Complete Story
01/03/2020
The Innovation Trifecta: Making Smarter Decisions by Asking Customer-Focused Questions
Source: Chris Yuhasz, POV Solution, Printing Impressions, December 20, 2019
At my printing company, we’re constantly on the lookout for what’s going to both give us an edge in the market and help us maintain who we are. And for us, who we are has become inseparably linked with daring to be different.
One way we’ve done that is by diversifying our products and services through innovation.
Not surprisingly, this can be challenging.
I wouldn’t exactly call our decision-making process a perfect science. But if I had to put it plainly, I’d say our “formula” for innovating has involved identifying a trifecta of customer-centric factors:
- Does the innovation allow cool, compelling print features/products?
- Do those cool, compelling print features/products have practical value for new or current customers?
- Does the innovation make it possible for once cost-prohibitive options to now be cost-effective?
Our Trifecta Criteria in Practice
Here are a few examples to show you what I mean:
Investing in textured spot UV technology. Foil stamping, embossing, and similar embellishments have been around for a while. But for many customers, these options are still too expensive.
Enter textured spot UV. Our investment in this feature lets our customers use the power of interesting textures to differentiate their postcards, business cards, brochures — or really any printed piece—like never before. Moreover, they can do it at a fraction of the cost of those other embellishments.
And considering what the research on sensory marketing says, a lot of good things can happen when people touch high-quality collateral.
