Is innovation important? | Smart Connect Research

Is innovation important? Ask Blockbuster if they saw Netflix coming. Here’s a hard truth: The market will always be searching for something new—and you, not your competitor, must be the one to give it to them. Understanding and enacting these four principles is essential to kick-starting a state of constant and successful evolution in your business. 1. UNLOCK AND UNLEASH YOUR POWER TO CREATE PROGRESS Pinpoint what’s blocking your company’s path forward. All the motivation in the world is useless without insight into your—and your company’s—method of operation, and why your vision could be at a standstill. Use your business map to understand where your products are now and to clearly define where you want them to be. 2. MAKE YOUR TARGET INNOVATIONS COMPELLING Only when you have a compelling vision for the future of your products, services and delivery will you be able to effectively hit your target. Come up with powerful reasons to innovate. And, remember innovation comes in many flavors—it’s not just about high-tech advances or efficiencies in your process. You can innovate how you approach your relationship with your customers or add a new voice or perspective that sees your products and services in a new light. 3. LINK YOUR PRODUCT FEATURES TO YOUR SALES NUMBERS The world’s most successful companies are always examining the relationship between their products and buyer behaviour. Are there ways you can adjust your product to encourage higher frequency of repurchase? What changes can you make to increase your number of customers and pounds per sale? Incremental improvements can generate geometric sales growth. 4. STRATEGIZING SHOULD BE AN EMBEDDED SKILL A quarterly pow-wow isn’t enough. Strategizing must be a part of your company’s culture, the same way customer service and quality control are deeply embedded in your processes. Innovation is really a daily habit, whereby you constantly reassess what your customers need now, and what they will need in a few years. It requires anticipation, and a determination to never stop identifying new opportunities to serve your customers better through fresh and inventive approaches. These four principles can help you create a state of constant and successful evolution in your business. Innovation doesn’t have to be glamorous. It doesn’t require a “nano” prefix, a “tech” suffix or—for that matter—a standing room only press conference. WHY DO I NEED MARKET RESEARCH? Market research can enable you to identify your target consumer, find out what they think about your ideas, products or brand and gather insights to help you target the right market. WHEN SHOULD I DO MARKET RESEARCH? Market research should be part of your business strategy. It can be undertaken at numerous stages from pre-launch onwards. It is worth bearing in mind that consumers’ motivation and behaviour change over time so you should really consider reviewing your research on a regular basis. HOW WILL IT HELP ME IN MY BUSINESS? That depends on what business you are in and what you need to find out. If you are launching a new product it can help identify whether it is appealing, who your target audience is, how big the market is, who the competition is and how you are positioned in the marketplace. Market research can enable you to test everything from ideas and perceptions to packaging. DOES MARKET RESEARCH NEED TO BE EXPENSIVE? If you have never undertaken market research before, it may sound expensive. However, when you put it in perspective and relate it to the costs of launching a product or service then the costs are relatively low. Market research can help you to understand whether you have a viable idea in the first place, and can help you improve your sales in the long term. WHICH ARE THE MOST COST-EFFECTIVE METHODS? Desk research is cost effective as it relies on existing market data, much of it available online. Desk research can provide information about market size, value and trends. The disadvantage is that it is not specific to your product. Your own sales data also represents valuable information that can help you understand sales, geographic and demographic trends. If you are commissioning research, there are some relatively cheap methods. However, the choice of methodology should be driven by your brief not just your budget. Hall Tests are a way of getting the opinions of a cross section of people and are useful if they need to see or sample products. Omnibus Surveys enable you ask a few questions on a large general survey that is shared with other businesses. Another way of gathering information is observational research. For example, you could watch how long people interact with a product before buying it, whether they are alone or with someone else, what else they buy and whether they are looking for assistance. If you want to understand consumers’ perceptions of your products, or behaviour in more detail, the most cost-effective method is probably focus groups. The internet can also be a cost-effective way to reach large samples of people. CAN I DO IT MYSELF OR DO I NEED AN EXPERT? It is possible to do basic background research yourself, but when it comes to gathering feedback directly from people we recommend that you employ professional market researchers. Professionals know how to select the right audience. In addition, there is a skill to asking the right sort of questions and providing feedback that is relevant, coherent and concise. Experts are neutral third parties so they can provide you with a true gauge of what people really think and feel about your ideas, products or brands. I’ve had clients that had tried to do their own research and the findings had raised some alarm bells. When I conducted the research properly, the results turned out to be very different. HOW DO I CHOOSE A PROFESSIONAL? There are several types of market research providers. Full service agencies provide professional staff to undertake your project from beginning to end. Independent consultants may be small agencies or freelancers. They can be quite flexible and could even work on a daily basis when you need a consultant to help you out. Freelancers often can be more cost-effective than larger agencies. Most researchers will have areas of research and markets that they specialise in and it is important to match this to your own business requirements. If you haven’t come across us before, well, here’s the perfect opportunity to understand what we do and how we do it; ‘Smart Connect Research Consultants are fully qualified and experienced interviewers of C-Suite, Decision Making and Key Opinion Leading hard to reach respondents. They act as ambassadors for our clients, expertly engaging with their target audiences whether customers, or, prospects’ Get in touch to find out more.