Innovating on the Cheap

No investment in innovation is ever a sure bet. Typically, innovation success rates are low, and returns are slow to materialize-if they're generated at all. This makes innovation initiatives hard to justify when money is tight. But even then, it's still possible to launch new offerings that excite customers. The trick is to find the promising assets you already have in hand. According to strategy consultant Lance Bettencourt and consumer-products executive Scott Betten-court, almost every company has previous discoveries with overlooked market potential. The six most common types of in-hand innovations include products that failed to launch because of particular circumstances, which may have changed since then; previously developed capabilities and features addressing customer needs that have recently risen in prominence; products that customers like for unexpected reasons and that could take off if repositioned; extras created for bundled offerings that could be spun out as stand-alone products; separate components that could be combined into an enhanced offering; and overdesigned products that could be simplified to help the company reach new customer segments. With such innovations, much of the work has already been done. They can be brought to market with relatively minimal effort, resources, and risk and swiftly boost a company's bottom line.

• Product launches
• Innovation
• Return on investment
• Growth strategy
• Cost control
• Product development