Many of us feel like once we have a good thing going with a business it’s okay to coast. While you might be able to get away with coasting for a small amount of time, eventually you need to innovate your product or service or risk being left behind.
In today’s world, a set it or forget it business model doesn’t actually work. You need to be in a mindset innovate regularly if you want to stay successful.
The Problems with Stagnation
You might have a great product or service, and it might be top-of-the-line right now. However, if you don’t innovate you run into the risk of stagnation. Stagnation gives other people a chance to catch up and offer something that you don’t. If you don’t innovate your products, stagnation means that your product can get left behind as trends change or technology provides upgrades to other versions.
If you don’t innovate your products, stagnation means that your product can get left behind as trends change or technology provides upgrades to other versions created by competitors.
When you offer a service, you still need to innovate. When I first started freelancing almost 11 years ago, all I did was write. There was no need for me to do more than simply provide content. Today, the story is a little bit different. Clients expect more from online freelance writers, including the willingness to occasionally share their work on social media. I’ve also added other services to my roster, even though at the beginning I was sure that all I would do is write.
Without moving forward, you get stuck in the same place and risk becoming irrelevant or outdated. Others will step forward to do when you do — as do it better.
Pay Attention to How You Can Innovate
Once you start growing your business, you will need to strike a balance between looking for more customers and clients and continuing to invest in your own business. Even though you might be focused on sales and marketing, or a networking to find new clients, you also need to pay attention so that you can innovate your offerings.
Don’t forget to invest time and energy in improving your product or service a little bit at time. You do this by keeping track of the latest trends and by paying attention to others are doing. As a freelancer, I keep track of which social media platforms make the most sense for me. I don’t have a huge following, but I have made efforts to build a respectable following so that clients know they can get extra social media exposure when I write something for them.
If you have a product, it makes sense to look ahead I consider how you can upgrade and innovate over time. You don’t want to be left behind by competitors who take your idea and improve upon it. So, what are focusing on marketing and building up your presence, don’t forget to build a roadmap for the actual product you’re selling so that you have a plan for regular changes that benefit your customers.
It’s much better to innovate for your business over time and invest gradually. Otherwise, you’ll wake up one morning and realize that your product or service is obsolete, and that it is unaffordable to give it a complete facelift all at once.
[Related: 7 ways to use Design Thinking to Innovate Your Business]
