A recent research article from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Sloan Management Review describes three ways organizations can ensure their digital innovations are both tech-savvy and consumer-friendly:
1. Internal experimentation: The fast-moving nature of tech innovation makes it much better suited to a constant cycle of pitching, testing and deploying new digital tools, rather than the traditional schedule of quarterly or annual pitch meetings followed by a drawn-out process of development. The more internal experiments — and, crucially, the more encouragement they receive from company leadership — the better the results.
2. Consumer collaboration: If an organization is too deeply entrenched in the abstract concept of digitization, it can be easy to lose sight of what consumers want in the physical manifestation of those digital solutions. According to SMR, “Companies that co-innovate with key customers to build customer insights can quickly identify and correct those false assumptions.”
3. Cross-functional development: As with the old-fashioned pitching process, the traditional development process is not conducive to the deployment of digital tools. Product development teams must combine design, product management, technology, sales and service experts to ensure every aspect of a digital tool will meet consumers’ needs.
More articles on innovation:
Concordia University opening Nursing Innovation Center
The big trends in pediatric healthcare innovation from Children’s National Health System’s Dr. Kolaleh Eskandanian
UW Madison to launch genomics research, innovation center
