How to Classify Your New Innovation

Your most fundamental strategic decisions, including everything related to a product-launch and marketing, is based on the type of product or innovation you offer.

So the key to the success of your new product is knowing how to classify it.

There are several different ways to classify products, but the easiest one to use and understand is based on how much learning is required by the end user.

• Continuous innovations require little or no learning for the end user and change is minimal
• Discontinuous innovations require a substantial amount of new learning, and a change in behavior is necessary

A change in behavior ALWAYS require the learning of new skills

Think about if you were to buy an electric car, you are going to have to LEARN how to use it.

So an innovation forces you to learn new skills is called discontinuous

An innovation requires little or no learning and your behavior doesn’t really change is called a continuous innovation

Gestalt Innovation Adoption

This is the reason you need to get to know the people in your target audience extremely well….especially in terms of their ability to learn new things.

Rather than focus exclusively on adopter market segments, you need to develop a strong understanding of the entire industry that you serve.

I call it the Gestalt Acceleration method of new-product success……because the whole IS greater than the sum of the parts and you really do need to see the forest, and not just sections of trees.

Just remember, the classification of your new product depends on the ability of your target audience to learn new things. And once you know the type of innovation you are offering, all of your strategies and tactics will be much more successful.