

It is impossible to create an innovative offer based solely on consumer habits. It is also necessary to anticipate customer needs. Creativity is the basis for innovation. Recruiting young employees fosters entrepreneurial creativity and allows the entrepreneur to launch an innovation project more frequently.

Step 3: Launch of selected projects

The launch of a project in innovation is generally very quick. It's not an investment like any other. There are uncertainties about its success. Contractors should follow up to decide whether to maintain the bid or withdraw it and try something else.

If you are hesitating to launch an in-house innovation project, you can call on Sortlist to get a list of the best innovation agencies near you.

What are the different types of innovations?

In short, innovations begin with the invention of a new concept. They open the doors to a new market. They define a more efficient modus operandi or modify the one already in place. This improves productivity both in terms of time and money. The result of the innovations even enables the company to work more efficiently.

Companies may decide to intervene more on one point than another depending on their business strategy. Four types of innovation projects can be identified, two of which are dedicated to market development and the other two to technological innovation.

Innovation in the market

A breakthrough innovation consists in removing certain features or functions and lightening its production cost. For it to be effective, a breakthrough innovation requires a study of customer behaviour beforehand. This innovation disrupts competitors because they also have to renew their offers.
Incremental innovation involves modifying existing products or services by improving some of their features. The interest of an incremental innovation is to identify the weak points of an offer in order to proceed to its renewal. It's just a minor change. Risk taking is quite low. Highlight your customers' favourite features and take advantage of them to satisfy them even more and generate more profits at the same time.

Innovation on technology

An adjacent innovation exploits the benefits of a new concept that the company is not yet using, but which appears to be effective. Through adjacent innovation, the company can enter a new market, have more customers and thus generate more revenue with new categories of offerings.
A radical innovation is akin to invention. The entrepreneur launches a brand new bid in a market in which he has never invested before. Launching a new offer in another market then avoids upsetting regular customers. In this case, the launch of the product or offer should not be spared. On the contrary, the company must use a more efficient organization and more practical equipment to ensure the success of the project.

Find the best agencies in innovation with Sortlist.

What is a technological innovation?

Innovation specialists offer technological solutions to companies that want to keep up to date. All they do is come up with ideas. It is then up to the company to adopt them or not. Technological innovation takes place in 4 branches in the production process of companies.

Product innovation def.

The action of innovating on the products or services offered is the simplest way to compete with the competition. It is also the fastest. However, since a company cannot afford to change its product every time, it is advisable to call in an innovation specialist to find out when is the best time to innovate on a particular offer. When it's the right time, the innovation specialist will suggest ideas for launching a new offer or improvements to existing offers.

Process innovation

Process innovation introduces new tools and methods to speed up the process of making a product or offering a service. As an entrepreneur, it is the best way to review and optimize your way of operating. It is usually a matter of shortening your team's working time.

Innovation in distribution methods

The sales process can always be improved. An agency specialising in innovation analyses your sales process. It then suggests changes to be made to your structure. This enables you to position yourself better in relation to the competition. In addition, innovation consultants help you with your promotion and can even propose new price lists.

Innovation in organisational methods

Sometimes an innovation only concerns the functioning of your organization. The innovation specialist advances innovative solutions or equipment. The aim here is to simplify the organisation of the company's board members.

Sortlist collaborates with a multitude of agencies in the field of high technology. Work with experts and launch your innovation project in no time if you need to review your internal organization.

What is a marketing innovation?

Unlike innovation marketing, innovation marketing is about supporting the launch of an innovative product or service that fails to stand out. An innovation project may fail to make it to market for two reasons.

Competitors will also launch the same type of offer or renew their old products or services.
The offer is too ordinary that it is difficult to differentiate it from its other versions.

In this case, marketers have to be creative and focus on an innovation project. The priority is to make the offer unique. You need to give customers a reason to choose your product or use your service over another.

Innovation through market differentiation

Commercial differentiation is no longer based on supply, but on the other criteria around it. As we have said, customer needs change over time and that is where an innovation project comes in handy. When the offer is no longer sufficient to attract customers, companies will decide to play on the notion of added value. This involves setting up an innovative publication and distribution network, a dematerialization of order processing or an original packaging method.

The elements of a marketing innovation

Here are the most commonly used elements in the area of business innovation:

The implementation of an information system open to customers through online access or with mobile applications,
Subscription systems to encourage customers to spend more and offer attractive discounts,
The participatory economy, which allows customers to be actors in their consumption by giving them the opportunity to consume less, but better.

Marketing and innovation are two concepts that can no longer go without each other.

Find an innovation agency to launch new products or services with Sortlist.

The benefits of an innovation

Innovation allows a company to remain competitive because technology is constantly evolving. More efficient tools, more effective processes, it comes out every day on the professional market. An innovation consultant knows this. They list the latest news and come up with an innovative idea. They boost your current and future profit and improve your business strategy and the functioning of your organisation. In a word, an innovation offers real technical progress to a company.

Save time

The first advantage of an innovation is of course time saving. The innovation experts will carry out various studies on your behalf and then provide you with innovative ideas.

They do analysis work and offer you ideas for new innovative products or better services.
They analyse your customer base and then propose changes that you can implement in your business strategies.
They list tools that you can use to increase the productivity of your employees and even your administrative body.

Staying ahead of the competition

Competition and innovation are closely linked in a company. Changing consumer behaviour depends on many factors. In order to keep up with this change, but above all to avoid being overtaken by competitors, a company must constantly innovate the offers it makes.

Optimize productivity

A company's productivity varies according to the workforce, the materials used and the financial means at its disposal. However, there is a way to improve this productivity: by defining a more efficient organization with a project in technological innovation. Innovation agencies are not content to simply offer you the latest equipment. They are above all there to offer appropriate solutions to make your company more productive.

Reducing costs

Implementing a breakthrough innovation is the best way to reduce production costs. The offer may end up with fewer features or functionalities, but customers will still be satisfied. At the same time, a cost innovation reduces the time it takes to manufacture the product or provide the service.

Increase profits

An innovative product or service that sells and appeals to customers does not necessarily generate more profit if the design involves very high costs. An innovation is only effective if it also takes into account the financial criterion. It is better to invest in suitable solutions rather than relying on a flashy offer.

The benefits must outweigh the costs of creating the offer. Thus, an innovation project must take into account the cost of resources and labour as well as the costs incurred in communicating the offer up to its distribution.

The management of an innovation allows companies to regenerate themselves and thus survive longer. Customers cannot be expected to continue to buy the same products and use the same services for the rest of their lives. Needs change. Moreover, competitors can launch the same categories of offerings at any time. You need to reinvigorate your business to make your customers happy because, yes, innovation is about satisfying customers. And a satisfied customer brings more benefits.

Improve your business strategy

Another advantage of innovation is that it allows you to set up a separate business strategy. An innovation gives it a more modern edge. An example of innovation is the digitalisation of information. This helps prospectors in all their tasks. The possibility to store data in the cloud or on a local server greatly simplifies their work. Prospectors can analyze the stored data to help management to define another innovation project.

Innovation experts are there to help entrepreneurs find an innovation strategy for their processes in the shortest possible time.

Simply visit the Sortlist platform to take advantage of these services.

How to find an innovation agency on Sortlist?

It is possible to find your innovation agency on Sortlist. To do so, it is very easy. You simply go to the website and fill out a form in the form of a questionnaire.

Choose the type of service you are looking for, in this case "innovation".
Indicate one or more specific skills if needed.
Designate a budget to allocate to your innovation project.
Then specify the location of your business, the number of employees and your sector of activity.

This will only take a few minutes. Afterwards, you will receive a list of the innovation agencies best suited to your project and closest to you.

Why use Sortlist to find an innovation agency?

The main advantage of using Sortlist to find innovation experts is that it ensures a fast and simplified service. Our site collaborates with innovation agencies and verified professionals. We also have an up-to-date database.

Whatever your needs and selection criteria, we are sure to have an innovation agency for you. Entrust us with the search for your innovation agency.

How much does it cost to set up an innovation project with Sortlist?

This service is completely free of charge. It is up to you to contact one of the proposed innovation agencies and discuss the price of the service with them.

However, when you request the list of agencies, we already ask you to indicate the minimum and maximum budget you are willing to allocate to your innovation project. The agencies proposed by Sortlist will not offer you a price that goes beyond this range.

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