Experts in this extremely important subject (Innovation) that guides market trends – Marketing –, have established this interesting premise:
- “Innovation: Starting point: Discover the “Hidden desires of potential customers.”
- Challenge: Offer added value that enhances their psychological condition.
PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS OF THIS PREMISE IN THE DAILY ENVIRONMENT
Below, various real situations are presented that demonstrate how small details can transform the customer experience.
1. ENTERING A COFFEE SHOP AND ORDERING A COFFEE
The complement to enjoy it is to find an environment that:
- Allows one to relax or disconnect from their daily routine.
- Find a detail that excites you and makes you start daydreaming.
2. ON MANY BUSY AVENUES THERE ARE POINTS OF SALE THAT OFFER FAST FOOD
Hot dogs, hamburgers, pizzas, etc. Passersby consume them and although the staff who serve them handle them in compliance with sanitary regulations, there is always some doubt about…
- Who produces the ingredients? To solve the state of anxiety that begins to invade the customer after consuming what was ordered, it is recommended to strategically place this small but soothing added value:
- Our chicken products are produced by the following companies… etc. Although some of the people who enjoy our meat are aware of its benefits, this announcement will reaffirm that it is healthy, nutritious, and of course economical.
3. IN SHOPPING MALLS THERE ARE SUPERMARKETS AND FOOD COURTS
I have visited some in the State of Florida (USA), at different times. I have been informed that starting at 10:00 a.m. whole roasted chicken and pieces begin to be offered, whose aroma spreads throughout the establishment, immediately awakening the desire to consume it right there and/or take it home.
- On the other hand, in other supermarkets these products are displayed near the checkout counters, and the aroma is inexplicably not perceived, making them like ghosts.
Suggestion: Highlight to our customers the importance of the intoxicating and enticing aroma of roasted chicken, in order to increase sales!
MARKET SEGMENTATION.
VARIABLES TO CONSIDER:
DEMOGRAPHICS
Children, adults, elderly, etc.
- Obvious question: How broad is the portfolio of our products and derivatives for children and the elderly?
GEOGRAPHIC
Climate, altitude above sea level, ease of acquiring food, etc.
- Obvious question: Do we prepare menus to meet these nutritional energy demands?
PSYCHOGRAPHIC AND BEHAVIORAL
People who practice and/or exercise outdoors and in gyms.
- Obvious question: Are there places available where our products, prepared according to each scenario, can be purchased?
DEGREE OF IMAGINATION
Purchase the products and find other ways to consume them.
- Obvious question: How much feedback do we receive from our consumers in order to keep our recipes up to date?
INNOVATIVE PRODUCTS:
STRATEGIES TO INCREASE PURCHASE INTENTIONS
- Reduce the purchase price.
- Mass and targeted tastings in established places and establishments.
- “Trojan horse” – offer the product in a combo presentation, with complementary items.
- Strategic alliances with products already positioned in the market, located in the areas of bakery, sauces, delicatessen, etc.
CHALLENGES OF INNOVATION
Progressively decrease the business relevance of the comfort zone or resistance to change. Therefore, innovation must highlight the significant difference between these two premises:
- What companies should be achieving.
- What they are actually achieving.
Therefore, a “change of beliefs” must be generated. Given the existing expectations in the population (market) regarding the time to accept change and decide to purchase new innovations, it will depend on the level of priority of this need.
EXAMPLES OF CHANGES DRIVEN BY NEED
1. During the Covid-19 crisis, a marathon educational campaign was carried out regarding the urgent need to use face masks, thus avoiding dual contagion.
2. If a new medication with proven effectiveness is offered to prevent the spread and control breast or prostate cancer, people will begin taking it as soon as possible.
- Survivors who can be contacted to learn details about the process they experienced serve as a catalyst for its prompt adoption.
3. Virtual bookstores versus traditional bookstores. The former have taken longer than planned, despite their novelty.
4. Automated teller machines. The “Millennial” and “Z” generations adopted them immediately because they are familiar with the digital world and its respective devices. The benefits, among others, in terms of time savings and convenience are completely convincing.
- It has taken retired people – older adults – more time to understand them in order to learn the procedure to follow – routine – for each of the services offered.
5. Call centers. For many, their use becomes an odyssey, given the impersonal nature of the service, often requiring hours to finally be patiently attended by the person responsible for each area.
If an older adult tries to communicate with department X, the level of anxiety reaches the stratosphere due to the robotic manner in which a human official sometimes responds uncordially to users.
- It is worth noting that if they succeed on the first attempt, their stress level remains within normal limits; for this reason, many companies have offered the option of a trained human operator to act with great understanding and solidarity.
MARKETS – TWO CONTRASTING SCENARIOS
LARGE CORPORATIONS – STRATEGIES
- They acquire large quantities of products.
- They negotiate aggressively with their suppliers to reduce the cost of inputs.
- They standardize the quality and presentation of their products anywhere in the world.
- They lower production costs.
- They manage the selling price and maintain it during periods when customers become familiar with them.
SMALL AND MEDIUM ENTREPRENEURS
A sine qua non condition to remain in this highly competitive market is to be bold, designing disruptive products and/or services!
Characteristics of their market:
- They do not have much capital.
- They do not have customers they could lose if they change their products.
- They do not have large investments in equipment.
- They do not have established routines that tie them down.
In conclusion: there is a contrast in business management:
“The large companies are convinced that their customers will wait for their new version, which will be successful.”
The small and medium-sized ones have managed to bring together a group of idea generators, with some specific details in their profile:
- Great observation skills and resourcefulness.
- Some are remarkable for their high degree of brilliance.
- They detect what is not evident to others.
- They can imagine what is still “unknown.”
- They present simple, effective, innovative, and economical solutions to everyday and challenging problems.
Examples: Mini supermarkets, hardware stores, pharmacies, etc. Some of them offer home delivery services 24 hours a day.
BY WAY OF SUMMARY
In addition to the above, it is important to remember that the brilliance of an idea “is not the what,” it is the “how?” to be more specific: How is it going to be carried out? For further illustration, some successful cases are mentioned:
- Henry Ford: before his Model T vehicle was released to the market, cars were already being manufactured. The innovation consisted of designing and putting into operation an assembly line to maintain a continuous process.
- Steve Jobs: before launching his famous “iPod”, many brands of tablets or similar devices were already available on the market.
- The success of his innovation lay in the fact that the device’s design was more attractive and had instant power-on.
- Circo del Sol – Cirque du Soleil-. There were many theater companies that offered a good script to tell well-known stories that have transcended over time, such as Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet (both by William Shakespeare), Divine Comedy (Dante Alighieri), etc.
- The innovation of this prestigious international company was to complement with a series of details that marked an added value and to call it “Circus”.
FINAL REFLECTION
- Thousands of product and service innovations are launched to the market daily.
- The challenge is for them to grow and remain over time through a process of continuous improvement.
- The obvious question: Are we carrying out this organizational culture in a disciplined manner in an animal protein market where we are leaders?