How can you conduct market research to innovate?

Here is an EXAMPLE of SMART minimal viable product MVP GOALS to be tested in an experiment: 1. User Acquisition: The goal could be to acquire a specific number of users within a given time frame. 2. User Retention: The goal could be to test the engagement and retention of users with the product. 3. Market Fit: The goal could be to determine if the product meets the needs of the target audience. 4. Revenue Generation: The goal could be to test the potential revenue streams for the product. 5. Scalability: The goal could be to test the scalability of the product, especially if it involves technology or infrastructure. It's essential to define clear, measurable goals to evaluate the viability and potential success of the product.

Not only should a goal be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (context is queen), it has to marry strategic goals across different stakeholders. Defining research objectives could form from hypothesis leading to its win in the market. Every objective should be able to have actionability arising from its validation.

EXPERIMENT LIKE JAMES DYSON Modyfying solutions to changed needs I like to classify as: EXPERIMENTING. Did you know that the inventor James Dyson had made 5,127 prototypes of his famous Dual Cyclone bag-less vacuum cleaner before settling on the model that would make him a billionaire? Experimenting means testing your new concept to learn if it really delivers value to your customer and if the business model you came up with is valid. By doing so, you validate the future business potential of your new concept. The goal of experimentation at the start of innovation is simply to learn and improve. I agree with Reid Hoffman, founder LinkedIn: 'If you are not embarrassed by the first version of your product, you’ve launched too late.'

Check out how UBER tested its MVP Uber was born out of difficulty finding taxis the traditional way. And that was the problem Uber was focused on in the first stage. UberCabs was an iPhone app meant to connect the users with cab drivers and offer them a way to make payments via a credit card. The MVP version offered only these features on an initial level. The fancier features were added only after the app received significant downloads signalling its validation. At first, they handled all the orders manually. Uber offered drivers to accept and manage orders on their own. Only 3 out of 10 agreed, giving a start to the no. 1 taxi app in the world. Uber started with just 3 cars and validated its idea before its competitors could.

This is when the rubber meets the road. If you care about quality research, you would stress-test your innovation with consumers through an innovation research. Regardless of approaches, on a bigger picture, it helps to validate your unknown knowns, and shine a spotlight on your unknown-unknowns. Perhaps what you assume consumers to focus on is not what they would pay attention to. Perhaps what they are noticing, they are not finding it as important as another aspect of your innovation. This would help the team pivot resources into areas where they need it the most in preparing for a successful innovation launch.

AIRBNB is a great example of how customer feedback creates success. Brian Chesky and Joe Gebbia moved to San Francisco where they shared a three-room-apartment. When a design conference came to town in 2007, they saw an opportunity to earn some extra money by renting out their floor space, and called it Airbed and Breakfast. After two years of experimenting and failing, they focussed on New York as a popular tourist destination and had meetings with their New York-based users: —both hosts and guests. These meetings were crucial in making solid offerings with that included professional pictures of good-looking spaces. The basis of success of AIRBNB, was laid fifteen years ago, when the founders connected to their users.

I think the best way to conduct market research to innovate is to take an Outside/In approach that begins with a blank canvas. Instead of focusing on internal assumptions, beliefs or biases and then setting out to prove or disprove them … In-depth open-ended research that adopts an Outside/In approach will clarify the needs and wants of a target audience. And it will help companies carve out a unique competitive niche. Rather than placing a premium on existing core competencies, it will provide a blueprint for the winning formula going forward. Inside-Out is about today. Outside-In is about tomorrow.