Innovation starts with small steps, especially by small enterprises that don't have the money to be radical, says a brand strategy consulting specialist.
Wilson Chew is group principal consultant and chief executive of StrategiCom, which recently released the results of a national study: 'Branding Innovation, A StrategiCom Study of Singapore SMEs'.
The survey drew one main conclusion - only 21 per cent of Singapore SMEs successfully apply innovation management tools, of which 90.5 per cent apply branding efforts.
According to Dr Chew, the perception of innovation as a costly affair could account for the low percentage of SMEs engaged in it.
He also points to the large proportion of trading companies within the SME community as another reason. 'For a long time, these trading companies have not changed with the times,' he said.
However, with new and innovative ways of trading, it is likely that more SMEs will embark on innovation, he believes.
Giving his take on the way an SME should embark on innovation, Dr Chew said a company should first identify one or two projects to work on - for example, to make a component lighter without sacrificing durability.
Secondly, it should identify the people that can make the project succeed. It should look in-house first for people with the necessary skills and expertise.
Should this fail, a company should look at its distributors or customers for help, before hiring in the open market.
Such an arrangement is mutually beneficial, Dr Chew said. 'Ultimately, when a company creates a better product or service, the company benefits from higher sales and its customers are able to perform better.'
Starting with small-scale projects is not too costly to finance. Although lots of time and effort need to be invested in such projects, Dr Chew believes these are vital sacrifices 'for a company to be successful in this new world'.
Recognising that the fear of not achieving a breakthrough is a major deterrent, Dr Chew explains that small projects will not affect profitability or affect a company's operations severely.
When a project bears fruit, a company should then brand its innovation to create a new income stream.
PRINT
E-MAIL
SHARE