Innovation Insights is a monthly series on Research World looking at all thing’s technological innovation. The series is based on several recent surveys with Arm (semi-conductor company valued at £23.4 billion) and will cover topics such as:
- Security – will security concerns stifle technological and product innovation or simply lead to more secure products?
- Insight driven innovation – what processes can be used to turn insight into innovation and how can insights into the way youths interact with technology be used to prototype software that assists and empowers them to tackle cyberbullying?
Innovation Insights has so far looked at the results from two surveys about technology. The focus was on understanding consumer sentiment towards a series of technologies. Technologies that will significantly impact our daily lives in the coming decade (e.g. artificial intelligence, voice technology, IoT etc.).
Understanding this consumer landscape allows technology companies to innovate more successfully. Using consumer insights allows new products and services to be created that
- Satisfy the needs of consumers
- And circumvent any concerns they might have
The importance of insight for innovation
More broadly, the most successful innovations are built on robust and meaningful insights:
- Using insight to pinpoint the biggest commercial opportunities. This ensures innovations set-off in the right direction
- And then repeated and iterative testing of product concepts. This ensures the process is steered by a robust assessment of commercial validity, not just a creative whim
Conversely, when innovations fail there is a strong chance that insights have not been used correctly. Often, innovation research is conducted by Design and Innovation agencies who occupy the R&D budget but are not insight specialists. Market Research should play a greater role in innovation. This would ensure new products and services are driven by accurate insights and are less likely to fail.
Moreover, the R&D industry is worth $1.7 trillion globally vs. just $80 billion for Market Research. Not only are we needed, but a significant commercial opportunity exists.
How insight can be used for innovation
The rest of this series will explore several ways in which insights can be used to deliver successful innovation. We will cover:
- Jobs to Be Done (JTBD)
An alternative method of exploring, uncovering and prioritizing unmet needs from which innovation strategies can then be targeted. It is used at the start of the innovation process to ensure any new products or services ‘set-off’ in the right direction. JTBD has been used successfully by McDonald’s to increase the sales of their milkshakes. JTBD helped with understanding the real reason customers were buying them.
- Design Thinking
An insight-driven innovation process that quickly and robustly transforms insights into product or service prototypes. We will explain how Design Thinking allows Market Research to take more of a lead in innovation. Design Thinking is successfully employed by many brands including Apple, Starbucks and Nike.
- Anti-cyberbullying App
Finally, we will share a case study of how youth and technology insights were transformed into an anti-cyberbullying app using Design Thinking.
Stay tuned for the next 3 month’s articles as we cover these topics in more detail. Next month we’ll focus on JTBD.
