According to a recent USA today article, you could be hurting brand loyalty by asking your customers to fill out “another” customer satisfaction survey. Consumer fatigue issues should have us all rethinking how we measure brand loyalty. Here are a few consumer quotes to highlight consumer complaints: (more…)
Archive for the ‘Evolve Ideas’ Category
Stop the surveys, please!
Friday, January 13th, 2012Using Secret Facebook Groups for Innovation
Friday, June 17th, 2011In the mid-90’s, new product development teams took a leap forward in innovation efforts by breaking free of focus group rooms to learn from consumers in their home or store environment. Today, we are taking another innovation leap by getting closer to consumers’ by participating in their social media environments. To learn more about how social media approaches will impact proprietary NPD work, (more…)
Making the case for market research
Wednesday, October 13th, 2010A colleague of mine recently posted a great question to the Linked-in group NPD, Innovation and Growth: “If you were going into a company without dedicated researchers how would you make the case for research? Especially at an innovative company not likely to believe innovation can be readily identified through research.” I have had the great fortune going through this process with a company over the past six months. Here are a few insights from that process for those of you interested in growing your research function. (more…)
Consumer choice: Is more, better?
Friday, October 1st, 2010Every trend has it’s doppelganger; the alter ego of that defies the trend and takes a new stand. The super-size food trend was reversed with 100-calorie packs. Super-size grocery stores were countered by neighborhood markets. So where are we now and where are we going? Should we be focused on choice or simplicity? (more…)
Product superiority and the science of pleasure
Friday, September 24th, 2010Product Superiority is the holy grail of product development. What makes a product superior? If you are in the food business, you might say it is about winning in a blind taste test. But what if your product isn’t superior on a blind basis? Should you reformulate? Not necessarily. According to an interview with Paul Bloom, professor of psychology at Yale University and author of How Pleasure Works, (more…)
A case for pessimism in innovation
Monday, August 16th, 2010Last week I blogged about author Matt Ridley’s comment that pessimism is a “failure of imagination.” Dozens of you responded with the merits of pessimism in innovation. Like a
good reporter on a news story, many of you felt that a pessimistic perspective can help us better clarify the issues. Therefore, the outcome of pessimism (more…)
Pessimism: a failure of imagination
Sunday, August 1st, 2010While driving home yesterday I was listening to the typical news stories on our political, economic, and environmental problems. Admittedly, I was feeling a bit pessimistic when I switched stations and heard the accusation “pessimism about our future is a failure of imagination.” It was an intriguing accusation made by (more…)
An ounce of failure or a pound of prevention?
Wednesday, July 14th, 2010We all depend on relationships for business success, be it with contractors or clients. Successful new relationships open the door to new capabilities and revenue streams. But, just like new product initiatives, new relationships pose risks. Below are two recent examples of relationship challenges.
How to innovate under pressure
Tuesday, June 8th, 2010It’s the start of summer vacation season, and your budget was finally approved. Now your team is under pressure to get that new product to market. Could this be the worst timing ever? If you are mired in timelines, process, deadlines and incentives; you might enjoy these ideas from Designer Stefan Sagmeister and Behavioral Economist Dan Ariely. (more…)
Monika Wingate is the owner of Fountainhead Brand Consulting and V.P. of Membership for the Wisconsin Product Development and Manufacturing Association (PDMA). She has helped a variety of companies develop new products and growth strategies including CUNA Mutual, Hormel Foods, U.S. Bank, and Kohler.
