Question

List three (3) methods or techniques for generating business ideas and briefly describe each of them.

Answer 1

1) Problem solution approach

You have heard about the proverb "necessity is the mother of invention". This is actually a business idea generating technique. There are times in your life when you think, had there been an app for this or I wish someone did that for me etc. Now that is an business idea right Infront of you. So, understanding a problem and creating a solution for the same is a business idea generating technique.

2) Talk with your friends and family

Your parents and people elder to you have a lot of life experience, they might have ideas which they could not pull of during their time due to the technical limits. Your friends also could have idea or could help you in suggesting paths to overcome any limitations your current plan has. A brainstorming session with friends and family is a very good technique for generating business idea.

3) Travel, embrace and take lessons from real life

Yes, everything is easily available at your fingertips now with internet access. But there is a limit on such searches and its impact on you. Travel and interacting with people can help you understand their problems, expectation on services, how much they are willing to spend etc. Thus, can help you generate new business ideas.

Answer 2

A business idea is a concept that can be used for financial gain that is usually centered on a product or service that can be offered for money. An idea is the base of the pyramid when it comes to the business as a whole.

The characteristics of a promising business idea are:

• Innovative
• Unique
• Problem solving
• Profitable

A business idea is often linked to its creator who needs to identify the business' value proposition in order to launch to market and establish competitive advantage.

The following are some of the key methods to help generate end test new ideas:

1). Involve Everyone in the Quest for Ideas -

Organizations can enlarge their pool of ideas by including more employees in the process of new product and service ideation and in solving vexing organizational problems. Start by encouraging them to listen to customers. Don’t allow managers, technical specialists, or purchasing, finance, or human resource professionals to participate in new product/service/market development decisions unless they spend at least 20% of their time with current (or future) customers and suppliers. Example - Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS), a global pharmaceutical firm, does not restrict its definition of innovation to activities related to finding the next breakthrough drug. Rather, it sees the need for new ideas in much broader terms and involves employees constantly in the quest. BMS has developed a series of ideation campaigns for internal customers under the leadership of “idea searcher” .

2) Involve Customers in Your Process -

New products are most often initiated by ideas from customers, rather than from in-house brainstorming sessions or developed internally by research and development. The traditional focus group needs more focus. Form advisory boards of key customers to serve as sounding boards for ideas. Identify customers who tend to buy the latest versions of your products. These “lead adopters” can provide you with insights about where the market may be headed and how your organization can best position itself. Example- To maintain its market positioning as the “ultimate driving machine,” Munich-based BMW must constantly seek new technologies and design features that keep it slightly ahead of the pack. To accomplish this objective, BMW tossed conventional wisdom to the roadside and created what it calls a Virtual Innovation Agency (VIA) to listen to customers directly. Car buffs worldwide can access the VIA Web site and join online discussions to share their ideas with other enthusiasts around the world–and with the BMW Group.

3).Benchmark Ideation Methods -

Organizations that rely on innovation need to seriously examine the climate in which ideation takes place and put someone in charge of making the process better, more productive, and more innovative. Innovation-adept firms invest in ideation sessions, read books, attend seminars, and constantly seek to improve their skills. Innovation-vanguard organizations actively manage the ideation process by examining its effectiveness and questioning how the ideas-to-results process might be improved. Ideation is not something that should be left to chance.