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Who cares from where great ideas for your company come? Consider running contests and announce financial awards, coupons, vouchers, free products and your company’s willingness to use great ideas and suggestions regardless of the source. Regard this as part of the advertising and marketing aspect of the company. If this is your strategy, make sure all of your sales people tell their customers that you pay for good ideas through the website. Advertise it in the lobby, at local engineering schools and colleges, throughout universities and technical school, on your envelopes, all company packaging and then make sure to post winners and their winning ideas on your website next to your current suggestion program.
Why would you not constantly want new ideas? What can you possibly lose other than $250 to $500 per month if you ask openly for great ideas from anybody? Why would anyone not want to get an ongoing list of ideas and suggestions from multiple sources to help their firm? You cannot lose. If you ask and you get no suggestions, you have not lost any money.
Some do not want new ideas; implementing them requires effort and work. Procedures and the average work day for some companies has become too. Most do not remember the difficult times through recessions or when large customers left the company. Too many employees who run the firm become complacent. Without provocation, they are much less likely to cause change, let alone seek new ideas. If a company is making money, why change anything? This is a dangerous attitude in today’s changing marketplace. Those who will not change nor look for new opportunities need to be replaced before all lose their jobs.
Handling new ideas is difficult. The problem with some firms is they cannot handle new ideas. Try this if you dare — paying for ideas requires your commitment and will generate a lot of interest in the website. Here is an idea statement to post on your website:
“Our company pays for good ideas to improve our products or services. Tell us yours and if selected, we both make money.”
