Don’t replicate, elevate: winning new customers. Blog Week 5

It's time we looked at innovation and how it can be used to drive new customer propositions. 'Oh no, not that buzzword again,' I hear you all shout. But actually, I want to look at lack of innovation. Let me explain.

I was recently talking to a product manager at a bank about their new payments renovation project that was just starting. I was rather surprised to learn that without knowing all that was possible, they were already saying the first phase of the project would achieve nothing new whatsoever. The reason why is because their IT department has a policy that for anything new coming into the bank, the first phase is to always replicate what the bank is currently doing. The bank claims this is done to ensure that no functionality is lost with new software.

However, the product manager does not like this policy because more often than not, he knows that all of his budget gets spent achieving what is already being done today. Whilst the bank may have big plans and ideas for a new shiny solution, all too often they never quite get to these before all the money (and often patience) has run out.

Thinking back to the cycle race analogy that I've been using throughout this blog series, would a team buy a new bike to accomplish nothing more than what they are already achieving on their current bike?  Would they be happy to never improve and allow all of the other teams to pass them by? I don't think so. They want to be faster, smarter and improve with every race and every new season.

We all need to think bigger rather than look at what is already possible. The popular phrase is 'good, to great', not 'good, to about the same'. Remember, the reason you wanted something new in the first place was to do something different and offer your clients something more. The disruption point comes down to thinking differently.

New solutions always have something new to offer and you should be looking to leverage as much of this as possible. But of course you must also be certain that the new system can deliver on all its promises (as mentioned in my previous blog on PowerPoint promises). Don't buy solutions with the promise of the future without being very, very sure you can get there. Phase one needs to be about what you need to move you forward, and what it takes to get new customers.

Be bold. Think new. Try to elevate your solution. Success comes to only those that try.