Insight's Director of Research Ross C. Teague, Ph.D., presented to Northwestern graduate students
February 26, 2008 – Ross C. Teague, Ph.D., asked a group of 45 graduate students from Northwestern University's Integrated Marketing Communications program a seemingly simple question: "Can anyone or any organization be taught to be truly innovative?"
"If innovation can be taught, then why are there so many methods? And why is there so little innovation?" asked Teague.
The February 26th presentation, part of the Professional Speakers Series at Northwestern, centered on two main themes: that innovation is necessary but not easy to achieve in an organization, and consumer insights should be used to fuel innovation, but there are limits on what consumers can provide and tell us.
Teague discussed reasons why it was so important to have a culture of innovation in a company in order to compete. "Companies that don't innovate are not going to survive against the competition," he said, noting that if you can not find innovative people within the company, which is common, it is important to either hire innovative people or partner with a company that can bring innovation in.
Teague walked through several different methods of getting to the real customer insights. He made an important distinction about the voice of the customer (VOC) - the voice alone is simply not enough.
"The voice, although it may be just a figure of speech, is not going to uncover what you are really looking for. Don't forget to look for the 'shrug,' 'sigh,' 'body language,' 'laugh' and 'dreams' of the customer, which can be more telling than their voice alone."
Digging deep into consumer insights helps companies innovate in a way that truly connects with their customers.
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