The recently released 2013 edition of the Booz & Company “Global Innovation 1000” report states that companies classified as “Need Seekers” show a superior financial performance over their innovating peers.

Need Seekers – described by Booz & Company as the most active companies in seeking out customer insights in their R&D effort – engage customers directly to generate new ideas. In addition they make maintaining a strong connection to their customers throughout the innovation process part of their corporate culture.

Increasingly this link to customers and users is supported by digital tools allowing to either virtually prototype and subsequently immerse customers in the product experience or digitally track actual product usage (be that “last year’s model”, MVP, or prototype).

These findings strongly support our client-engagement based experience as well as the beliefs underlying our approach to Innovation and managing ideas profitably to market.

Truly understanding user/customer behaviour and resulting needs is key to successful idea generation; actively managing a feedback loop while refining the innovation into a mature product ensures customer delight and economic success.