Innovate or Die

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Authors: Pradip Sinha,
Associate Consultant,
ICMR (IBS Center for Management Research).

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Why Innovation? Contd...

In "Marketing Warfare," Trout and Ries state that this type of self attacking and innovative strategies are well suited for the market leaders only and are not suitable for small players or firms. But most experts in marketing that we have interviewed for this article think otherwise. According to them, there is no such restriction or limitation as such in using a particular strategy in business. According to professor Kindra "it is not restricted to market leaders it is just that market leaders have an edge, deeper pockets on this strategy, because of the amount of research and money which goes into this".

Professor Burgers feels that "this type of reinvention and self attack strategies are very essential for the small players to survive, as innovations create new segments and according to him the best way to become the market leader is to create a new segment. He cites the example of Dell Computers (DC) here; how it conquered the PC industry, not by inventing a better computer, but by inventing a better way of marketing and servicing computers." So it is clear that strategies are not restricted to any particular company.

Self-attack to Greenburg has both the external meaning of proactively approaching the business world and the internal meaning of fearlessly transforming business culture, model and processes. Greenburg sums it up by saying, "there is no restriction in strategies any one who cares to adopt it can, irrespective of its size. It's a matter of how well you execute it and how bold and creative you dare to be". The story of dell proves this.

Masters of Innovation

Companies which are masters in this game of self-attack and innovation have been able to achieve and retain their position year after year irrespective of changed circumstances. The first name in innovation and self-attack is of Gillettea $9 bn global producer of personal care and grooming products. Gillette firmly believes in continuous product innovation. It has always stuck to its corporate mantra of "innovation is Gillette".

It has got the knack of continuously attacking its own products. Its history proves it. From sensor to Mach3, Gillette kept on innovating and attacking it own products. It revolutionized the wet shaving market throughout the world as there has been a continuous evolution in Gillette's product line since its inception. According to professor Kindra, Gillette has been successful because "of its attitude of continually rejuvenating existing products with new features" which helps it in staying far ahead of its competitors. Commenting on Gillette's relentless strategy of attacking itself, professor Burgers says, "Gillette has done an excellent job for many years in continuous innovation. I sometimes wonder if there should not be some level of shaving perfection where improvements are no longer possible".

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