Innovation can be both a driver and a byproduct of disruption. We have seen how businesses were forced to innovate in order to manage change and the disruption caused by the coronavirus pandemic. Many businesses had to transition to digital almost overnight. Many others were forced to rethink their market strategies. Consumers, too, had to use the digital channels for practically everything—work, education, collaboration, shopping, entertainment, and even socializing. A McKinsey report states that the digital adoption during the initial period of global lockdowns surpassed the projections for over a period of five years. As the number of online users swelled, not only did businesses manage change by scaling up their capabilities but also adopted innovative ways to communicate with their customers.
What's innovative today may become the norm later
The coronavirus pandemic has proved to be an inflection point, as it has successfully changed the state of the global economy, forever. The innovations that took shape at the beginning of the pandemic and enabled businesses to survive the catastrophe have now become the new normal. Consumers who were earlier wary or hesitant of using digital channels are now living off of these channels.
They continue to rely on the digital channels for their daily life activities, even though the lockdowns have largely been lifted. This is partly due to the existing social distancing norms, but largely because consumers have now become accustomed to the convenience of anytime, anywhere, and device-agnostic access that the digital channels offer.
An opportunity to truly embrace digital innovation
Businesses must view this disruption as an opportunity to manage change and truly embrace digital innovation. They can create new innovative products and services in view of the evolving customer needs. They can even leverage this opportunity to identify and address the gaps in their existing products and services so they are better aligned to the ever-changed consumer expectations. Further, they can use innovative methods to engage with this large customer-base and build strong customer relationships. The potential is enormous.
Since digital is the way forward, businesses must take advantage of the present opportunity to make a greater impact on their customers. That said, while digitization can accelerate transformation, it is not the panacea for everything. Therefore, businesses must look to manage change and channel this disruption efficiently. They must look to create fruitful opportunities of sustained business growth and customer delight.
A lot of digital businesses are already invested in enhancing user experience by identifying and remediating the potential problem areas. To further supplement their efforts and develop products and services that align with the customers' evolving needs, businesses can seek guidance in the Kano model. The global economic turmoil along with the rapidly evolving customer needs, probably, makes for the most opportune time for businesses to manage change by leveraging the power of the Kano model.
Manage change with the Kano model
The Kano model, developed by Professor Noriaki Kano of the Tokyo University of Science, is a theory of product development that focuses on customer satisfaction. This model provides businesses with a framework, or guidance, to develop products and services according to the features that improve customer satisfaction. Businesses can prioritize the potential new features that they believe will delight the customers in their products.
Businesses can use data analytics to identify the attributes or features that they can include in their products to truly live up to the customers' expectations. However, as mentioned before, what is once innovative, loses its sheen in due course of time and becomes the new normal. Product features that once ensure customer delight may, similarly, become a must-be feature later. Therefore, businesses must not get swayed by the white noise of including every possible feature into their products, as it can be an expensive—and not necessarily successful—proposition. Instead, they should focus their efforts on their core strengths and develop products that their niche customer base finds really valuable.
To learn how Arkose Labs is innovating to help its global partners manage change efficiently and ride the crest of the current digital disruption, please contact us now.
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