How to Use Innovation for Market Differentiation

As a brand marketing leader on the hook for Innovation and growth, you likely aren't short on ideas, but picking the "best" ones can be a conundrum. Innovation agencies often focus on idea generation, and because they're good at what they do, the output can be overwhelming.  What’s more, you know it's a survival of the fittest for your finite money and focus. I've learned that 𝙖𝙣 𝙪𝙣𝙨𝙪𝙣𝙜 𝙖𝙧𝙩 𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙢 𝙤𝙛 𝙞𝙣𝙣𝙤𝙫𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙡𝙞𝙚𝙨 𝙞𝙣 𝙙𝙞𝙨𝙘𝙚𝙧𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙬𝙝𝙞𝙘𝙝 𝙞𝙙𝙚𝙖𝙨 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙜𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙨𝙩 𝙥𝙤𝙩𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙖𝙡 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙨𝙪𝙘𝙘𝙚𝙨𝙨. You've got your no brainers 👍, and your clear Heck to the No's 👎. Then, you’re left with the rest: the stretch ideas, the exciting ones you want to nurture, but that you can foresee will be HARD. So, how to move forward? Suit up in your armor of 𝗩𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 & 𝗣𝗿𝗶𝗼𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗶𝘇𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻. Every company does it differently, but it doesn't have to be complicated. Here's a Checklist of criteria to help you and your team Focus and Stick to your Strategic Guns as things get hairy (which they will). If you use this list consistently, you're winning way before you launch! ☑️𝘚𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘨𝘪𝘤 𝘈𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘯𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵: Ideas that fit your company's mission and goals are more likely to get internal momentum 👏and succeed in the long run. ☑️𝘔𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘦𝘵 𝘍𝘪𝘵: my drum to beat! Conduct whatever degree of research fits your risk profile and budget to understand trends, consumer, and customer needs. Ideas that address real pain points make the story easier to tell...for ALL your stakeholders. ☑️𝘊𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘋𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯: Ask whether it fills a gap to stand out in a crowded space--i.e., most markets today! If not, is it 'a better mousetrap'? ☑️𝘊𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘳 𝘐𝘯𝘱𝘶𝘵: If you're going to retail, early feedback from top accounts will give you points for partnership AND help refine your ideas before going too far down the path. ☑️𝘌𝘹𝘦𝘤𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘍𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘪𝘣𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺: Ask the experts what it will take to deliver, then assess the likelihood you can overcome the obstacles--financial, technical, or human. ☑️𝘙𝘪𝘴𝘬 & 𝘚𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘰 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨: Think ahead to the potential pitfalls and how you’d handle them, to try to head off issues before they turn to roadblocks🚧. ☑️𝘉𝘢𝘤𝘬-𝘰𝘧-𝘵𝘩𝘦-𝘌𝘯𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘱𝘦 𝘍𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭𝘴:  the sooner you can gauge the potential to make💰, the faster you can move on the ideas that have a prayer. Innovators know the winding road ϟ from idea to launch is not for the faint of ♥...there will be blood, sweat 😬and even😢. But if you've pressure tested & prioritized, the winners 🏆will be primed to make the 🎆 you and your stakeholders are counting on. GO GET EM! 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗥𝘂𝗹𝗲𝘀 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗣𝗿𝗶𝗼𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗶𝘇𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗚𝗿𝗼𝘄𝘁𝗵 𝗢𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀? #innovation #strategy #brandgrowth

Most startups make this mistake with their messaging… Describing your differentiation should rarely be about how your product is different from competitors' products. Instead, differentiation should be about how the new way of doing things is different from the old way of doing things. Your product is just a tool to help your customers succeed with the new way of doing things. Some examples: Drift differentiated website chat (the new way) from website forms (the old way). Asana differentiated “teamwork without email” (the new way) from “teamwork with email” (the old way). Salesforce’s “No software” campaign differentiated cloud computing (the new way) from on-prem software (the old way). When you differentiate against competitors you set yourself up for a feature battle. (Which no one wins.) When you differentiate against the old way of doing things you set yourself up to be the only logical solution. Choose to be the only logical solution. #positioning #differentiation #startupmarketing #b2bmarketing

Is the process of innovation in need of innovation? Most innovation processes are linear. First, you do A. Then, you do B. Each stage-gated step earns you permission to move to the next step. If you’re lucky, you make it to the MVP step, where your prototype arrives in the hands of users. The steps from start through MVP are usually product-focused: What’s the idea? Who needs it? What are their pain points? Which features address the pain points? Answering those questions is a terrific way to build a product. But it’s a terrible way to assess the most important questions: Is somebody going to buy this thing? How many somebodys? It’s not that innovation teams ignore the question of demand. Pre-MVP surveys often assess new product interest. Surveys, however, don’t tell you if people want to buy your product; they just tell you whether people *think* they want to buy your product. Even worse, in many cases survey respondents are paid for their opinions. Are you really going to get a good read on how they will behave when they encounter your product for sale in the real world? 💡 Here’s an idea: Don’t put marketing at the end of the process. Put it at the beginning. Answer the hardest question—does anyone want this product?—as soon as you can. You may be thinking: how do I know which product to market? It’s early days. Good news: you can test-market multiple product concepts or multiple ways to position a product. Use ads. Be honest (“in development” should be prominent). See who clicks. See how many click. If it doesn’t meet your hurdle, try again or pull the plug. Learning early is better than learning late. Lean Startup and its MVP approach were arguably the last big innovation in innovation. But that was over 15 years ago. Isn’t it time for a new look at the process of innovation? #innovation #marketing #demandvalidation #concepttesting #heattesting

Continuing the Discussion on CDMO and CRO Differentiation ... Tech innovation is set to play a crucial role in differentiating CDMOs and CROs. Although not a CDMO or CRO, this interview with Christine Allen, Co-Founder and CEO at Intrepid Labs, sheds light on industry-wide challenges. Intrepid specializes in using AI-driven platforms to optimize drug formulations, focusing on reformulating drugs and extending their life. Takeaways for CDMO and CRO Marketers: 🔹 Highlight Technological Advancements: Showcase your AI-driven processes and emphasize how these technologies enhance precision and efficiency. Potential clients need to see the specific benefits of AI, digitization, and other tech innovations in your services. 🔹 Differentiate Through Innovation: Position your organization as a leader in technological adoption. Use real-world examples and case studies to illustrate your success, building credibility and helping clients visualize the benefits. 🔹 Communicate Value: Focus on the tangible benefits your technology offers, such as reduced development costs, faster time-to-market, and improved success rates. Highlight how these advancements translate into value for your clients, helping them achieve their goals more effectively. 🔹 Educate the Market: While AI in drug development is promising, it’s crucial to educate the market about its potential. Use your platform to inform and inspire confidence in these technologies. In this highly competitive landscape (with mostly commoditized positioning and messaging), your tech edge will be the differentiator. By effectively communicating your advancements and their benefits, you position your firm as the partner of choice for innovation-driven drug development.

Innovation is not a random flash of brilliance. It is not dependent on luck. It's a business process that can be measured, managed, and optimized just like any other. Yet all too often product leaders cling to the outdated notion that innovation is more art than science. They fear that imposing process will somehow suffocate the creative spirit. But here's the hard truth: if you believe that innovation is more about luck than process, you're consigning your company to a future of aimless guesswork and 70%+ failure rates. Successful innovation requires embracing it as a discipline. How do you make the shift? Start by educating your teams on proven innovation methods like Outcome-Driven Innovation (ODI), a process that puts Jobs-to-be-Done Theory into practice. This approach provide a structured framework for uncovering unmet customer needs, formulating strategy, and systematically devising winning solutions. But be warned: deeply ingrained mindsets don't change overnight. It takes persistent evangelism from leaders like you to help the organization unlearn old ways and master the true craft of innovation. The payoff is worth it. By making innovation a core competency, you can replace guesswork with repeatable success. Luck is a fickle friend - process is a reliable partner.