Driving continuous Product Innovation is a key component to a brand hitting on all cylinders. Many brands that have this mentality are at the forefront of their respective product category evolution, and other brands are content to “bleed the juice” out of their “one hit wonder”(OHW).

This OHW strategy will move a product along the life cycle curve, with “late adopters” being the final nail in the coffin. There is no way for a brand without a substantial Product Innovation pipeline to sustain premium price points, as markets move to fast and products evolve to quickly. However, building the Innovation pipeline is only one piece of the product evolution cycle, it then has to be brought to market and adopted by the brand’s “core” consumer. This many times is where brands have very thin skin, as they realize how effective and efficient you have to be to pull this off at retail. Inside the corridors of the brand they may profess continuous Innovation, but once accomplished it may sit inside the “vault” never to be released to the world, for fear it will not be adopted and revenue flow affected.

This scenario plays out in brands all the time, however balance does need to come into the equation, the problem arises when you tip to scale to much to “No Risk” vs “High Risk”.  The key is to find the balance, keep driving the Product Innovation and continually out-innovate yourself. No one said this was easy, but is essential to staying relevant….!

“If everything seems under control, you’re just not going fast enough…”
                                                                                                                    Mario Andretti…

Enjoy the Ride…!

Bryan Smeltzer

LiquidMind

LiquidMindsite.com

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The author

Bryan Smeltzer is a successful consumer products business executive and entrepreneur. He has held executive-level roles in business development, product, and marketing with some of the world's most prestigious brands, including; Oakley, TaylorMade, Adidas, K-Swiss, Schutt Sports, among other international brands. In addition, Mr. Smeltzer founded an apparel brand, successfully running a profitable business for ten years, eventually selling to a VC firm. He currently oversees LiquidMind Inc., a global brand strategy firm that partners with both start-ups and established brands to empower their businesses to think different, be different, drive a passionate culture, and execute relentlessly.