Innovation is not only about creating new products or services, but also about improving the value and experience for your customers. To do that, you need to understand their needs, preferences, and feedback, and involve them in your innovation process. Here are some ways to do that.
One of the simplest and most effective ways to involve customers in innovation is to ask them questions. You can use surveys, interviews, focus groups, or online platforms to gather insights from your customers. You can ask them about their problems, expectations, satisfaction, preferences, and suggestions. You can also test your ideas or prototypes with them and get their feedback. Asking questions can help you identify opportunities, validate assumptions, and improve your solutions.
Customers generally speaking represent a goldmine of ideas and suggestions for product improvements, but very often they are confused with complaints about things not working well - and therefore tend to be ignored by a majority of solution providers I have found a model which generally speaking always delivers great results - and it start with asking the customer to explain how they would like to design a completely new service for a specific task, rather than asking them to suggest how you can improve the current product By moving away from the current product you get a more positive approach, and the limitations of fitting something new into the old model goes away Customers always react very positive to this approach so give it a go
One of the front key tools in any industry is a well-developed CRM. It does not have to be an expensive system. As long as it delivers automated touches in a Cadence - Customer Experience steps. How? by creating ICP fields related to that specific industry. Adjust Dashboards accordingly, which the data can acknowledge what are the best scenarios, impasses, and preferences.
Another way to involve customers in innovation is to co-create solutions with them. This means inviting them to participate in your innovation process as partners, not just as sources of information. You can involve them in ideation, design, prototyping, testing, or implementation stages. You can use methods such as workshops, hackathons, crowdsourcing, or online communities to engage them in co-creation. Co-creating solutions can help you generate more ideas, increase customer loyalty, and create better fit.
A third way to involve customers in innovation is to observe their behavior. This means watching how they use your products or services, or how they perform their tasks or activities. You can use methods such as ethnography, shadowing, user testing, or analytics to collect data from your customers. You can also use tools such as personas, customer journeys, or empathy maps to analyze and visualize your data. Observing behavior can help you discover unmet needs, hidden motivations, and potential improvements.
A fourth way to involve customers in innovation is to learn from their feedback. This means listening to what they say or write about your products or services, or about your competitors or alternatives. You can use methods such as reviews, ratings, comments, social media, or customer service to monitor and respond to your customers. You can also use tools such as sentiment analysis, text mining, or net promoter score to measure and improve your customer satisfaction. Learning from feedback can help you spot trends, address issues, and enhance your value proposition.
A fifth way to involve customers in innovation is to experiment with your offers. This means testing different versions or variations of your products or services, or your pricing or marketing strategies. You can use methods such as A/B testing, multivariate testing, or split testing to compare and evaluate your offers. You can also use tools such as landing pages, email campaigns, or online ads to reach and attract your customers. Experimenting with offers can help you optimize your performance, increase your conversion, and grow your revenue.
A sixth way to involve customers in innovation is to reward their participation. This means recognizing and appreciating their contributions, and providing them with incentives or benefits. You can use methods such as gamification, loyalty programs, or referral programs to motivate and reward your customers. You can also use tools such as badges, points, discounts, or freebies to deliver and communicate your rewards. Rewarding participation can help you build relationships, retain customers, and create advocates.