How Does Market Research Drive Disruptive Innovation for Brands?

About a month ago, I told someone in our industry that I was going to take a month off from using the word “disruptive." Well, I guess time is up.

Disruptive innovation is a term coined by Harvard Business School professor Clayton Christensen. According to Dr. Christensen, the term “describes a process by which a product or service takes root initially in simple applications at the bottom of a market and then relentlessly moves up market, eventually displacing established competitors.” The challenge for many firms that are interested in innovation is that they actually innovate faster than the market’s needs. When products exceed what customers want or produce ideas too far ahead of their time, innovation falls flat. That’s where market research comes in and plays a vital role: helping companies create fresh ideas that are rooted in real customer needs.

Defining Innovation for Your Business

Innovation as an end goal can be challenging for companies. Businesses want to be innovative, on the frontier of new ideas in their fields and on the cutting edge of technology. The question is: why? What’s the underlying need or benefit that’s perceived in being innovative? One is that it positions the company and its leadership team as thought leaders in their space. Another is that it’s simply a way to differentiate. Innovative companies rise above the noise, get media attention and capture the imagination of customers. But truly successful companies that are seeking innovation are very clear about what innovation means to them.

Is real innovation about growing profits and revenue? About breaking out of stagnating or congested product categories? Is innovation seen as the best way to shape the discussion or evolution of an industry? Knowing why you’re pursuing innovation is essential to transforming it from an amorphous idea into something that a company can build a process around and measure. Successful innovation requires clearly defined goals, significant amounts of data, ongoing ideation and a way to validate concepts. That’s where market research comes in.

White Space Opportunities

The term “white space” opportunity doesn’t have a uniform definition in the business world. At best, it means new territory. Drilling down further is more challenging. For some, it’s a space with little competition. For others, it’s gaps or opportunities in the existing marketplace. Still others see white space opportunities as whole new markets that companies can break into. White space has also been defined as an opportunity or threat for which your business needs to develop new business or service models. Whatever type of white space opportunity you’re pursuing, it ultimately means some sort of fresh start for a business.

Finding the white space opportunities in your market starts with significant market research data inputs. Many of these inputs are already part of most firms’ market research mix. The traditional growth paradigm looks at issues like market share, brand awareness and pricing sensitivity. These issues are important and have a vital role in growing and refining a business proposition. But when companies are pushing to find whole new opportunities, market research needs to be viewed through a different lens.

Understanding the market is the foundation of identifying white space opportunities. Customer segmentations and brand studies can provide in-depth views into what customers want. Competitive analyses can help companies understand the direction in which their industry is moving. Product tests can provide feedback on features, needs and benefits that can be exploited for growth. In many cases, finding the basis of disruptive innovation begins with revisiting your existing market research data with fresh eyes and asking: What can this tell us about whole new pathways to growth?

Some Exciting Forms of Disruptive Innovation

With today’s market research tools—from mobile market research to geolocation techniques to online concept testing—it’s possible for market research to directly support innovation. Take the case of new product development, for example. Online concept testing has made it easier and more affordable than ever before to get direct market feedback on an idea. As a result, companies are ideating faster and having more conversations directly with consumers. Rapid product development is a direct result of better market research capabilities and a tangible output of the innovation process.

Whatever the reason that your company seeks innovation, basing your brainstorming and development on market research data will ensure that your innovation is tied enough to consumer needs to be truly disruptive in the most positive sense.