Clients frequently come to us when they’re trying to find opportunities to innovate.  As people’s lifestyles change, companies want to know what new products they can offer or what new twists can be created to give them a competitive advantage.

The problem is, it’s hard to ask people about things they don’t know they need.  Here are some techniques we use to elicit valuable ideas from participants:

We provide a pile of images cut out from magazines and ask participants to choose several images that represent the ideal version of the product or service being discussed.  Using images (rather than just talking about the topic) enables participants to go beyond rational thinking and tap into feelings.  We then have them explain why they chose each picture and then we ask what they could add to the picture to make it even better.  When we’re in a focus group situation, after going around the room with this exercise, we then ask the group to build the ideal version together.  This enables participants to pool their creativity and build on each other’s ideas.

The above technique is helpful when we want to improve an existing offering.  But what about when we’re looking for completely new ideas?  One way to do this can be to look at how behaviors in a certain category are changing.  We might have participants use a mobile app to describe the relevant behavior as it happens (either by text message or even by calling in and leaving voicemail messages).  Then, we might have them participate in a group discussion where they discuss the behaviors recorded and compare them to how things were done a few years ago, in order to uncover new needs.  From there, we might use a brainstorming exercise to think of ideas to address those needs.

In order to find answers to research questions, we often find it’s important to go beyond simply asking direct questions.  The above are just two of many different techniques we consider when designing research.  If you have a research question, talk to us about the best ways to find the answer! Give us a call at (818) 752-7210.