• by Cory Treffiletti , Featured Contributor, September 14, 2005

What is "Innovation"?

Is Innovation the term used to describe the development of new ideas? The dictionary defines Innovation as "the act of introducing something new." It is also defined as "a creation resulting from study and experimentation."

Given these definitions, are you innovative?

The other day I heard the term "Consumer-Centric Innovation" and though I initially felt this was a great new buzz word (and we all know I love buzz words), I later changed my thinking and decided it was redundant because if you're a company with a product that is worth a grain of salt then you have to practice "Consumer-Centric Innovation" every day. After all, if you're trying to drive sales, and trying to be innovative in any way, then you must be centered on the consumer or otherwise your product is useless and outdated.

I continue to speak about a Dialogue that exists between a brand and the consumer. That Dialogue should be mined for information that can be used to develop Innovation in your products and services. The feedback you get from the consumer, when you provide them with the means for doing so, can be invaluable in helping you to understand the differences between the brand promise and the brand experience. It is inevitable that some consumers will have a different experience than what you foresaw, but by responding to them and listening to what they have to say, you can probably have a very positive experience and use their feedback to develop further innovations.

Innovation is really a form of evolution. If we follow the definition of "creation resulting from study and experimentation," then we see that Innovation is really just the integration of knowledge to develop something new and better. Innovation is not a revolutionary idea. It does not need to be significant changes on a grand scale; it can be slighter changes over an extended period of time. When you realize this to be the case, it makes the concept of Innovation a little less daunting.

For true Innovation to be practiced, you must actually listen to the consumer. They are the ones with the appropriate feedback and they are the ones with the practical knowledge. The question I pose is how many of your brands are set up to do this? How many of your brands are actually in a position to listen and respond to the consumer? How many of your brands would actually welcome the feedback and incorporate it into the products you develop?

Regardless of Innovation being "Consumer-Centric" or "Product-Centric," Innovation is still a process. It is the idea of "introducing something new" to someone who might be interested. In advertising you consistently try to introduce new ideas to consumers, and these ideas consist of a promise for the brand that will hopefully match the experience of a brand. If the message and the experience are different, then the consumer will expose the difference and spread the word to other consumers. This is especially true in today's marketplace where the web and blogs and e-mail and community sites allow for the distribution of information amongst like-minded individuals faster than ever before. In the immortal words of the X-Files; "The Truth is out There."

So I come back to the original question... are you Innovative? I imagine you'll say "Of course we are," but the better question to ask is whether you're set-up to listen to, and respond to, feedback from the customer. If you are, and if you do, then chances are you are set-up to be innovative. If you aren't listening to your customers, then you are definitely missing something.

So once again.. are you Innovative?