”Your biggest enemy is your own success!” [free quote after Steve Jobs]

 

 

This Bog post is worth reading because:

1. It showcases all the relevant options for innovation.
2. The best ways of business model innovation are explained.
3. The role of valuable business communication is re-defined.

 

Established industries, especially the printing & publishing business, fail at sticking to earlier success factors. Cross-cutting technologies that produced by the Internet age, do the rest and put previous economic principles cease to have effect. Monopolistic technology owned by expensive expert tools and expert circles (editorial teams) can not make the usual success. Technology innovations are important, but don’t guarantee per se a profitable growth anymore.

Technology usage competence and an anticipatory understanding of developments in the market even more. Needs have become the measure of all things.
The aim must always be to revolutionize industries and markets!

 

Lifeline “business model innovation”

The following classic, operational innovation opportunities are there who have been sufficient in the pre-social media era:

1. Technology and process innovation: Something old replaced with something new for higher efficiency and increased productivity.
2. Product innovation: new products to offer to increase sales.
3. Functional area-innovation: in marketing, sales to improve the value chain architecture.

But who nowadays wants to achieve sustained profitable growth, must lift “Strategic Innovation“ to change the basic structure of a business.

This novel, too rare form of so-called “business model innovation” gives advantage in the market, advantages through differentiation from competitors through to positioning as a leader.

 

Three options of business model innovation can be distinguished:

1. Revenue Model Innovation
2. Value Chain Architecture Innovation
3. Value Innovation

Option 1 and 2 are dedicated to vendors of digital goods. They are able to deliver (almost) for free to their customers in the Internet and Telecommunications-based industries; because they act without (almost) zero transport costs within seconds. And they have always the possibility to select customer groups to offer products or services for free even to attract prospects. This is spurred by the high cross-linking and network ability of digital offerings.

Option 3, Value Innovation is relevant when certain customers or suppliers groups can no longer be serviced timely and satisfactory. Value Innovation relies on the valuable communication of the change of a value through an innovative, solid and serious value proposition (better expressed: “Valuable Performance Promise”). Only in this way novel, latently existing market needs & demands can be satisfied.

Value Innovation need not necessarily have a fundamentally new value chain structure. For existing products / services to new customer groups are offered, which are derived with respect to regular customers a completely different benefit for themselves.

 

My recommendation:

All established businesses, primarily the printing & publishing industry can ensure their survival, if it uses the strategic and supporting principles of “Value Innovation” and brought to life by high-value communications solutions.

 

Anyone interested in the details for Value Innovation, can contact the author Andreas Weber.