Using surveys, focus groups, interviews and other methods to collect feedback from customers about their needs and wants helps the product and brand innovation process. This gives the organization an idea of what your customers think about existing products and services, as well as ideas for potential new products or services that could be developed.
New Insights for New Growth
Core to this belief in brand and product innovation growth is the need for insights and to use a mix of insight tools, from qualitative to quantitative and everything in between. Getting to a level of understanding about what customers want requires the ability to understand what motivates consumers, as well as how they shop and make decisions.
McKinsey recently identified five research approaches that are best suited for generating the kinds of insights that lead to new growth opportunities. In its report, “New insights for new growth: What it takes to understand your customers today,” McKinsey outlines its take to new research approaches to create new opportunities. These strategies include:
- Observe consumers in the field.
- Digitize the daily diary.
- Use advanced analytics to get much more granular insights.
- Better listening and learning with social media.
- Cocreate with consumers on digital platforms.
McKinsey’s report noted that, through these and other strategies, “Generating insights is a vital, iterative process. Testing and learning, adding innovative methodologies to your tool kit, and discarding techniques that no longer add value have become core insights disciplines. While reengineering how companies generate insights is crucial to finding new growth, how effective it is relies on an approach that is as dynamic as the market itself.”
Super Insights
Speaking of brand and product innovation, there’s no greater spotlight than the Super Bowl. Seth Adler, talking with Peter Leimbach, Senior Vice President, Ad Sales Research at FOX Sports, it’s clear that pro football teams aren’t the only ones competing during the big game. The stakes are also high for advertisers. Leimbach points out that when smaller brands take the chance and spend their ad dollars on a Super Bowl ad, if done right, the ROI can be off the charts. Careful strategy, effective (and clever) messaging and augmenting ad spend with a strong social presence are key to maximizing Super Bowl spend and adding value. Advertisers certainly have options when it comes to live event advertising, it just takes careful planning, a creative mindset and a commitment to increasing brand awareness to stay in the game.
Investing Into Insights
As for tips for investing in insights to generate product and brand innovation, research on ChatGPT garnered some key pieces of strategy:
- Start with customer research: Conducting customer research is essential for understanding current and potential customers, their needs and preferences, as well as the competitive landscape. This will help you identify opportunities for product or brand innovation that are most likely to result in a positive return on investment.
- Leverage data analytics: Data analytics can provide valuable insights into consumer behavior and purchasing trends which can be used to inform product or brand innovations. By leveraging data from sources such as sales, marketing campaigns, surveys, social media conversations, etc., companies can gain invaluable insights into what consumers want and need from their products and services.
- Utilize A/B testing: A/B testing allows businesses to test different variations of a product or service to determine which version performs better with customers in terms of engagement rate, conversion rate, etc., so they can make more informed decisions when it comes to launching new products or introducing changes to existing ones.
- Invest in market intelligence solutions: Market intelligence solutions such as competitive analysis tools allow companies to track competitors’ strategies and activities in order to stay ahead of the competition while also gaining valuable insights about emerging trends that could lead to innovative products or services down the road.
- Track industry news and developments: Keeping up-to-date with industry news and developments is key for staying abreast of any changes that could affect your business model or create opportunities for innovation within your sector.
Product innovation and brand growth are often tied together, as it is often said that you can’t have one without the other. Yet in a world filled with disruption, brands must innovate differently to survive and, indeed, thrive. A strong brand growth strategy that focuses on disruptive innovation, based on significant and relevant insights, could be the winning formula in the race to the market. Investing and managing an innovation portfolio requires a key focus on insights strategy to focus on customer needs, as well as supply and demand trends.
