What to Do After Your First Year of Innovation Management

This is one of the most common questions that Account Managers at IdeaScale address with our customers at the one-year mark. Our customers have run their first campaign, they’ve delivered on some community ideas, they’ve built some trust with their community, and are wondering where to go from here. Here are a few steps to help you refresh and re-launch after your first year of innovation management.

Gather Feedback. Find out what your community thinks of your progress to date. Ask for direction, test their awareness of the progress that you’ve made, and more. If you’re not sure where to start, download our infographic on measuring innovation sentiment. This feedback will help you identify paths for improvement in the coming year.

Renew Your Goals. What were your goals last year? Getting community members to sign in? Finding one great idea? Well, (after you’ve reviewed some of your feedback), try and set some new targets. Maybe you want to delight more community members, maybe you want to improve your ideation rate. And, of course, this means that you’ve got to recommit to tracking, measuring, and improving on last year’s progress.

Scan the Horizon. With the accelerated pace of technology and shifting consumer expectations, there are always new emerging trends that are impacting your business. See if you can address something new that’s cropped up in the past year. If you’re not sure where to start, see if any of these emerging trends are impacting your business.

Find Someone to Help. Is there someone else at your organization who is already trying to solve a problem? Try and align your innovation efforts to this energy. Not only will you extend your program’s longevity and solve a new problem, but you’ll also start to see more progress as your ideation aligns with new business needs.

Experiment. Try something new. You’ve got some experience now with your communications plan, your process, and your incentives. Try a different subject line, test out a new ideation funnel, and seek out a new KPI.

But above all, keep delivering new ideas and communicate that progress back to your community. Implementation, after all, is what separates an idea from an innovation.