Finding the Right Mix for a Meaningful Business Model

It is no surprise that people continue to be the focus for most organizations, products, and services. Continuing along this line of thought, we can say that people play an immense role in influencing today’s business models.

With a people centric approach, building a successful business depends on innovation, technology, and trends. Why? Because it is a combination of these elements that determines whether a company can respond to the needs of its customer base.

It’s easy to understand the value that these elements bring to organizations, but more difficult is knowing how to use them correctly. One wrong step, and a company can topple overnight.

Putting innovation to good use – meaningfully.

Lately, innovation is on everyone’s lips and is a true game changer. However, we find that the topic is often limited to the generation of “new” and different products, which has also become a matter of debate.

True innovation, synonymous to change, is only achieved by generating meaningful products. It is not enough to create something new and exciting. It must generate value and create consistent demand over time. Creating products without sustainable perceived value can lead to future bottlenecks in the sales pipeline.

Therefore, the right way to use innovation in the business model is by finding meaningful solutions.

Looking beyond the common definition of technology

To achieve innovation, one of the main tools at our disposal is technology. Spoken about on a day-to-day basis in the business world, the word itself has almost become a cliché.

As with innovation, technology has been repeatedly limited by referring only to gadgets, but clearly, we know that it goes way beyond that. We should conceive technology as a thought process that aims to solve the problems and needs of our customers, in its varying forms.

Technology involves technique and reasoning, that is, questioning from a technological point of view the what, how and why, and to answer these questions with people as the focus. Therefore, technology and its elements should be embraced as tools that function for the purpose of solving problems and satisfying individual to collective needs.

Technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), the Internet of Things (IoT), and Blockchain bet on problem solving. If we carry out user-centered processes to satisfy user needs, with a well thought out “why” and “for whom”, we will be able to re-imagine our business model to seek user experience, profitability, and viability, among others; a business model where technology is used as a means and a strategy to resolve global needs.

Driving trends

Trends impact quality of life and accelerate our day-to-day experiences. Therefore, it will be necessary to question: What is happening? How is it happening? and Why is it happening? If we think of a trend as similar to a train, innovation and technology can then be considered as the sensors, engine and brakes.

In a nutshell, for a successful business model that meets today’s market requirements, the most effective recipe includes a mix of innovation, technology, and trend recognition.

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