Do you also want to find an innovative idea to offer a unique offer? Stand out from the competition? Or simply expand your business?

You've come to the right place: in this article we give you tips for finding an innovative business idea.

But before getting to the heart of the matter, let's do a brief theoretical reminder of what is meant by innovation.

What is innovation?

Innovation does not exclusively concern the world of new technologies. Nor is it limited to products or services.

According to the latest version of the Oslo manual, innovation can affect ( INSEE ):

• The product: introduction of a new product or improvement of an existing product. Example: product faster, lighter, with more features…
• Processes: implementation of a new production or distribution system.
• Organization: implementation of a new organization. Example: the lean manufacturing method in industry, or the transition from waterfall development to SCRUM or agile in software
• Marketing: creation of a new commercial strategy. Example: the sale of wine by subscription.

Beyond the elements that can be the subject of innovation, there are basically 4 processes for finding an innovative idea. Let's see them in more detail.

Find an innovative idea with incremental innovation

Incremental innovation refers to the improvement of a product, a service, or an already existing process in order to better satisfy demand, and therefore to allow the company to increase its market share or to retain its customers.

SaaS (Software as a Service) is a good example of incremental innovation.

Before the arrival of SaaS, companies wishing to equip themselves with software had to make a significant initial investment to buy the licenses. Then pay for maintenance, and pay again for software updates.

SaaS, by making software accessible on demand on the Internet, makes it possible to reduce the initial investment required by offering an all-inclusive formula in the form of a subscription.

Installation costs (licenses), maintenance, and updates are included in the subscription, and their cost is smoothed over the period of use, which makes the software more accessible.

In this example, the innovation concerns both the product (accessible via the Internet vs. installation required), marketing (subscription vs. one-time license purchase), and the production process (continuous updates vs. new version every year).

Look for an innovative business idea through adjacent innovation

The objective of adjacent innovation is to expand the market or create a new one by adapting an existing concept to sell it to new customers.

For example, if you could already exchange or rent accommodation (AirBnB), today you can do the same with boats. GetMyBoat, launched in 2013, offers a rental service for sailboats, motorboats, fishing boats, yachts, etc.

In the same register, PrivateFly is a company considered as “the Uber of aviation”. It thus offers flights in business jets on its mobile application.

In these two examples, existing economic models have been applied to different categories of services, which makes it possible to reach a new type of clientele.

Another application of the principle of adjacent innovation is the Blue Ocean Strategy, which consists of significantly modifying the characteristics of an existing product or service in order to sell it to a new public and thus escape competition.

The concept of a blue ocean is defined in opposition to a red ocean. A red ocean is a sea in which many sharks (you and your competitors) are fighting for the same school of fish (market share), the fight is fierce, blood is flowing and the ocean therefore turns red. Conversely, in a blue ocean you are the only shark (at least initially) and therefore do not have to fight for market share (the sea therefore remains blue).

A good example of a blue ocean strategy is Cirque du Soleil. The traditional circus market was characterized by inexpensive shows aimed at family audiences. Cirque du Soleil has borrowed from circus and theater to create a new, premium entertainment product for adults:

Have an innovative idea by proposing a disruptive innovation (disruption)

Breakthrough innovation consists of greatly simplifying an existing product or service to make it accessible to a greater number of people.

Disruptive innovation is generally accompanied by:

• a sharp drop in additional features or services offered
• a sharp drop in price

Two good examples of disruptive strategies are low-cost airlines and Free's entry into the telephone market.

Low-cost airlines have made a massive simplification of the service offered by traditional operators (limited comfort, no possibility of changing tickets, no checked baggage, meals or drinks included in the price of the ticket, etc.) which allowed them to significantly lower prices and thus make air transport accessible to as many people as possible (mode of transport becoming accessible to people with moderate incomes or increasing the frequency of travel for those who previously used traditional airlines).

For its part, Free has also simplified the telephone package by simplifying the service and separating the telephone purchase part from the communication package. This also made it possible to offer a much more basic offer at a very low price: non-binding packages at 2 euros per month including 2 hours of calls, unlimited SMS, and 50 MB of data.

The services are reduced, but the offer is unbeatable. While all operators regularly offer new options for higher packages, Free takes the countercurrent.

The invention

Finally, if you are looking for an innovative business idea, you are left with the option of invention.

Invention consists of creating a new product or a new technology from scratch. This is the case, for example, of the steam engine, paper, the microscope, etc.

The advantage of the invention is that it is accompanied by the creation of intellectual property, which makes it easily protectable (by patent in particular). In contrast, invention is the most difficult process in coming up with a business idea.

Prefer to think about the three previous innovations, even if you are not immune to a flash of genius!

How to find an innovative business idea?

You now know everything about the principles of innovation. So it's time to go in search of an innovative business idea.

However, it is clear that innovation is not easy. Rarely does a new idea pop up out of nowhere.

Thus, to put all the chances on your side and propose a new concept, it is advisable to set up a working method allowing you to identify opportunities.

But where to start ? What research to undertake? Here are our tips for developing your ideas.

Read more: product development companies near me

Carry out a strategic watch to find an idea for an innovative business creation

A good strategy for finding an idea for creating an innovative business is to set up a strategic watch.

Two types of actors can be particularly interesting to monitor:

• The universities
• business accelerators

Travel to find an innovative business idea

Traveling allows you to discover new horizons, new cultures and often new innovative business ideas!

You are not immune to coming across an innovative business concept or future professional partners.

Why not import or export a concept that you think is promising?

Find an innovative idea on your own

The last option you have left is, of course, to have a clean, unique, innovative and attractive idea.