When interviewing potential clients or reviewing RFPs I often come across the word ‘innovation.’
In many cases, I think the term is being thrown around loosely and has been included as a measure to ensure the end-result is ‘better-than-my-competition’ or at least ‘the best it can be.’
Unfortunately, neither of these phrases have much to do with true innovation.
Inspired by this excellent post from Ad Age I thought I’d provide a couple of points to help clients prepare for and accept innovation (or at least be open to proposals pitching it).
The innovation you require cannot be seen so be prepared to do without seeing it.
As mentioned in the Ad Age article, innovation is something that hasn’t been done before. If you really want an innovative solution you’ll have to be OK with seeing case studies detailing other projects in other industries.
Be mindful of project constraints.
My continued pursuit of new business has yet to lead me to a project with an unlimited, uncontrolled budget. It’s likely that your project has a budget so it’s important to remember that innovation may have to occur in smaller chunks. While a carefully managed budget offers security and predictability it also places limitations on certain projects where core functionality may take precedence over innovation.
Don’t look at your competitors as a benchmark.
When I’m gathering benchmarks as part of the digital creative brief here at ResIM I always look to examples from completely unrelated industries. If you have a mindset that causes you to constantly look at what your competitors are doing you’re creating an environment where you’ll always be playing catch-up. Innovation is not about playing catch-up.
Give complete buy-in.
One of the best things a client has ever said to me was:
‘If this concept doesn’t work you need to know that we’ll take full responsibility. By giving you the green light we’re assuming the risk.’
This attitude creates a relationship where motivation is driven by confidence as opposed to fear and where a partnership, as opposed to a contractual obligation, is formed. A confident partnership is an excellent base for innovation.
Innovation has shaped society for thousands of years and will continue to do so for thousands more. If you really want innovation as part of your next digital initiative be sure to consider the points in this post as you evaluate potential vendors and their proposed solutions.