Why is innovation important and how is it changing?

Innovation is what makes an entrepreneur, it doesn’t have to be a new business idea, it could be an old idea but a new way of selling it or presenting it to customers. In my opinion, in order to have a successful business you have to make it unique in some type of way to create loyal customers which can help you grow your business. In the textbook, there is a very important point which states, “Innovation is not a single event; one should never stop innovating.” This is very important in these times because people have access to the internet which makes competition so much greater. I feel the internet makes innovation very difficult because once you have an idea and publicize it, there is someone who sees it and wants to do the same. Products and services are no longer sought after by local word-of-mouth, now you have world-wide competition. Therefore the only solution is to always try to make your company better.

Why do you think Dell was successful when other companies trying the same model failed?

Technology companies were very limited in terms of innovation. There are restrictions and specifications in the way their products are made. Nevertheless Dell was very intelligent and created a way to differentiate themselves from other companies by letting the customer be involved in creating their “machine” called made-to-order. So now the customer feels an attachment to their product which other companies don’t have. In a market where technology is quite the same (e.g. laptops, desktops, etc.) Dell is letting the customer create a “unique” product which caters to their needs and wants instead of having a machine that has abilities you are not going to use because you don’t need them, therefore has less value to the customer.