Blog: 7 Rules for Innovation: #7 Customer Input

Nov. 6, 2010 — To fuel the innovation engine, companies need to pay extremely close attention to their customers and form strategies based around everything they can possibly learn.

To accomplish this, most organizations spend a chunk on R&D, market research, focus groups and feedback programs, simply to gather insight and suggestions for “potential” innovations.

To survive and remain competitive, regardless of your industry, your company needs to be the first to market with new offerings. That means understanding what your customers are like. Naturally, customers’ needs and wants are ever-changing, but you need to do everything possible and know as much as you can about your users. Earmark the time, money, and people to find out how customers interact with every aspect of your product, service, company, delivery, support, and so on.

And ask their opinions. It sounds rudimentary, but so many companies fail to do it, and make the information they find out actionable. This devotion to the “voice of the customer” could set you apart and become the game-changer for your business.

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For more information contact:

MindMatters Technologies, Inc.
308 East Main Street
Carnegie, PA 15106

1-412-489-5900 x4
mmtsales@mindmatters.net

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John Stowell, Director of Innovation, Zep Inc.

"StageTrak is very customizable to your needs. Once it's up and running it's pretty intuitive. It's much simpler to operate than most of its competitors."

"We avoided $750,000 in cost in North American alone last year because we're being more selective and going after better intellectual property."

Read the complete case study

Kelly Teemant

"Flagpole offers novel social marketing techniques to partner and collaborate with the National Poison Control Center community."

VP Science & Technology, PPG Industries

"The MindMatters solution is the catalyst for generating growth opportunities and new sources of revenue."

Read the complete case study

Tom Mauss, Chief Executive Officer

"We were impressed with MindMatters’ entire Step by Step Innovation process. They helped us identify areas where we might fail, and successfully navigated around those obstacles."

"Our R&D idea submissions have tripled over the whole of the previous year."

Read the complete case study

Gregg Edwards, Chief People Officer

"Allows us to not only capitalize on the brilliance of our employees, but also to collaborate on organizational issues in a much more engaging, satisfying way."

Director of R&D

"The MindMatters software has really worked out for our team. It has enabled us to develop a process that effectively mines the innovative thoughts of R&D. Our invention disclosure count is through the roof compared to pre-MindMatters numbers."

More Info

Would you like more information on our proven process?  Schedule a discussion online, or call us now at
412-489-5900 x4.

In 2002, 8,254 civil cases related to intellectual property theft were filed in U.S. courts.
U.S. Department of Justice
The fastest-growing U.S. companies tend to foster innovation.
Harnessing Innovation, PriceWaterhouse Coopers
In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity.

 

Albert Einstein
All told, 69 percent of the executives who participated ranked innovation as one of their company’s top-three strategic priorities.
Boston Consulting Group Survey
Intellect and innovation are the sources of virtually all economic value, growth, and strategic edge today.
James Brian Quinn, Professor of Management, Dartmouth College
The best way to predict the future is to invent it.
Dr. Alan Kay, Disney Imagineering

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