I came across the term “Innovating in Zeroes” the other day when I was listening to Tony Robbins’ Podcast where Skype founder Jonas Kjellberg was being interviewed.
Basically, “Innovating in Zeroes” means to innovate by cutting down the cost of delivering a product or service. One example is when Airbnb found a way to eliminate hotel management cost and pass it all on to the property owner.
Another approach is to find a way to add an extra “zero” to your product value. The most common example of this is by adding a feature and to your product and attach a premium to it.
Hilsoft’s latest innovation, Snap Accounting, is one great example of subtracting “zero” from the cost by eliminating the tedious implementation process, making the service easy-to-use and implement by the end user, with minimal or zero support from us.
The end user can use the product for free at the onset; we add the “zero” by having the option to activate certain features they need.
Another ongoing innovation we have is GlobaGia. We aim to cut down the cost of marketing (this is subtracting the “zero”) and maintaining a website for tour experiences by providing an open platform for tour providers (this is adding the “zero”).
In any case, one important lesson I learned recently is to know who you are innovating for. From there, innovate for that niche by determining which “zero” to add or subtract from the current market.