Innovation market study: How to make of it an experience  that gives you strength?

Many start-ups, small or medium-sized companies are eager to grow through innovation. When uncertainty is high, for example about market demand for an innovative product or which market adoption lever is best, market research is a must-have. But the resources and skills required are often limited or non-existent.

A well-conducted innovation market study should help to rally investor support, validate the business opportunity of a solution, refine the marketing strategy, or finalise the commercial offer. It is an investment as important as R&D, which guides action, sometimes unravels new opportunities, and helps to dodge pitfalls.

Failing to do so can lead to difficulties or failure.

So should it be done in-house or outsourced? As no option is ideal, I propose a third avenue, suitable for young organisations with little experience in innovation market research. It consists of conducting the research in-house with external coaching from an innovation research practitioner.

This is possible under four conditions: being clear-headed about biases, raising the bar on data quality, believing firmly that good info brings power,  and picking the right person to carry it out.

Moreover the company will quickly translate the findings into action and will gain the rare capability to generate a recurring flow of growth projects.

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