Innovation - not quite what you think?

On 20 May, we hosted another dinner for The Marketing Society B2B group. The evening’s discussion focused on innovation and disruption in B2B marketing, under the hashtag #boldandbrave.  We came with some preconceptions that marketers might find it difficult to be bold and brave in B2B environments, which are often traditionally conservative. And we had some questions about whether innovation was being stifled by corporate culture.

We were wrong on both counts.

With speakers from IBM, Hiscox and 3M, it became apparent that innovation is alive and kicking, egged on by marketers, product developers and even senior management. Overall, it’s actually the corporate culture which drives innovation, and the privately owned companies around the table in particular seemed to have a bigger appetite for risk-taking than those driven by quarterly reporting. In fact, in one of the most memorable quotes of the evening, it was suggested by a very senior marketer in a very big company that the need to report on ROI quarterly kills innovation. Bold and brave indeed.

Even in traditional markets, it seems, companies recognise that you need to innovate to continue to deliver for customers. And customers were consistently put at the heart of those initiatives – from personalising digital experiences and content to helping channel partners innovate in their own businesses. And there you have B2B marketing in a nutshell. It’s not just about the communications - it’s about the organisation’s ability to deliver. Brand differentiation isn’t achieved just with clever messaging, but by how people actually experience the company when they do business with it on a day to day basis.

The same is true of innovation. It’s not just about creative messaging (and I now feel a bit stupid for ever considering that it might be). To be truly innovative, you have to work it right through the organisation, from brand to operations, and align the internal behaviours that will support it.

The final insight, which challenged yet another preconception (so many in one evening!), was that innovation will only work if it’s based on a truth of the organisation. We like to think of innovation as coming up with something that is totally new and has never been thought or done before. And sometimes it is. But sometimes it’s not. Sometimes it’s about refocusing to express what you have always done, but in a new way; or applying an old process in a new way (Post-it notes being the perfect example, of course).  In fact, most of the people gathered at the dinner agreed that trying to innovate in a way that was off brand would be unlikely to drive success.

So there you have it. Disruption is not about sea change, but about refocusing what you do in a new direction. And to get an organisation to do that, you truly do need to be bold and brave.

Fran is the Chair at Omobono, read more from them in our Clubhouse.