According to the dictionary, innovation is the act of introducing new things or ideas. While saturation is the result of or the result of filling a thing or place completely so that no more can be added,
What does “innovation saturation” mean?
Innovation saturation is an act of introducing a new idea into a saturated niche to improve and develop to its apex. Examples of these ideas are e-books, bakeries, cell phones, equipment, health care, personal computers, etc. When an idea is competitive or obsolete, innovation saturation happens.
How does this innovation saturation occur?
- It occurs with the introduction of new technology. As the world can’t escape the advancement in technology, For instance, in Nigeria, the pandemic has opened our eyes to the innovation of technology.
- It occurs due to competition around it, where a new idea feels threatened by another one that already exists.
- Through the occurrence of changing trends, the world is dynamic in nature, as it is inevitable. Trends do occur, not only as an opportunity but also as a threat.
- Innovation saturation is more than nice to have!
- What are the advantages of innovation saturation?
- It makes your idea exceed your expectations.
- It makes your idea stand out from competitive ones.
- It complements the stagnant idea of growth.
- It enables fewer competitions.
- It creates more opportunities to invent.
- Leveraging these advances provides organisations with more agility in innovation as well as the ability to fail fast, learn, and move on if a new idea isn’t going to bear fruit.
- It gives room for improving existing ideas, which may be a more realistic course of action.
- It will remain an important competitive advantage for the foreseeable future.
- As advantageous as this innovation saturation can be, it also has its own shortcomings. Here are the shortcomings:
- It makes existing ideas obsolete.
- It prevents people from demanding saturated ideas and going for new ones.
- It causes financial breakdown for the people struggling with the idea of an existing idea. The cost of exploring new ideas can be high, and as a result, organisations are constantly forced to balance the expense of innovation.
Although people are more attracted to saturated ideas, innovation saturation cannot be overemphasised, and it is an inevitable circumstance that adversely affects the existing idea.
There are ways you can maintain success in this situation.
- Letting your idea be creative will make it appear more attractive and effective, which will make your idea more memorable.
- By adding value, you upgrade your ideas and make them visible.
- Emphasize the unique aspect of your idea by creating a niche that gives people a reason to choose and value your ideas more than other competitors.
- Keeping updated with the new trends is essential so as not to be caught unaware of innovations.
There is no right or wrong in innovation saturation; you just need to identify new opportunities in your niche and go beyond expectations as innovation hasn’t reached its saturation point yet. It is just a developing process that needs more time now than ever. It is about changing the social order.
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