Customer Insights for Brand Innovation

THE SITUATION:

91% of people believe that companies should fuel innovation by listening to buyers and customers, compared to only 31% who think they should hire a team of experts.

(Source: SurveyMonkey Research)

THE OPPORTUNITY:

When you hear the word “innovation,” what comes to mind? Maybe something having to do with technology, or advanced product and service development?? Is it something groundbreaking, novel, or cutting-edge? That is where my thoughts go, and I picture the tireless work of visionary leaders and their teams who spend years bringing innovative ideas to life.

I also think about the levels of investment, resources, and capabilities that must be needed to produce something truly innovative. Following these thoughts, I start to wonder if meaningful innovation is a realistic goal for my family-owned small business. Do we have what it takes, or is it currently out of reach?

But then, I take a step back and reconsider what “innovation” means. By definition, it’s simply a new idea, method, or approach. Sure, innovation can happen on a grand, game-changing scale. However, it can also happen with smaller, incremental steps in a variety of scenarios. It doesn’t always require massive investments or sweeping changes. Innovation can result from a shift in perspective, a strategic adjustment, or just a willingness to challenge the status quo.

I believe we all have opportunities to innovate, regardless of our business’ size or industry. Whether it’s how we approach our products, services, sales, marketing, customer relations, or employee engagement, innovation is about pursuing growth, progress, and improvement in new and different ways. So, let’s not allow grandiose visions of what it means to “innovate” become a barrier to our innovative potential. ?

THE CHALLENGE:

Now that we’ve established “innovation” is within reach, it’s time to consider some strategic questions: Which areas of the business are most in need of innovation? Where will the innovative ideas come from? When is the right time to implement changes or adjustments? How do we track and measure ROI?

Before addressing these questions, however, it must be noted that we shouldn’t pursue innovation just for the sake of innovation. There ought to be clear purpose, benefits, and alignment with overarching objectives – whether short or long-term. Assuming you have established a meaningful why, then there are the challenges of what, when, where, and how.

These challenges are not much different than any other business goal or objective. They are not unique to pursuing innovation, so don’t let them deter you. At its core, innovation is about perspective and mindset when approaching those challenges. Rather than doing what has always been done, we’re looking for something new. Instead of following footsteps, we’re exploring new paths. This in itself can be a significant challenge because there is often discomfort, uncertainty, and elements of fear when moving outside the box. But meaningful growth, opportunities, and evolution typically live outside of our comfort zone.

Fortunately, answering the strategic questions and addressing the challenges is not a solo effort. Innovation happens through teamwork and collaboration. Not just internally, though. There is valuable input and insight to be found externally as well.

THE SOLUTION:

To kick off The Solution, let’s look back at The Situation. A whopping 91% of people believe companies should fuel innovation by listening to buyers and customers.

I say it all the time – people want to be heard, valued, and understood. They want to have a voice in their favorite brands’ development and feel like they’re part of the process. After all, nobody knows customer wants, needs, and preferences better than the customers themselves. So, as I mentioned previously, innovation isn’t a solo effort. By combining internal and external insights, you’ll be better equipped to make informed, confident, strategic decisions.

With that in mind, leveraging customer feedback to guide innovation is easier said than done. There is more to it than just launching a survey or conducting interviews. Producing truly actionable insights is about taking a strategic approach, asking the right people the right questions at the right time. It’s also about ensuring the feedback gathered is directly aligned with overarching objectives and desired outcomes.

Whether you’re focused on products, services, customer experience, or marketing, here are a few feedback surveys I recommend to help drive innovation:

Survey Topic: “Getting to Know You”

This simple yet powerful survey is all about – you guessed it – getting to know your customers. But the real value is in going beyond the traditional factors like demographics, purchase behaviors, and product or service needs. What are their day-to-day goals and challenges? What are their hobbies, lifestyle preferences, and personal values? Think outside the box of topics directly related to your brand to better understand the people behind the purchases.

Benefits for Innovation:

• Identify areas for secondary value and benefits.
• Evolve segmentation and personalization strategies.
• Add depth, detail, and context to customer personas.

Survey Topic: Brand Awareness & Perception

People may have heard of your brand, but are they aware of all your distinct products and services? Are they familiar with your primary value propositions and key differentiators? Furthermore, how do you stack up against competitors? Which brand attributes are most desired and influential? How do all these factors influence purchase decisions? Answering questions like these will help brands understand the gaps between how they want to be seen and how they are actually perceived, which leads to opportunities for innovation with brand messaging, product positioning, and competitive differentiation. The resulting insights help brands stay aligned with customer sentiment, ensuring that overall innovation efforts resonate with the target audiences and strengthens identity building over time.

Benefits for Innovation:

• Assess brand relevance and competitive positioning.
• Uncover differentiation opportunities.
• Identify new audiences and open market share.
• Gauge marketing and communication effectiveness.

Survey Topic: Customer Experience & Satisfaction

Customer experience (CX) and satisfaction feedback surveys are powerful tools that go beyond measuring performance. They offer a window into the minds of customers, providing brands with a clear understanding of what is working and what needs improvement. When strategically scripted and analyzed, this information becomes a valuable source of inspiration for innovation. Furthermore, brands that regularly tap into this feedback can not only solve current issues but also anticipate future needs, allowing them to stay ahead of the competition.

Benefits for Innovation:

• Track and benchmark performance over time.
• Monitor changing behaviors and expectations.
• Identify customer journey friction and pain points.
• Quantify touchpoint impact and ROI.

Survey Topic: Product or Service Usage

It’s crucial to understand how customers interact with brand offerings in real-world scenarios. This reveals detailed insights on functionality, ease of use, and features that customers value or find frustrating. By closely analyzing this feedback, brands can innovate to refine their products or services – whether by enhancing existing features, simplifying processes, or developing new solutions that better align with user needs. Additionally, this usage feedback can uncover trends that signal emerging customer demands, offering a glimpse into future market shifts.

Benefits for Innovation:

• Discover new use cases, behaviors, and motivators.
• Guide product/service development or expansion.
• Refine targeted sales and marketing techniques.
• Test concepts and validate hypotheses.

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Survey Topic: Employee Experience & Engagement

Gathering internal feedback is key to fueling brand innovation because it taps into the insights and ideas of those who are closest to the day-to-day operations—employees. When employees feel heard and valued, they are more likely to contribute creative solutions and innovations that can improve both internal processes and customer-facing offerings. These surveys highlight areas where employee satisfaction or engagement may be lacking, helping organizations address underlying issues that could hinder creativity and productivity.

Furthermore, by identifying ways to enhance the work environment or improve leadership effectiveness, businesses can foster a culture of innovation where employees are motivated to collaborate, share ideas, and take ownership of new initiatives. Engaged employees are often more in tune with customer needs and market trends, making their feedback a valuable asset in driving meaningful innovation that strengthens the brand from within.

Benefits for Innovation:

• Improve internal processes.
• Strengthen problem-solving and adaptation.
• Empower employees to contribute ideas.
• Enhance a sense of ownership and involvement.

MY ADVICE:

The feedback surveys listed above are incredibly powerful on their own, but their value compounds and increases when they’re part of an overarching market research strategy. Combining and coordinating those efforts further boosts innovation because it ensures that insights are gathered systematically and interpreted accurately. A holistic and strategic approach helps brands collect relevant, high-quality data from the right customer segments, making the feedback more actionable and reflective of broader market trends. Without a clear strategy, feedback might be fragmented or biased, leading to misguided innovations that don’t align with real customer needs.

A market research strategy also provides a framework for continuously monitoring shifts in customer sentiment, ensuring that innovation remains aligned with evolving market demands and competitive landscapes. In essence, it turns raw feedback into a reliable, strategic asset for long-term brand growth and innovation.

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HOW WE CAN HELP:

For nearly 40 years, we at MacKenzie have been empowering brands to leverage data-driven customer insights in pursuit of meaningful growth and innovation. Throughout that time, we have seen first-hand how impactful it is when brands move from conducting individual customer feedback projects to implementing a more coordinated, interconnected, and strategic approach. By capturing targeted insights with an eye on how all the individual pieces fit together, they maximize the effectiveness, efficiency, and ROI of their customer feedback efforts.

That is why we offer Market Research Strategy Workshops to guide brands through the strategy building process. In collaboration with our partner brands, we create a plan to ensure they consistently ask the right people the right questions at the right time, and outline how combining the individual pieces yields added value and deeper understandings.

To learn more about our workshops or inquire about available dates, click here.

YOUR TURN:

I’d love to see your comments and thoughts about brand innovation. Is this part of your strategic plan as we inch closer to Q4? Are you currently leveraging customer feedback to guide innovation or overall brand development efforts? If so, what advice or suggestions do you have for someone who is just getting started? Did any new ideas or inspiration come from reading this article?

By sharing your thoughts, ideas, and suggestions, we’ll foster a collaborative community where actionable insights are the foundation and collective success is the outcome.

Do you have a stat, fact, or trend you’d like me to write about?

Send me a message or share it in the comments. I’ll add it to my list of future newsletter topics!

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