Innovate!

How many entrepreneurs have you met who have gone out of business, simply because they failed to keep up with the times and with their competition? Those who refuse to innovate, update and improve, those who fail to reinvent themselves, are doomed to join the ranks of that sad, pathetic group of has-beens that often label themselves as “consultants” and “coaches” and haunt the “networking” meetings. They tell wonderful stories of their past successes and promise to lead you down the same path for a tidy fee! Scary, huh?

The fact is, times change. If we don’t continually seek ways to add value, initiate new directions, woo our clients and update our technology, we will be left choking in our competitors’ collective dust. Remember the song, “When you’re in love with a beautiful woman, you watch her eyes… everybody wants her…”? Well, our customers and prospects are inundated with offers, bribes and shiny choices. They face a daily barrage of exciting options. Our competitors are constantly finding new ways to lure, entice and tempt our clients away. They become more sophisticated by the day. They spend tons of money to attract our patrons.

“If you don’t look after your wife, somebody else will!” The same applies to your clientele. Watch television. See how many times the screen changes? People get bored really fast, these days. Watch an old movie and see how fast you lose interest. We’re used to constant stimulation, and we demand more and more for less and less. We become more and more sophisticated. We expect more. We want to be wooed and romanced by our vendors, don’t we? We take so much for granted these days, and here’s a wake-up call: “Customer loyalty” is a thing of the past.

Word of mouth advertising and viral marketing are based on massive, unprecedented value. Instead of wasting your precious marketing budget on advertising that doesn’t work, why not spend it on adding value to your existing customers and paying them for bringing you more business? Innovate. Initiate. Don’t get lazy. You snooze, you lose! Don’t fall asleep at the wheel. The shepherd who falls asleep will awake to find that the wolf has eaten his sheep. Don’t underestimate your competition. He is spending money, attending seminars, reading books and finding ways to grab market share from you. He will steal your ideas. You have to constantly be five steps ahead of him.

Look at the most successful companies today: they are constantly initiating new value and inventing new benefits. Look at Google. Follow the winners. Reinvest into your business and your education. Align yourself with the top entrepreneurs. And you will lead the field.

Robin J. Elliott is an Honored Member of America's Who's Who of Outstanding Professionals 2006. He is officially included in the International Who's Who of Entrepreneurs of 2002 and was nominated as a candidate for inclusion in the 2004-2005 edition of the International Who's Who of Professionals.

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