The Curse Of Innovation
Some entrepreneurial ideas, no matter how beloved, were never going to take over the world. Take a look, for instance, at the High Five Machine and other marvels in 12 Strange and Amazing Patents described in Inc Magazine. http://www.inc.com/ss/12-strange-and-amazing-patents#5
At times, however, the entrepreneur knows he or she has a world-changing idea, but for some reason people aren’t flocking. Why? Harvard Business School professor, John T. Gourville, offers interesting insights in an article well-worth reading: The Curse of Innovation. Why Innovative New Products Fail.
In it, Gourville discusses why it is that consumers will sometimes reject innovations that would benefit them, much to the surprise of the inventors. In bringing their creations to market, entrepreneurs must consider both the true degree of innovation in their product or service and the degree of behavioural change that is required of consumers in order to adopt this innovation.
Gourville sets out the following quadrant with three of the boxes – tinkering, long haul and home run – requiring different marketing strategies. Things do not look good for the entrepreneur whose invention offers low product innovation yet requires high behavioural change. “That’s great news. Let me drag over my high five machine so I can congratulate you.”
Your Offering
A. Where does your product or service fall in this quadrant?
B. What are the implications for how you develop and market?