Innovate in the down economy – advice from Jamie Murray Wells, web entrepreneur

by Patrick Altoft on April 3, 2009 / 4 responses

This is a guest post by Jamie Murray Wells from glassesdirect.co.uk. We like to feature guest posts from people who are running successful & innovative online businesses as a break from the normal SEO talk.

 

“In order to be irreplaceable one must always be different.” Coco Chanel

 I’m more likely to quote Seth Godin than Coco Chanel, but when Carole on my team quoted Chanel at me this week it gave me the idea for this post. In a week where we’ve added Vera Wang and Nicole Farhi glasses to our growing designer collection it seems appropriate to start with a style legend.

What was Chanel talking about? Innovation and the ability to differentiate yourself in a crowded market. In the current climate, where investment is scarce and competition for funding is fierce, innovation and differentiation are more important than ever.

There are lots of examples where this advice is appropriate today – the job market and the online PPC market are just two - so my advice is look at your current business and decide whether you’re innovating enough to survive and thrive in the next 3-5 years. Stelios Haji-Ioannou started out with only 2 planes in 1995 , but through innovation in air-travel Easyjet is now flying all around Europe and helped create a new business model.

Glasses Direct was founded on innovation in 2004. We set out to answer a problem that no-one else realised they had. Running with an idea and making your own space requires a strong belief in what you’re doing. 5 years later, we continue down this path and continue to grow.

For example, we recently added a Home Trial service, the first of its kind in the UK. People often tell us that they need to try the glasses on in the store to “be sure”. But wouldn’t you prefer to try your glasses on at home? With a variety of different outfits? And have it cost less than the parking and petrol for a trip to town? Traditional opticians have never needed to do this because they are relying on the status quo. We think people deserve better and that’s been our mission from the beginning.

This summer we’ll be doing the same for prescription sunglasses and designer sunglasses. It’s a very competitive market and we’ll be competing with Chanel herself.  With that in mind, I wanted to finish with one last piece of advice – once you become successful, keep an eye on your competition. If you aren’t constantly innovating and improving then you’re going to be overtaken soon.

Good businesses, especially online ones, come from challenges to the status quo. Think about how your business could challenge “the way things are” and make a difference in 2009 and beyond.

Post category: Marketing Tweet

Patrick Altoft is Director of Search at Branded3, a Leeds SEO & Digital Agency specialising in SEO, Web Design, Development & Social Media.