Linking market insights with propositions and concept design

I like making sense of complexity. Typically, the way I do this is visually with pictures, diagrams, mindmaps, flow-charts, actually any kind of spatial representation. Today, though, I resorted to the Notes application in my E71. I’ve been doing an inventory of my skills and interests and three things kept coming up: consumer insights and foresight generation, value proposition development and concept design. You could say these are my three passions. I have been lucky enough to work in each field. So this is how I believe they link to create the foundation for innovating and taking innovations to market.

Value proposition development is the engine that propels consumer solution innovation. The engine needs consumer insights and foresight as fuel which it converts into the concepts that propel the business forward. The idea of value proposition development is to crystalize the inputs for concept design. These inputs are typically the following: behavioral context for proposition, needs being addressed, how the needs will be addressed, at what price to consumer, the rational and emotional benefits resulting to consumer and business as well as why this approach will succeed in the competitive marketplace. There are many ways to address identified consumer needs. The choice depends on capabilities, competition, nature of opportunity and strategy. This is the role of concept design.

As said before, consumer insights and foresight are the fuel for the value proposition development engine. The insights fed into value proposition development should range from needs to behaviors and trends (from a past understanding of these to foresight about them). It should be possible to link this information with the company’s segmentation. And quantify as much of this information as possible. For example, how many people have the identified needs and behaviors on a global and regional level. Finally, the insights should contextualized within a solution pricing framework if such exists or create one. Doing this lays the foundation for a business case. But above all the consumer insights should make proposition development meaningful.

Concept design is a way to synthesize requirements, insights and values into something that creates value for both a target consumer and the company targeting the consumer. Ultimately concept design brings a proposition to life. The activity of concept design aims to create a solution defined by the value proposition which that conforms to realities and realizes the behavioral targets set for the solution. A value proposition can be transformed into a brief for concept design through use cases and scenarios and marketing collateral. A concept needs to embody the values of the business resourcing its production. It has to offers the desired and intended consumer experience.

Make sense?