It is time to put our cards on the table and start thinking about a research process that really helps innovation. As I have been very interested in this conglomerate of innovation techniques lately, I have had fascinating conversations with different qualified professionals and I have come to the same conclusion. Little is done of everything and nothing of much, that is, there is no research process that fully understands the needs of companies in terms of innovation.
First, energy and effort are wasted on different methodologies for aspects as basic and crucial as the definition of concepts.
Secondly, ethnography is seen as a phenomenon of photographic safari rather than real consumer observation, on a level that should be more appropriate for defining insights than for non-strategic philosophy that leads us nowhere.
Thirdly, from a quantitative perspective there is no paradigm that really leads us to implement in a scientific way, and by this I mean solid, a clear argument of how an innovation works in a market. It is true that the consumer is tired of so much "line extension" and that "what is going on in a cool world" (thanks to Ramón Ollé for this phrase) is to try to discover and describe the true behavior of the consumer in the face of an innovation process that can lead to a competitive improvement for the company.
So, to sum up, let's think less about the philosophical brilliance of the "idea" and more about our clients' business. A vague, ethereal and unrealistic discourse on how to link innovation to the real process of a company is very good, and what is really difficult is to understand that the process of searching for and capitalizing on a potential innovation is not about doing 4 ethnographic studies and presenting 4 benchmark data for screening concepts.
I propose to generate a unique, homogeneous, solid methodology that encompasses advanced research techniques and that can provide a unique path for analyzing innovation and that allows companies to capitalize on the necessary resources with a decisive ROI in the process of building innovation.
Goodbye to the photographic safari that some call ethnography and goodbye to ridiculous samples with ridiculous indicators. A new era awaits us.
I will keep you informed of this exciting challenge.
