Research by Booz Allen Hamilton confirms the principles of the Beagle innovation strategy

From research carried out by Booz Allen Hamilton among top-ranking managers in Europe, it appears that a large proportion are unhappy about their current innovation process. Successful product innovations require the exchange of fresh and new ideas, as well as the perspectives of product developers, marketing experts and, most importantly, end-users.

There are, however, few businesses where this complex process is handled properly, and that actually regard consumers as their starting point. Of the senior European executives who were surveyed, almost half said they were not satisfied with the achievements of their company when it came to innovations. They said the most important remedy for improvement was getting to understand their consumers better. To discover these ’consumer insights’ and then to apply them to product development, a number of initiatives at operational level are necessary. For example, everyone has to be persuaded of the need for a structured relationship of cooperation between the various departments. A coordination strategy is required to oversee this method of working.

One of the reasons why ’consumer-centric marketing’ is not applied everywhere is the existence in many firms of institutional barriers. Product developers and marketing employees do not work together often enough, so there is too little ’cross-pollination’ between the two disciplines. In addition, product developers tend to be more interested in solving technical problems, thereby losing sight of how real value (or rather, emotional attachment) can be added for the consumer.

According to the research carried out by consultants Booz Allen Hamilton, companies that have been successful in consumer-driven marketing fulfil a number of preconditions:
1. companies with successful innovations have carried out extensive research into the needs of consumers.
2. product developers understand the market from the point of view of consumers.
3. innovative companies are continuously engaged in seeking to understand the behaviour and motives of consumers (to gain insight into the reasons for certain behaviour).

The following points are dealt with in the Beagle Creative Marketing Process modules.
- Generating consumer insights during the Insight Generator
- All internal stakeholders of product development, sales and marketing share the opportunities and ambitions during the Inspiration Session.
- Consumers determine which of the benefits formulated by Beagle are the most appealing and relevant during the Confrontation Session.

Beagle will also deal in depth with the possible barriers that consumers may have against accepting innovation.