Innovative Companies
The goal of innovation is to address and eliminate gaps in the user experience. Design and innovation, together, create a high-quality solution. So that brings me to the criteria that need to be fulfilled for an idea, company or team to be considered at the forefront of innovation:
It has to improve on existing business models or build an entirely new market
It has to satisfy unmet human/animal needs
It needs to have been designed, marketed, managed well
It should have been brought to market quickly and efficiently
First, I am going to elaborate on each of the criteria and the reasoning behind the requirement of each. Then, I shall give examples of organizations that have successfully fulfilled these criteria.
Innovations requires either new technological solutions or the exploration of new markets. So in addition to creating new forms of contact with customers, new approaches need to be uncovered as well. The success of an innovative idea is determined by how well a new path is travelled. Innovation is simply more than identifying a problem and finding a solution, it aims to create something that goes beyond simple problem solving; something that fundamentally changes how the user interacts with its environment.
Design thinking plays a key role in identifying how to improve on harmful experiences. It has to use new and diverse elements - cognitive, emotional, sensory - to generate a unique and useful user experience. The new idea, company or team needs to fulfill the needs of the user that were not being fulfilled in the previous state and needs to be a high quality solution.
Design, marketing and management are all key parts of any innovative idea, company or team. A good design involves how well the problem was diagnosed and if it solves the gap experienced by the user. The design also needs to be of good quality and needs to uncover what the user truly wants, something that should come naturally to people. The design needs to have the strength to change existing rules. Marketing makes sure that the user truly knows that the idea exists and is able to use it. If an item or idea is created and designed but it is not used, then it really is of no use. Finally, management and operations makes sure that the innovation is constantly iterated on and improved. There is no such thing as a perfect or finished design, and nothing should be treated as such, otherwise it will soon become obsolete and no longer remain innovative.
An innovative solution is one that aims to solve the user’s as quickly and efficiently as possible. If a solution takes too long to get to the user, then the market and the need would have changed and the solution would not apply anymore. One needs to remember that all solutions are iterative, so the first solution would be able to solve the main problem, the next would be even better, solving the related gaps as well and so on.
Finally I want to provide a few examples of ideas, companies or teams that fulfill the criteria that I’ve detailed above.
23andMe: a personal genomics and biotechnology company that specializes in autosomal DNA testing for ancestry.
This was the first company to begin a direct-to-consumer genetic testing. It has grown exponentially a since it was accurately able to identify the need of consumers around the world: the need to understand where they came from. By February 2018, it has genotyped over 3 million individuals.
The process is simple and results are obtained in a timely manner. These all were designed to make the product easily accessible for the consumer.
23andMe had changed its offerings throughout its lifetime based on user feedback like when it realized the a subscription offer was not well received it removed it and added an additional health check component. Marketing was especially key; when it employed Gru from Despicable Me and Warren Buffet, it was able to connect to the consumers that were likely to be interested in its product.
As for getting to the market quickly, 23andMe faced a few regulatory issues in its initial phase, but was quickly approved and now keeps growing across the world.
StitchFix: a subscription based clothing company that curates styles based on the individual style.
This was one of the first companies to begin a subscription based service that takes into account a consumer’s lifestyle, personal preference and social media ‘pins’. Since then several companies with similar offerings have tried to infiltrate the market, but StitchFix still dominates the competitive market.
Again, similar to 23andMe, the process is clear and simple. StitchFix keeps the busy lives of its users in mind and makes the process quick and efficient. The subscription option allows for a continuous and strong user base.
StitchFix has been able to capitalize on the growth of social media and uses data technology to maximize its offerings to its users. It constantly is making the service easier to use and makes sure that the marketing is reaching its most likely users through active social media campaigns.
The company has again grown exponentially since 2012, where it had started with one algorithm to help understand user preferences, whereas now it has hundreds. StichFix aims to keep its customers first, which is which it is still innovative. The user’s interests and needs should always be paramount.
SwanLeap: a software company that helps companies plan and execute shipments of all kinds.
SwanLeap is the fastest growing company in America since it clearly identified the need to help companies optimize their shipments. It helps save its customers an average of 26.7% in transportation savings(prnewswire.com).
The goal is to provide real-time visibility and allow for greater control of the supply chain for manufacturers and ecommerce stores, like StitchFix. This was necessary for companies to lower costs and become profitable sooner.
The design of the product is simple, customizable and easy-to-use. This has then allowed many companies to adopt the software and utilize it to address the gap that they were experiencing. SwanLeap doesn’t stop innovating, in its short lifetime it has revolutionized the way shipping companies have dealt with logistics and continues to improve on that process to make it easier for the end user by making sure that they don’t have to stay an extra 30 minutes just because of their product(inc.com).
The product is easy to implement and easy to use. That’s what allows it to be called innovative.