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The Timing is Ripe for An Innovation Communication Audit
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Yesterday, I received a marketing piece inviting me to a
seminar on "How-to Survive" in a Market Downturn. I deleted it immediately. My
intention is to THRIVE, not just to s u r v I v e. I hope yours is too.
This incident got me to thinking about the choice of words
that are selected to communicate new ideas and the impact they can have on
success. I want to thrive so I'm not going to that seminar. I wonder if the
creator of the event thought about the choice of that one word - survive, and
the different ways it can be perceived by prospects. The impact on success is
immediate, and, it's just a word.
This leads me to share the following two situations that
also happened to me this week:
1. I am in my fourth year of
learning to play golf; sports of any kind do not come easy to me. I just
discovered from another player the markings on my club heads are there to
help me align the sweet spot on my club heads with the golf ball. I
thought the marks were design elements. So, I went to the website of the
maker of my clubs to find out what else I should know that would be
helpful to me. Technical golf-speak and lots of acronyms filled their descriptions
communicating all the apparently great new innovations their clubs offer.
No help to me; just golf mumbo-jumbo.
Why do companies spend so much
money on innovation and then neglect one of the most important steps in the
whole innovation process - communicating the innovation in a clear, compelling,
and easy to understand way?
2. A Tide commercial caught
my attention. This amazed me because my approach to buying cleaning
products is to keep my life simple and to save time by just buying the
brands I always buy.
Why did Tide catch my attention?
The commercial communicated a compelling easy to understand message about a new
innovation. It demonstrated solving a problem that bugs me; having the colors
of my clothes fade from washing. Tide
showed their new version retaining the color of clothes for 30 washes. I will
likely buy it the next time I am shopping.
I share these observations with you because I think now is a
perfect time to consider conducting an Innovation Communication Review/Audit.
It's such a shame to see a valuable
innovation languish or fail because the communication step is weak.
I know it's frustrating for many to be working in an
environment when so much effort is focused on cutting budgets. I believe by deciding
to complete an Innovation Communication Audit, a very inexpensive and proactive
activity, you can actually end up adding to your top and bottom-line this year;
not to mention, actually strengthening your valuable innovations.
Until next time ...
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