Years ago I read Switch, by Dan and Chip Heath, which is a book about how to effect change with limited resources. Innovation is often achieved through scarcity. That is if something is too expensive to do ‘the old way’ let’s invent a cheaper way of achieving the same thing.
Innovation also comes from listening to customers. This does not, however, always work: Remember Henry Ford’s famous quote, “If I had asked my customers they would have asked for a faster horse.”
Innovation also comes from watching and observing society and community trends. The move to online, mobile and the environment spring to mind.
Over the years at RedBalloon our innovations have often come from these sources: solving problems through technology; listening to all our stakeholder groups (including our experience supply community) as well as customers; and looking at how our society is evolving.
I am so excited to see the speed at which we ship new technologies and offerings, all based on our commitment to the customer experience. Our updated tag line truly encapsulates this with “Experience Happy”.
People count on us to deliver ‘good times’ consistently anytime, always. As such, we have launched our subscription model In Australia, which we are calling RedBalloon MarketPlace.
This is another big step in our growth story, embracing a retail subscription model across the gift box range. RedBalloon MarketPlace is part of product diversification strategy that taps into the notion of a little bit of joy in a box every month: “Experiencing Happy” over and over again.
My colleague, CEO Kristie Buchanan, has said the launch is a new chapter in RedBalloon’s innovation story following some of our more recent successes of gift cards (now in 4000 outlets), gift boxes and the mobile site.
I believe that key to our growth and success is that we never stand still or rest on past successes… we look at our BHAG every day and say how can we get there sooner, faster, better.
Subscription commerce has risen as a major retail trend, gaining particular strength and traction across the US and UK markets. But the Australian market has not yet seen the same success, so we saw this as a great opportunity to become a leader in the market.
This is all about creating and fostering an ongoing relationship with our customers – surprising and delighting them with a new product each month.
See more at https://www.redballoon.com.au/subscriptions
Naomi Simson is an entrepreneur who founded RedBalloon in 2001. She has been blogging for a decade at NaomiSimson.com, is a professional speaker, author of Live What You Love and Ready To Soar, a leading business podcaster and a “Shark” on four seasons of business reality show Shark Tank Australia.
