Stagnation is decline. This is well known to everyone. Yet many entrepreneurs find it exciting and difficult to innovate and grow their business. After all, you have to get out of your comfort zone and into action. Yet it is very important to innovate to grow your business. But how can you innovate with your business? Here are 10 ways you can innovate and grow.

What exactly does innovation mean?

Innovation is renewal, adapt and improve. It is often seen as something very big and new and that plays a role mainly in tech companies. While innovating with your company offers many opportunities and possibilities to grow as an independent entrepreneur. It allows you to innovate your products, services and/or processes, and that doesn't have to be big changes. Even with small changes you can make a big impact. 

Why innovating is a must for self-employed entrepreneurs

Innovating with your business means putting time and energy into something new. So you may be asking yourself why you should innovate as an entrepreneur. There are a number of reasons to innovate. Because if you don't innovate, you run the risk of:

• New market opportunities to be missed
• Work less productively and efficiently
• Losing your market share to competitors
• Getting higher costs
• Have lower margins and thus lower profits
• Eventually having to shut down your business

1. The market is changing

To maintain or improve a good position in the market, you have to innovate. Because if you do not add value to your customers, chances are that your service or product will no longer connect with your customers. So it is very important to keep an eye on the wants and desires of your top customers. The change in your customer's desires requires repositioning. To keep up with your customer's desire, you can come up with new services and products as well as improve your current products or services. If you do not innovate and keep up with the changes in the market, you will lose your position and your right to exist.

2. You distinguish yourself

Innovative products, services and processes set you apart from your competitors. By offering something new that adds value to your customers' lives or businesses, you give your target customers reason to become top customers with you. As an entrepreneur, you are growing. This is another part of innovation and value. It is a waste to let this value go to waste. You have to keep adjusting your value proposition, making and keeping you distinctive.

3. Your productivity increases

Innovating is also developing new business processes and thereby increasing your productivity. One way to do this is with the responding to innovations, such as new technologies. Thus, his Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools useful for creating content in a faster way.  

The 10 ways to innovate with your business

Innovate with your business can be done in a variety of ways. I list ten different ways for you, with different innovation examples. 

1. Product Innovation

What do your top customers need? What problems do they have, and can you develop a product or service that addresses them? Innovating your product or service is a useful move to develop new value. In doing so, you reengage your top customers with your company. Innovating increases retention.

2. Optimize your company's identity and communication

A strong BRAND creates recognizability. It shows the distinctive character of your company. It's important that your foundation is solid, so that you align your marketing and communications strategy accordingly. By expressing a consistent and clear message, where your communication matches how you act, you will be perceived as trustworthy by your top customers. So look at what could be better about your proposition and how you present this to your customers.

3. Innovation in the social field

On a social level, you can do a lot for society with your business. There are plenty of social issues at play, such as climate change, teacher shortages, famine, poverty and loss of biodiversity. How can you help with your service or product? A nice example are tea bags with flower seeds in the label of the bag. After you drink the tea, throw the tea bag into your garden. After a while, flowers grow from the label of the tea bag, benefiting insects.

4. Innovate based on the drivers of your top customers

Do a target group research to discover what your top customers dream about, what keeps them awake and what their personal motivations are. This will help you discover what you impress your top customers with and how you can offer something extra that will give them a positive impression with you. This helps you build a good and solid customer relationship.

5. Improve business processes

How efficiently do you work? What can you improve to make even be able to work smarter and faster? List your processes and see where there are gains to be made. Start working with AI tools to perform certain tasks faster. I also always advise my clients to do omniprecense. For example, I make a video that I post on YouTube and use as a podcast and from this I get input for posts on my LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook. There are several ways you can make your business processes smarter, saving time and costs.

6. Improving customer satisfaction

Your business exists because of your top customers. So it is important to keep an eye on what makes your customers happy. Therefore, ask the following questions:

• What extras can you offer to provide more value?
• How do you make using your service or product even easier for your customers?
• What obstacles do your customers face when they want to purchase your product or service, can you remove these obstacles?
• How do you make sure your customers enjoy your product or service even more?

Do research by contacting your customers, observe their behavior and ask how you can improve certain things.

7. The channels you use

Are your products or services only available through your website, or do you offer it through other channels as well? Are there other channels where you can offer your products and services? And how can you be reached by your customers? This is an area where you can innovate by, for example, collaborating with another party that offers your services and products as an intermediary. There are websites and apps where you can offer your services (for free or for a fee).

8. Expanding the product system

Sometimes there are also ways to pair your current product with another product to provide some added value. Say you sell different flavors of chocolate, you can also sell a chocolate fondue set with this, port, tea, coffee or milk to make your own chocolate milk. It is a smart way to retain your customers, provide a good customer experience and differentiate yourself from competitors.

9. Offer a total package with your network

Innovating your business can also be done by expanding your network. Can you partner with others to facilitate more services to your clients by working together? By doing so, you are adding value to your clients. If you are a copywriter, it is smart to collaborate with a website builder and photographer. The three of you can offer a package where you take everything off the client's hands regarding their website: the building, photos and copy. For example, if you are a nutrition coach, you can also look into partnering with a (holistic) medical practice so that clients with nutrition issues can be referred to you.

10. Expand your revenue model

Which way are you making money now, and are there other ways to make money? With a new earning model, you can quickly gain a big advantage over your competitors. You don't have to look only at your current target market here, but you can also develop an earning model for a different target market. In my Premium Program Unlimited Freedom I also deal with multiple income streams, so you are never dependent on one income stream.

Innovate with your business and become OpMarkably Profitable

Innovating will benefit you on several levels: more profit, more time and cost savings. Do you want to innovate and know that you really need to capitalize on AI, for example, but are not yet sure how and what to do? Then the Program onMarkably Profitable something for you.

Program onMarkably Profitable including the Mastermind AI Increase your value so that your business continues to grow relevant and successful. By not working harder, but strategically smart business and spending your time on things that really matter. Within 3 months you will strengthen your position, increase your productivity and save time and money.