In times of uncertainty, entrepreneurs can find many opportunities to innovate through technology.but they should also Strengthen your commitment to delivering value to your customers.

While it is clear that using new technologies to innovate is critical to maintaining a competitive advantage, it is also imperative that these changes bring value to customers. Encouraging innovation is not enough. And to stay ahead of the competition, you need to increase the value your business offers.

What does it mean to innovate?

It’s common for companies to confuse innovation with creating something new. The concept is correct, but not specific enough. Innovation is essential to growth, but many companies fail when it comes to doing it. We need to encourage people to look for new ways of doing things. But for innovation to be useful, it must create added value for the customer.

FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out) is a term commonly used to describe the hype that startups create around the fundraising process. Yet it can also translate into the impact of trending technologies on business decisions.

Many startups and companies jump on trendy technologies like blockchain without understanding how their decisions will ultimately create customer value.

Instead, innovation often stems from a lot of unsexy work that targets everyday inefficiencies. Identifying bottlenecks and adopting a mindset of continuous improvement makes innovation truly efficient. Changing things that don’t make sense will improve your customer’s experience.

What does it mean to create value for customers?

Good innovation should always bring value to customers. moreover, It should create value for both your business and the customers you serve.

Technology can dramatically improve people’s lives, especially in Latin America. Edtech, fintech, logtech, and other types of startups can foster social mobility like never before. And if your startup can change people’s lives, you’ll be able to keep those customers. Creating added value in this way also serves as an important tool for a company’s survival.

When looking for ways to innovate, don’t start with the technology you want to use. Instead, start with the problem. And hopefully it’s your own problem and you’re 100% sure it exists. Worse than not innovating is investing money in solutions that don’t work.

Innovation through technology must make sense for customers and business models. Don’t embed your product just because you want your storytelling to be sexier. Countless truly innovative products and services have failed because no one was willing to pay for them.

In other words, Technology doesn’t solve problems if people don’t use it. Avoid this by talking to your customers to understand their needs instead of imposing a product.

Also, to consistently create value for your customers, you need to iterate on your services and products. As mentioned earlier, you need a mindset of continuous improvement. Product/market fit is never perfect because things changewhich must be continuously updated.

A famous example of a badly failed innovation is Silicon Valley startup Juicero. The company has raised $120 million for him from investors including Google Ventures and was even featured in the New York Times. The company sold boxes of juice and his US$400 press, which was the only way to squeeze out the juice. The startup claimed the machine exerted four tons of force, which they were so humiliated with as Bloomberg News reported that a person could easily squeeze the juice with just their hands. , The startup created a very expensive solution to a problem that didn’t even exist in the first place.

There is no simple answer as to what is the best way to innovate through technology. But everything goes like this: How much value are you creating? It’s easy to get overwhelmed by the excitement of incorporating new technology into your process, but don’t innovate just because of it.

Once the changes are placed correctly, The digital transformation of existing products and services, or the creation of new ones, can be great value drivers. A clear and simple approach to the transformation process keeps your business aligned with your end goals: We create long-term, life-changing value for our customers.