"It isn't difficult to predict future. Its evident that innovation will keep businesses afloat in the future that's not too far."

One day, Ramaswami, a good old friend of mine visited me in my Business Tycoon Academy. I observed that he had lost the charm he earlier had in his face. Since he was evidently sad, I asked him what had happened. He said his business was not doing well and had hit rough patches. His turnover was not scaling up but rather declining. What was once a successful business had now turned stagnant. This is a case of lot of people who have followed a traditional model of business in their life. I'm sure even you might have come across businesses that were successful for decades together but have gone stagnant now. What do you think is the reason for this? Lack of innovation it is!

"We live in a competitive world where every eleven minutes an innovation changes everything"

When there is such cut throat competition, how do you sustain and stay on top? Well, simply innovate your business model!

If you are wondering what are the key areas you must innovate your business in, do not worry! The answer isn't difficult! Here are three main areas you should work upon :

We live in a competitive world where every eleven minutes an innovation is happening, be it in the technology, fashion, product manufacturing and the like! Gone are the days when there was a single brand that had monopoly over the market. Today, even top brands have to compete with each other on an everyday basis!

1. Reduce the pain of the customer The pain reduction factors works wonders when done right! Once upon a time, you had to go all the way to the store to buy what you want. Now, everything comes at your doorstep! Why? Because someone initially worked on reducing that pain of going all the way to the stores!  

   "I have stressed the importance of reducing the pain in my 16 Business Secrets book "

2. Reduce the time invested by the customer Do you remember how you bought movie tickets fifteen years ago? You had to stand in queues and wait for the long line to go short until you could make it to the box office and collect tickets. Then came the option of telephone booking which slightly reduced the time. Now, you can book tickets on your finger tips. You can choose your timings, your seat and even your snacks before you make it to the theater! What exactly happened is that the time for the whole process was shortened. Do you have any possibility of doing this with your business? If yes, do it!

   I have stressed the importance of reducing the pain in my 16 Business Secrets book as well. You really got to look into it! So if you have a particular business, make sure you come up with ideas you can reduce the pain of your customers in availing that product or service!

3. Enhance the experience of your customer! In my Business Mastery courses that I conduct where I wield business owners to reach the next level in their business, I often ask business owners to enhance the experience of their customers. People aren't just buying a product anymore.

   They are more than willing to buy the experience that comes with the product! If restaurants were enough to serve food, why did concepts of rooftop restaurants and candle light dinners come?
   Experience is what you should focus on! Make them feel special. Give them an unforgettable experience along with your product, and trust me with this, they will turn into your loyal customers!

Now that I've mentioned all the key areas of business you should bring innovation in, another question obviously rises! How do you bring the innovation into reality? Well, there are a few ways you can do it :

"How do you bring innovation to reality? Is there a process to follow?"

1. Ask the right questions! How can I increase my sales, is a very generic question and won't help you go to the next level. Bring in variants in your questions. Ask yourself and your team questions like, What is it our customers want but don't know themselves yet?and in the quest of finding answers, you will reach your goal!
2. Stay in the front! When you began your business, it was necessary that you stayed in the front and took care of many aspects of your business yourselves. As your business grew, you hired employees and you're hardly in the front now. Change this habit, and go back to your early days! You will start afresh, and you'll innovate with ease!
3. Keep yourself in the flow! When you are deeply engaged in your business, it will become so easy and effortless that you'll forget the existence of time. This is the kind of passion you got to have now when you're bringing innovations! Keep yourself flowing!

Well, those are few mantras on innovation which I can vouch for since I have experienced it all in the long years of my six business ventures!

Remember one thing, at the end of the day, it doesn't matter if you have a good product when you can't make it a good selling product! And that happens with newness in the business every now and then!

So don't stagnate, keep innovating!

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