What do you do if your marketing strategies are falling behind the competition due to a lack of innovation?

1 Analyze your data

Data is your best friend when it comes to identifying what works and what doesn't in your marketing campaigns. You need to track and measure your key performance indicators (KPIs) such as traffic, conversions, engagement, retention, and revenue. You also need to segment your data by different criteria such as demographics, behavior, preferences, and feedback. This will help you understand your target market better and spot any gaps, opportunities, or trends that you can leverage for innovation.

2 Benchmark your competitors

You don't have to reinvent the wheel every time you want to innovate. You can learn from your competitors and see what they are doing differently or better than you. You can use tools like SEMrush, BuzzSumo, or SimilarWeb to analyze their online presence, content, keywords, social media, and ads. You can also subscribe to their newsletters, follow their blogs, and monitor their reviews. This will help you gain insights into their strengths, weaknesses, threats, and best practices that you can adopt, adapt, or avoid.

3 Brainstorm with your team

Innovation is not a solo act. You need to collaborate with your team and tap into their diverse perspectives, skills, and experiences. You can organize brainstorming sessions where you encourage everyone to share their ideas, opinions, and suggestions without judgment or criticism. You can use techniques like mind mapping, SWOT analysis, or SCAMPER to stimulate your creativity and generate more options. You can also invite feedback from other departments, stakeholders, or customers to get different viewpoints and inputs.

4 Experiment with new tools

Technology is constantly evolving and offering new possibilities for marketing innovation. You can explore new tools that can help you automate, optimize, or enhance your marketing processes, strategies, or channels. For example, you can use AI-powered tools like Lumen5, Phrasee, or HubSpot to create engaging videos, copy, or campaigns. You can also use tools like Google Trends, AnswerThePublic, or Ubersuggest to discover new keywords, topics, or niches. You can also use tools like A/B testing, heat maps, or surveys to test and validate your ideas.

5 Learn from other industries

Sometimes, the best way to innovate in marketing is to look outside your own industry and see what other sectors are doing successfully. You can find inspiration from different domains, such as entertainment, education, health, or gaming, and see how they use storytelling, gamification, personalization, or social proof to attract, engage, and retain their customers. You can also study how they adapt to changing customer needs, preferences, and behaviors, and how they leverage new platforms, formats, or trends.

6 Challenge yourself

Finally, innovation requires a mindset of curiosity, openness, and willingness to try new things and learn from failures. You need to challenge yourself and your team to step out of your comfort zone and experiment with different approaches, methods, or angles. You need to set realistic but ambitious goals and measure your progress and results. You need to celebrate your successes and learn from your mistakes. You need to keep learning, growing, and improving your marketing skills and knowledge.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?