The Final Mile: Why Innovation Needs a Monetisation Strategy
Neema Gray
Director | Commercial & Pricing Transformation | +10% Profit Growth through Pricing, Marketing & Go-To-Market Strategy | Product Innovation & Monetisation
You trained for months. Early mornings. Tough conditions. Blisters. Endless prep. Constant setbacks. You mapped the course. Built your strength. Battled through doubts. You pushed through.
Then race day comes: 26.2 miles ahead. You run hard. You pass mile 20. Then 23. Then 25.
And then you just STOP.
Not because you could not finish. But because no-one reminded you: the finish line is everything.
This is what happens when manufacturers innovate and stop short of monetising it.
The innovation marathon
Across the UK, manufacturers are doing extraordinary things. From cutting-edge technologies and smarter processes to new materials, formulations and smarter packaging.
Businesses are doing everything to ensure success:
The effort is real. The investment is serious.
They launch. They go to market. And they wait.
But the sales don’t come in. The demand is not there. The return never shows up.
And far too often, the race is left unfinished. Because while innovation is critical it does not drive return on its own.
And launching a new product without a monetisation plan is exactly like pulling out of the marathon at mile 25. You have done the hard part. But you’ve gained none of the reward.
But here’s the gap: While technical teams are backed with funding, resources and a clear remit, commercial teams are often brought in too late.
The product is ready. But the commercial plan is not.
This is not a product problem. It is a commercial gap.
Innovation is only half the job.
The rest? That is about value. Knowing what it is worth. Who it is for. Why they should care. And how to capture that value through the price, message, and sales plan.
This is not just pricing. It’s about commercial readiness. It is about the full chain of:
And that part? It’s rarely funded. Rarely planned for. Rarely owned by anyone.
What does “monetisation” actually mean?
Monetisation is not just about pricing. It is the full commercial readiness of your innovation:
This is what turns an R&D investment into a commercial success.
And when it is missing, the consequences are felt fast.
What happens when you stop short?
The board starts asking tough questions. The sales team resorts to discounts. And no-one can quite explain why this ‘great new product’ is not performing.
And the business shelves another ‘underperformer.’
The truth? The innovation never crossed the finish line. Because monetisation was never part of the plan.
This is not a slight misstep. It is a strategic blind spot that risks undoing all the hard work. All that effort. All that investment. And the return is lost, not because the product isn’t good, but because the business did not finish the job.
Innovation without monetisation is wasted effort
It doesn’t grow profit. It doesn’t improve competitiveness. It doesn’t move the business forward.
If you are investing in new products or already have something in market that isn’t delivering, it is time to ask some hard questions:
Because the finish line in business is not launch day. It is what happens after.
No-one funds the last mile but it is the most important one
There is support for innovation. There are grants, research hubs, industry partnerships.
But when it comes to value strategy, pricing and commercial rollout, manufacturers are often on their own.
It is assumed the value will ‘just come’. That sales will ‘find their way’. That the market will ‘see the benefit’.
But they don’t.
Unless you show them. Unless you empower, train and equip your teams. Unless you build the commercial side of the race with the same rigour you built the product.
Innovation without monetisation is like stopping at mile 25
It looks like progress. It feels exciting. But it does not move the P&L. It does not earn the margin. And it does not build the business.
If your team is investing in innovation, or already launching, the real question isn’t just “What have we developed?” It is:
Finish the race
If this sounds familiar, you are not alone and it can be fixed. If you’ve made it to mile 25 but your sales and margins do not reflect the effort, let’s talk.
I help manufacturers close the gap between innovation and value, so they finish the race and profit from it.
Because in business, just like in a marathon, what matters most… is finishing the race.
Fractional Pricing Leader | AI-Powered Strategy | Revenue Growth Helping Businesses Price Smarter & Boost Profits with AI | Ex-McKinsey, PwC, GE Capital, FGS Global
4moThis marathon analogy is perfect! Every launch should have three milestones: does it work, can we sell it, will they pay for it. Most stop at milestone one.
Too often, the focus stops at the launch. At NVG Value Pricing, we see how much technical excellence and effort goes into innovation. But without a plan to monetise that innovation, the return rarely follows. This isn’t a pricing tweak. It’s a strategic gap. Monetisation means clearly defining value, targeting the right customers, pricing with confidence and enabling your teams to sell and defend it. If you are investing in innovation, don't overlook the final mile. That’s where the commercial return is won or lost.
Director | Commercial & Pricing Transformation | +10% Profit Growth through Pricing, Marketing & Go-To-Market Strategy | Product Innovation & Monetisation
4moThis has been on my mind for a while. So many manufacturers are doing brilliant technical work. But without a monetisation plan, the value gets lost. If you are launching something new, it’s worth asking: Have we defined the value, priced it properly, and equipped the team to defend it? Would love to hear how others are tackling this “last mile.”