Presented by GLG
Customer research not only increases the value of your products and services, it ultimately also stimulates growth and innovation. For insights into customer-centric product development at every stage of the process, from ideation to development to launch, don’t miss this VB On-Demand event.
Product development begins with identifying unmet needs, then prioritizing ideas and testing concepts, reviewing products and pricing, and finally testing usability and messaging. And at every stage, customer research is crucial, says Manasvi Thawani, director of research insights, GLG.
“The insights you get from research not only help break down internal biases, but also make product development a data-driven decision-making process,” says Thawani. “You could invest a lot of money up front, go to market months or years later, and then hear your customers and prospects say this isn’t in line with what we need. Investing in research at the start helps you win on the other side.”
It is critical to embed product development research into the overarching product development lifecycle to ensure that each new offering is backed by data and insights, so that investments are screened throughout through a market-driven vision.
Product development in times of economic downturn
In today’s economic environment, budgets for developing new concepts tend to shrink, but that gives companies the opportunity to look inward and focus on existing products.
“There is a shift towards optimizing existing products and offerings by focusing more on the functionality level,” says Thawani. “As a result, product optimization becomes a core focus. From there, it’s critical to focus on the pricing aspect, to ensure that the new features you add to your product or offering are properly valued – and you can actually recoup the time and resources invested by bringing it to your market at the right value.”
The following stages are also crucial: testing messages to ensure marketers are communicating value effectively, along with segmentation or persona work to ensure you’re targeting the right groups of buyers with the right product offering.
But while budgets are shrinking, companies shouldn’t stop innovating, she says. Even if they are investments of lesser value than in normal times, they will help you gain a competitive advantage and position the company for future success when public demand returns.
Where research fits in
On the B2C side of business, you always research the end user or the consumer, Thawani says. On the B2B side, the purchasing center has evolved over the last decade. For example, in the SaaS world, the CIO office and senior IT leaders traditionally had the purchasing power, but today much of that has shifted to the business centers. Research on the B2B side of the world involves a larger group of people talking to the actual business roles that will use your solution. The B2B side also doesn’t require the same kind of scale that consumer research needs to accurately reflect the feelings of end customers, as there’s more standardization.
Quantitative research on a typical B2B project usually consists of a maximum of 100 to 200 respondents. Qualitative research, including in-depth interviews and focus groups, is usually used for more exploratory work to help define and form some hypotheses. Together they give you a deep insight into the mind of the buyer.
“Surveys, for example, show what resonates for a particular segment,” says Thawani. “Qualitative research gives you the nuances and rationale behind why you view the data in a certain way. Qualitative is good at answering the why.”
But today there is also a huge amount of data available to businesses through social listening platforms, providing insights into current conversations and interests that are a powerful tool for product development.
“Wherever you are on your journey, the investment in research always pays off,” she says. “Spending some of those dollars while you’re still in the development cycle and getting some early input data adds so much more value. The fail-fast mentality – knowing when to go back to the drawing board before throwing all your resources into a gamble is so important.
Don’t miss this VB On-Demand event to learn more about how insight-driven and data-driven product development makes businesses more competitive, how to optimize the ideation-to-launch cycle, and more.
agenda
- Identifying unmet needs from early stages through product launch
- Methodical approaches to arrive at critical insights
- Identifying the main target groups
- Uncovering customer needs and pain points
- Validate the potential of your product
- Optimize launch and product communication
Presenters
- Manasvi Thawanidirector of Research Insights, GLG
- Hungyen NguyenSenior Engagement Manager, Research Insights, GLG
- Art ColeModerator, VentureBeat
