Developing Innovation Strategy
Over the next five years, technology-enabled companies are expected to grow nearly 10 times faster than more traditional operators 1
And committed innovators generate twice as much of their revenues from new products and services as their peers2. But there are new risks, challenges and uncertainties in adjacent spaces compared to your core business – and, as we’re often asked:
“Where can you best leverage innovation and technology to grow?”
Our experience shows the right approach to strategic innovation can make all the difference between failure and success. Your strategy, design and engineering teams may all innovate but, for transformational innovation, much can be lost in translation between consulting reports, internal silos, and the final specifications. That’s where we help.
Ignite Exponential
At Plextek and our dedicated strategic innovation team Ignite Exponential, we stand at the forefront of driving adjacent and transformative innovations across industries.
Ignite Exponential is our innovation hub aiding companies in achieving sustainable growth through strategic innovation, marketing, technology, and design. Combining Plextek’s robust technical expertise with advanced innovation strategies, we tailor our approach to meet specific business challenges.
We collaborate with global industry leaders to transform strategic challenges into opportunities, crafting successful solutions without being confined to fixed methodologies. Discover more about how we can co-create your future successes at Ignite Exponential.
Our considerable cross-industry strategic innovation expertise enables us to explore customer needs and growth opportunities in new markets with a fresh and independent perspective. And our integrated, multidisciplinary team helps understand potential disruptions (whether customer, market or technological) and systematically explore the potential of new technologies and business models.
Where should we focus innovation to grow?
Two central questions are key to an innovation strategy
Where do we focus?
- Which markets, categories, geographies, channels, customers, and jobs to be done (JTBD)
How do we win?
- Which organisational choices, technologies and new business model will give us a unique competitive advantage in the markets we invest in.
The understanding, systematic exploration and definition of consistent strategic choices in these questions, unencumbered by limiting internal and industry assumptions (as the future will not be the same as the past), is the key to development of a sustainable competitive advantage.
Identifying growth opportunities
We helped a US electronic component manufacturer with spare production capacity to explore new opportunities for growth. From both market and technical analysis, we identified a specific product line which would be the most promising target for this growth and helped to upskill its team and develop the technology for the successful launch of the new product line.
Creating competitive advantage for new markets
A leading consumer brand was considering how to enter a new category. It asked us to tear down a range of existing products to understand if any had a technical competitive advantage, and to recommend how it should specify its new products to win in this market.
Standing out in the sun(care) category
We helped a multinational beauty company looking to enter a new market to understand how to combine packaging with IoT technologies, devices and apps to deliver a differentiated product experience and enable a fresh, innovative business model.
Market penetration = growth
We enabled a consumer electronics manufacturer to successfully penetrate a competitive market by understanding the needs of customers in a new growth category and designing their next ground-breaking product.
Activities
Our work encompasses a wide array of activities, including:
Market and user research:
We study customers’ unmet needs. By looking at how new trends, actions, or technology affect these, we can offer strategic guidance. We team up with our clients to run hands-on sessions, using early tests to lower the risks before investing in new ideas.
Creating a strategic innovation framework:
We employ tailored and systematic frameworks to refine the innovation portfolio, leading to a powerful framework for strategic innovation.
Delivering outcomes:
Our comprehensive approach leads to strategic alignment on objectives, a competitive landscape overview, targeted technical and customer research, and the subsequent creation of a coherent innovation pipeline or technology roadmap tailored to your brand and business.
Key results
- Strategic alignment on innovation scope and criteria.
- Independent customer research and analysis, identifying prioritised innovation needs.
- Market and technology landscaping beyond your own industry to reveal trends, technologies and a toolbox of innovation enablers inspired by your specific challenges.
- Broad portfolio of ideas brought to life with sketches, visuals, pretotypes or videos.
- Development of an innovation pipeline and technology development roadmap.
- A clear pathway for the next steps, ensuring effective delivery of the innovation pipeline.
- Ongoing strategic and technical support, as required.
Key skills
- Strategic innovation expertise
Leveraging industry insights and strategic foresight to create actionable innovation strategies that drive growth and competitive advantage.
- Technology and market disruption analysis
Identifying and analysing emerging technologies and market trends to pinpoint opportunities and threats, enabling proactive adaptation and innovation.
- Evidence-based strategy formulation:
Harnessing data and proven methodologies to establish strategies that are grounded in factual insights and promising practices.
- Multidisciplinary team collaboration
Facilitating collaboration across different functional areas, bringing together diverse skill sets to innovate and solve complex problems efficiently.
- Innovation roadmapping and strategy execution
Creating detailed innovation roadmaps to guide the development and implementation of new products, services, and business models, ensuring alignment with long-term strategic goals.
- Stakeholder engagement and workshop facilitation
Engaging with internal and external stakeholders through workshops and meetings to gather insights, foster buy-in and collaboratively explore innovation opportunities.
- Concept development and prototyping
Transforming initial ideas into tangible concepts through rapid prototyping, allowing for quick iteration and feedback in the early stages of the innovation process.
Your strategic partner in innovation
Ignite Exponential is more than just a consultancy; we are your strategic partner in innovation, ready to navigate the complexities of new market entries and technological advancements together.
For further insight into how we can assist your innovation journey, get in touch:
What sets us apart when it comes to Developing Innovation Strategy?
Our dedicated strategic innovation team stand at the forefront of driving adjacent and transformative innovations across industries
- Competitive analysis
- Cross-industry innovation
- Growth opportunities
- Innovation pipeline
- Technology roadmapping
- Customer research
- Market analysis
- Market disruption
- Strategic frameworks
- Technology development
1 What Innovation Leaders Do Differently, BCG, June 2023
2 Committed innovators, McKinsey, June 2022
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