DALLAS, June 8, 2007 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- George Group Consulting's Fast Innovation practice today announced the introduction of Strategic Research Architecture (SRA), a new tool for companies seeking to increase the overall success rate of their product innovation programs. By bridging the gap between the research agendas of consumer research and corporate strategy, SRA is used to generate rich market insights with strategic implications that support faster, more differentiated, disruptive innovation.
"For too long, consumer research has lived apart from corporate strategy, focusing on product-level development and customer perceptions of current offerings, rather than breakthrough business ideas," said Dan Chow, Senior Vice President at George Group and leader of the Fast Innovation practice. "This disconnect between the two disciplines has been the enemy of innovation, as organizations find themselves struggling against commoditization and facing a lack of meaningful differentiation within their product portfolios. By bringing the consumer research and strategy sides of the business under a single umbrella, SRA provides a framework for managing and directing research activities to better support strategic innovation efforts, connecting consumer insights directly to where they can have the greatest impact on the organization.
"The critical missing link between strategy and research is an understanding that there are different levels of market insight that can be gained through consumers," Chow added. "With new consumer research techniques, it is now possible to organize research to better inform both strategic and product level activities, over the near and long term. This is the key to creating new business models and unlocking new growth platforms."
While implementation varies for each organization, the SRA methodology is based on a core five-step process for aligning consumer research and corporate strategy:
1. Question your business definition. As a first step, SRA
refocuses consumer research activities to help maximize the
potential scope of a company's products and solutions - allowing
leadership to better understand their potential to be disruptive
and value-capturing. In addition, by focusing on long-term shifts
in consumer behavior, SRA provides a better understanding of
emerging opportunities - and future industries - that could
provide the basis for enduring growth.
2. Frame the activity arena. SRA then focuses on cataloguing the
consumer activities that make up the target business area. By
deepening the research focus on relevant consumer behaviors,
attitudes and activities, organizations gain a better
understanding of the positive and negative drivers of consumer
behavior, without becoming mired in activities related to a
particular product or service.
3. Create an exclusive strategic point-of-view. In this stage,
SRA engages corporate leadership in a multi-perspective study of
the business arena the firm has selected, including major trends,
common characteristics of companies that thrive in the space,
relevant emerging technologies and business models and
conventional approaches to doing business that could be
profitably challenged. This broad discussion is then captured in
a focused subset of critical drivers.
4. Define the growth strategy. SRA next specifies the dimensions
of the market(s) the organization aspires to dominate, and how it
plans to develop the capability to succeed, informed by the
insights gained from the target business and consumer activity
arenas. SRA groups the ideas into families or "growth platforms"
- graphic representations of the company's competitive posture
against which any new business opportunity or investment option
can be tested for fit.
5. Articulate the linkages between growth strategy and research
agenda. Finally, SRA uses the growth platforms to shape consumer
research activities at the product interaction level, supporting
the launch of new products and services via techniques such as
prototyping. At this stage, focused consumer research may also be
safely commissioned to explore consumer attitudes and behaviors
towards specific offerings.
"To understand the importance of closely aligning research and strategy, one only has to look at recent examples of consumer insight missteps - from Gillette's introduction of the Fusion razor in 2006, which failed to take into account broader insights about shaver's experiences, to the first generation MP3 player manufacturers, who had a one-dimensional view of the evolution in digital music," said Chow. "In these cases, technological improvements - not deep market insights - drove product innovation, putting a limit on success."
For more information about SRA and George Group, contact Dan Chow at 972-789-3200 or dchow@georgegroup.com.
About George Group Consulting
George Group Consulting (www.georgegroup.com) works with Fortune 500 companies and government organizations to develop breakthrough insights that unify strategy and execution, thereby creating lasting shareholder value. The firm's proprietary FAST Innovation approach provides clients with the first strategic and operational framework and tools to accelerate innovation and drive sustained organic growth. George Group is also the recognized authority in the development and deployment of strategies for Conquering Complexity of product or service offerings. The undisputed leader in Lean Six Sigma, the George Group has supported more global Lean Six Sigma operations engagements than any other consulting firm.
George Group is headquartered in Dallas, Texas, with teams of consultants based locally around the world to provide services to clients in more than 54 countries.