Tag Archives: contextual research

Great innovation teams are driven by customer insights

Customer discovery never stops

If you look deeply at hundreds of examples of business innovation, an interesting pattern begins to emerge. Specifically, what we find is that an innovative idea came not from some inherent individual brilliance but from looking at the world from a fresh perspective; an alternate way of seeing things.

Innovators don’t pull ideas out of the air, rather they obsess about a particular challenge, ask questions and dig deep to discover insights. And one way innovators come to their insight is by understanding the unarticulated needs of people.

Deadly innovation sin: Depend on customers to tell you what your next product / service will be

English: Logo of Ikea.

English: Logo of Ikea. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Want to know why innovation is so hard?

Though the vast majority of companies do some kind of market research, it isn’t enough because whatever insight is gleaned from it is lagging by the time a formal report is made. Instead, companies need to go deeper and step into customer’s lives. A good part of why most new products and services fail is because people don’t understand how it fits into their lives; which stems from an organization’s lack of understanding of people unarticulated needs.

How do you source ideas for innovation out of customers?

How do you source ideas for innovation out of customers?

Phil McKinney asks: are customers a source of ideas for innovation?

Two years ago The Economist published a report where it indicated that by 2020 customers will replace R&D as the main source of new ideas. Well, apart from customers, there are many sources where companies can get ideas for innovation; partners, competitors, non-competing companies and employees.

Some of the most innovative ideas can come from customers themselves. But, you must involve them.