INDUSTRYNEWS
Why
innovation
trumps
invention
Martin Dickie, Business
Unit Director, DoorStop examines what
innovation really means.
A lot of what passes for innovation is a
new product or ‘improvement’ that doesn’t
actually solve any real problems for the
customer or end-user, but the inventor
thinks is marvellous.
They’re inventions in search of a problem.
That’s why most inventions never make
it to market; they just don’t excite or
interest users. Once the ‘shock of the new’
has passed, if it isn’t useful it soon gets
forgotten.
Some of my favourites are the inflatable
dartboard, the pedal-powered wheelchair and
the helicopter ejection seat. (It doesn’t take
too much imagination to realise why none of
these ever took off.)
But then stranger things have happened.
Some of the world’s greatest inventions came
about entirely by accident. Teflon, Superglue,
Post-it notes and Play-doh to name just
a few But most of the best inventions or
innovations are the result of diligent research
and knowing your market inside out.
Real innovation like this is about looking
for something – big or small, technical or
commercial – that benefits the customer
even if they don’t know it yet. It responds
to the pull of consumer/user need. True
innovators have to have vision and belief in
their product, as well as a strategy to make
it happen. For example, when the idea for
the personal computer first came out, it was
dismissed as a pointless invention, but that
didn’t stop its rise to world domination. In
2008 almost all composite doors were made
for social housing with 6-8 week lead times:
when Door-Stop started-up, its unique 3 day
delivery service was not only a pipe dream
for rival manufacturers, it was dismissed
as a gimmick! But it’s one of the major
innovations that helped the company get to
No.1 in retail composite doors.
To read more, visit www.clearview-uk.com
Martin Dickie, Business
Unit Director, Door-Stop,
outside the Notts HQ
Masonite is known worldwide for its
innovation. Its founder William H. Mason
changed the building materials industry
forever by inventing a way to convert wood
chips into an economical and effective
building material, high-density fibreboard.
The company now has one of the world’s
largest private research & development
facilities in the industry. Door-Stop’s business
model works very well with this focus. From
a standing start six years ago we harnessed
commercial, technical and product innovation
(eg our patented and unique reglazable
cassette, designed to be replaced without
damaging the door or cassette) to grow quickly
and sustainably. Perhaps more importantly for
the trade, Door-Stop has helped its customers
compete, winning more business and growing
themselves. Many long-standing customers
such as Your Next Door have come to
specialise in composite doors – unheard of just
a few years ago! With Masonite behind us we
can only build on that success.
I’ve been involved with Door-Stop from the
very beginning, working in Sales for the first
three years, and then as a consultant advising
on various projects. What Door-Stop does so
well that, in my experience, many companies
don’t, is spot the gaps in the market that really
matter, where it can deliver exceptionally.
Door-Stop doesn’t sit back and wait for
inspiration to strike; we’re constantly looking
for ways to make buying, fitting and selling
our doors easier. It’s this close focus on the
customer that makes the difference.
Door-Stop aims to introduces a new service
update or addition to its product range at least
every couple of months, and this schedule
continues. In the past few weeks we’ve added
a new door design, a 3D adjustable butt
hinge to our range and made it possible for
customers to save as many credit card details as
they like on our secure online server, for even
quicker ordering.
‘We’ve got some very
exciting initiatives coming
up to be launched at
the FIT show in June’
We’ve got some very exciting initiatives
coming up to be launched at the FIT show
in June. A product which solves the problem
of conflicting standards, a unique sales aid
that will help installers sell the way they want
to, and further additions to our range are
just some of the things visitors can expect.
We’ll preview some of these on Twitter @
doorstopdoors and LinkedIn at our new page
www.linkedin.com/companies/door-stopinternational. Follow us and take a look!
To find out more in the meantime, visit
www.door-stop.co.uk
MAY 2014
19