OVER the past two decades, Challenger entrepreneurs have captured the public imagination.

These individuals have created businesses that demonstrate how a fresh, inventive approach, driven with passion and serious motivation, can shake up and change markets.

The Express & Echo has teamed up with the South West RDA and Business Link in a campaign to highlight 100 South West Business Challengers – finding the lessons that local, small businesses can learn from them.

This week the spotlight is on innovation, which lies at the heart of the Challenger concept and Business Link has identified the following ways it can improve small firms' performance:

Solve: Empathise with customers to identify problems — then find innovative solutions.

Change: Identify aspects of existing products or services that don't meet customer needs as well as a competitor's — and focus your attention on improving performance in these key areas.

Simplify: Carefully review your processes and see if there are ways to simplify processes and become more efficient and improve your customers' experience. Try to simplify supply chains.

Differentiate: Find points of difference between your business and competitors. Develop areas where you have an edge — and improve any aspects where competitors currently do better.

Create: Look for any areas where your customers' changing needs are not fully met – and plug the gap with a new product or service

Business Link innovation spokesman John Tregaskes said: "Taking an innovative approach can help create a compelling reason for customers to try their products and services and continue to use them. Our advisers will help firms to take an innovative approach."

Roger Hunter, business support product manager at the South West RDA, added: "Encouraging and supporting innovation is a priority for the RDA and we are proud of the creativity and cutting edge solutions of firms across the region.

"Through collaboration with Business Link and other partners we ensure the region's businesses are best placed for sustainable growth."