With the creation of new markets and smarter technologies, companies around the world are rethinking their traditional operations. In order to keep up with development, corporations must look at ways to innovate.
Creating a culture of experimentation that is accepted seems to be a new concept for many corporations. However, there are many examples on the market that prove how companies that innovate and experiment end up way ahead of the competition. In this article, we examine some of those samples and show you how to level up in 2021.
Improving the Customer Experience through Greater Experimentation
One such example is Google and Bing - look back ten years ago and both were on par with each other. Today, however, Google has a market share of 92.17%, while Bing has only 2.78% and Yahoo even less, with 1.6%.
So, what did Google do differently to make this leap? Back in 2008, Google was already conducting multiple experiments to take the business forward. They were looking ahead and doing the following:
- Always staying in front of their customers' needs
- Employing trend-setters to predict the problems before they even arose
- Trying out new business models
- Embracing failure of some models and working with the feedback
- Staying ahead of competition by catering to their niche market
All the above points used a certain amount of risk and experimentation. Here are some ways you and your teams can also follow the success of those who have gone before:
1. Be driven by data
Don’t make the mistake of not measuring your data for better results.
Data is what confirms results, validates change, and fuels growth.
Don’t ignore even the seeming negative data, or opinions of users. Use these to fuel your next innovative move. Your consumers and users may have completely different ideas of what could work better. Listen to their feedback and study the data. Then, trust in that data enough to be driven by it.
2. Be open to ideas and creativity
It is easy to get stuck in your ways. Instead, adopt a company approach whereby you are all open to ideas and creativity.
Don’t be afraid to take a different path, to try different software, or just to do something completely different. Sometimes the biggest anomalies or most outlandish suggestions can produce the best results. After all, if you aren’t changing you aren’t growing. And if you aren’t growing, your business cannot progress.
3. Encourage complete team inclusivity
Break down any barriers of exclusivity and encourage everyone to work as a whole. Rather than thinking of it as completely different areas of a company, think of it more like one giant team with slightly different roles. Ask for the opinions of all departments, and then listen. How do they think things can be changed, what is not working?
4. Invest in the right tools
Equip employees and those within your organization with the correct tools to experiment and innovate. Invest in those tools which amplify your efforts and encourage better workflow. For example, marketing campaigns, innovative tech to get organized, apps that help your teams communicate and collaborate. Tools for marketing such as Optimizely or Google Analytics help you compare results such as bounce rate or the pages which are gaining the most clicks; both of which can indicate success.
5. Celebrate your wins
Don’t forget that it takes a lot of consistent small steps to make the big milestones of progress. Celebrate each individual win and acknowledge what all the members of your team are doing, no matter how seemingly small their progress. This will encourage your folks to experiment during the progress. If they know that you, as a leader, encourage even the small wins.
6. Learn from Failure
Our last tip: don’t be afraid of failure. Strive to grow from past mistakes, think outside the box, and embrace experimentation, even if it means you don’t get everything right from the beginning. Stagnation is one of the dangers of companies that start well but end up resisting growth.
If you want your company to move forward with the new ways of collaborating and tapping into global markets, then you must be willing to grow at every level.
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