It’s one thing to develop a technology that everybody wants. It’s a completely different thing launching it, if the legislation or environment aren’t encouraging. Often, the result is companies who have grand ideas and little influence, and this is why it’s essential that you carry out in-depth Research and Development (R&D).
Defining market research
Market research is the gathering and analysis of information, so that organisations can better understand the market, environment, and demand for a new product.
The purpose of this data is to:
- Understand and advise on existing and upcoming business plans
- Develop new products and innovations
- Forecast new developments that could disrupt the industry.
This kind of insight helps business leaders to be educated on factors that can impact their businesses, ensuring robust, up-to-date bases for their decision-making.
The reason you need R&D
The success of a new product depends heavily on its impact on people’s needs. If it doesn’t add sufficient value, it’s not worth the investment. Because of this, your innovations must be in line with the legislative, economic, political, technological, environmental, and social requirements of the people you hope to sell them to.
How R&D has evolved
R&D ensures that your organisation stays viable and sustainable. You can approach it through organic growth, innovation, or a mix of the two.
However, in this new era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution and the Internet of Things, we’re seeing some significant changes to R&D spending. Because these days, people aren’t alone in their connection to the Internet – machines are there too.
In the future, the success of a product is likely to be determined by its ability to connect to the Internet; without that, it will become obsolete. Smart devices will also create new challenges for organisations, as they’ll require entirely new skills and approaches to business, if they are to grow and evolve.
Innovating through R&D
Innovation is not just supported by R&D; it’s also enhanced by it. It’s also affected by:
- Understanding consumer needs
- Your ability to innovate sustainably
- R&D partnerships that allow you to collaborate with others, so you can share the risks and costs of innovation, and speed up the various processes.
An open approach to R&D
One approach to R&D collaboration is through open innovation, where an organisation partners with another party. An initiative like this works well for technological advances, globalisation, and changes to comms technology.
A closed approach to R&D
The more traditional closed approach to R&D is where one company funds and contains the R&D initiatives. And it can be successful too, as long as the initiating company has well-defined and measurable input, throughput, and output.
R&D in an investment company
Sometimes the subsidiaries in a holding company experience poor communication, resulting in divided direction and unhealthy competition. Because R&D can be expensive and resource-heavy, an organisation-wide strategy must be implemented.
Then, when all stakeholders understand the potential ROI and the operational process involved in R&D, healthy competition and an educated understanding of customer needs can be maintained. This is, of course, the ‘win-win’.
R&D is essential to making relevant, strategic, and educated business decisions. And in our global economy, it’s a competitive advantage you can’t afford not to have.