The innovator trap

Robert Gerrish

In the quest for uniqueness, many start-ups are weighted heavily towards aspects of innovation. Such innovation can take the form of how the business operates - innovative methods - or what the business does - innovative products or services.
 

Unfortunately while such businesses may generate interest and cause a stir, they can sometimes fail to translate these energies into sales and revenue.
 

The reason could just be they have fallen into the innovator trap.
 

The innovator trap is where we can end up if we confuse educating with marketing. Going out and telling the world about something completely new and revolutionary certainly stands a good chance of generating interest, but not necessarily any sales - not yet anyway and maybe not for you.
 

Certainly innovation can work as a marketing tool, but generally only with an audience who already know and trust you. That’s not to say we only market in the mainstream with existing contacts, but we need to be aware of what works and what doesn't and if necessary make some changes.
 

Often the changes involve little more than a slight dilution of the business proposition - evolution can sell easier than revolution, at the outset. Once effective marketing gives us a foot in the door, we can guide our prospects and customers toward a brave new world.
 

Let's look at an example. In fact it's a real one from a conversation I had a while ago:
 

David had developed a product that revolutionises the way corporations store and access electronic information. In other countries similar systems were slowly being embraced and put to extremely good use. In his home market, however, things were trailing a little behind.
 

David was being invited to talk at numerous conferences and expositions; there was much interest. The joint was jumping. Well, it undoubtedly felt like that for a while, but when I caught up with him it was getting a bit tiring.
 

Sure there was a lot of interest, but not enough sales. David was educating and doing a great job of it. His family meanwhile was getting fed up with beans on toast.
 

So what would you do? Keep bashing away? Go into greater debt maybe? Put the house on the line?
 

After speaking for a while, David came up with this solution:
 

1. Look much more closely at what’s been learned

• Take time to do some research - had he been educating or marketing?
• Ask the tough questions and be ready for straight answers.
• Talk to some of the people who invented the wheel in those other more advanced markets. What lessons had he perhaps missed?

2. Get clear on the options

• How long could/should he give to the current path?
• If he made a shift, what would or could that be?
• Are there any real signs that the market is changing?

3. Think more like a marketeer and less like an innovator

• If David looks at his revolutionary product as top-of-the-range, what's a possible 'entry level' product? Something to get a foot in the door.
• How could he modify his language to talk in terms that satisfy the current needs of the marketplace?

As small businesses it’s fine to use innovation to get noticed, but it’s important we have products or services that our customers want to buy NOW. Little by little we can up-sell and take the business in the direction we really want.

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