Happy Saturday!
Most people think product innovation means adding new features.
But that’s just one of NINE main ways you can create meaningful differentiation.
Let me show you all nine, with examples you might not expect:
- Product Features Not just bells and whistles — true functional innovation. KitchenAid did NOT simply make their mixers powerful, but made the top tilt back for easier bowl access. My grandmother had a built-in KitchenAid mixer for 30 years, and sold it with her house. It’s probably still going.
- Production Methods HOW you make it matters. Tesla‘s gigacasting process reduces a car’s body from 171 parts to just 2, reducing production costs and bolstering rigidity.
- Distribution Innovation Finding new paths to customers. Dollar Shave Club turned razor blade delivery into a sensible subscription service by skipping retailers entirely.
- Service Integration Blending products with services creates entirely new value. Whoop combines fitness tracking hardware with deep sleep analytics and AI coaching to be more than a Fitbit clone.
- Brand Innovation Standing out through better ideas. Native set out to create better ingredient transparency and cleaner formulations, so customers know what they’re putting on their skin. (And they’ve added surprising partnerships.)
- Customer Focus Serving an overlooked segment. Tracksmith built a premium running brand by focusing exclusively on and supporting serious amateur runners.
- Experience Design Making interaction memorable. Lush lets customers try every product in-store, creating an experiential, deeply sensory wonderland of handmade soaps. My kids love Lush stores for the cool things you can do as well as the many amazing (if sometimes overpowering) smells.
- Pricing Innovation New ways to capture value. Unity gaming engine is free until you hit $200k in revenue — then they share in your success.
- Cultural Innovation Internal practices that create external value. Costco‘s above-market wages and benefits create the industry’s lowest turnover and highest service levels. Most employees at our local warehouse have seen my family for years, so the card scanner is just a formality.
The magic really happens when you combine several types. Look at Away luggage: innovative features (built-in chargers) + brand design + direct distribution + service integration (travel content).
But even if you can’t, focusing on one or two types of innovation that suit you best — and nailing them — can transform your business.
Action for today: Jot down your current innovation areas. Which of the nine types are you missing? Which of those do you love most? Those are where you stand to create the biggest new value.
Ready to explore new innovation angles? Let’s chat about making your product truly distinctive — all you gotta do is hit reply and tell me what you’re thinking. I love when people do that!
Laurier
Product Payoff: Another neat thing about Dyson: Its most successful innovations combine at least THREE types from this list. The bladeless fan went well beyond feature innovation — it merged new technology with memorable industrial design AND premium pricing to create a category-defining product. For a fan!