Disruptive innovation – develop your own and don’t miss out on existing ones with QuestionPro’s online community

If you want to develop disruptive innovations, you need a place where ideas can be generated, commented on, evaluated, developed and developed quickly, e.g. QuestionPro's innovation tools. In these dynamic times, disruptive innovation is often the result of rapid development based on customer needs that they do not even know or can verbalize themselves.

What does disruptive innovation mean?

A disruptive innovation is defined as an innovation that creates a new market and value network, ultimately disrupting an existing market and displacing established companies, products and alliances within an industry.

An innovation that is revolutionary can shake up an industry, but that alone does not make it disruptive. A technological leap that does not displace an old solution may be an important innovation, but it is not disruptive. Only when the original market leaders and products are replaced does the term “disruptive innovation” begin to take effect.

What is important to know about disruptive innovations is that 90% of all industry revolutions are recombinations of existing ideas, concepts and technologies. A good example here is Apple, which developed the iPod including iTunes from the products and ideas from the Fraunhofer Institute (mp3), Napster (music sharing platform) and portable players. The iPhone was supplemented by the cell phone technology invented by Nokia and Motorola, including the App Store etc.

The development of disruptive innovations requires new thinking

Disruptive innovations usually do not come from existing market leaders, but often from product recombinations or even the reconfiguration of business models. It is in the nature of things that a disruptive innovation comes from outside and shakes existing processes, products and paradigms. Many companies are working very hard to develop the next big leap in innovation. You want to develop a disruptive innovation, like the next iPhone, the next Swiffer or the next app that goes viral. In order to successfully create disruptive innovations and capitalize on them, a high level of commitment and breaking down existing structures is necessary. This often includes changes within your own company in order to create a culture in which ideas are encouraged and staff are rewarded accordingly for generating new ideas!

The challenge of disruptive innovations is that people cannot simply be asked about disruptive innovations, but rather it is about developing a deep understanding of their needs and expectations - as is possible with online communities. The most famous example comes from Henry Ford, who once said that if he had asked people what they wanted, they would have answered “faster horses”. However, the underlying need is to get from A to B more quickly - this is how the disruptive innovation of the automobile in mass production came about.

The development of disruptive innovations

Uncertainty and surprises are not something a company typically welcomes, but disruptive innovation requires it. If you want to create a product or service that approaches a problem in a completely new way of thinking and doing, there is no way to plan ahead or know where your innovation will ultimately land.

Disruptive innovations don’t happen “overnight”

While the media often makes disruptive innovation seem like an overnight success, the reality is that a lot of shit and work went into it. You have to come to terms with surprises and setbacks and learn from them. Your team must be willing to put ego aside and evaluate every part of a product or process. Creating an organization with the risk tolerance, confidence and ingenuity to tackle disruptive innovation is an arduous process.

Establish the necessary infrastructure to be able to innovate - disruption will result

You need regular innovation projects to build creativity and familiarize your teams with the innovation lifecycle. You also need the right tools to carry out innovation initiatives, such as an innovation management community like QuestionPro's. Once you have established a culture of innovative thinking in your organization, a technological infrastructure and a strong culture of innovation, you will still find that most new ideas are not truly disruptive. This is normal and should not discourage you.

What is just “hype” and what are real disruptive innovations?

It is often difficult for companies to differentiate between which innovations are sustainably disruptive and which are just short-term hype, if missed or ignored, have less consequences for their own products or business model. You have to have a “nose” – or a functioning customer and employee community that is fully integrated into the innovation process to identify disruptive developments.

Characteristics of disruptive developments and innovations are, for example:

Use highly developed community technology and innovation tools for your innovation management

If you have managed to create a culture in your company in which employees can immerse themselves in customers' lives as well as contribute their own ideas, discuss ideas and evaluate them, then you need a platform, an employee community which ideas can be registered and jointly developed into disruptive innovation. With innovation management software, QuestionPro offers you the opportunity to build exactly such an innovation community with the aim of identifying disruptive ideas. We would be happy to show you in a 1:1 live online presentation how QuestionPro can support you in the development of disruptive innovations!

1:1 live online presentation:
Develop disruptive innovations with the innovation tools of the QuestionPro community

Our experts will be happy to provide you with a consultation on the topic of disruptive innovation at an appointment of your choice. Arrange an individual appointment.

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KEYWORDS OF THIS BLOG POST

Disruptive innovation | Disruptive | Community | importance | Market research