https://23856742.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hubfs/23856742/iStock-1390323352.jpg

Assess Your Way to Success: A Guide to Effective Idea Validation

From innovative new product ideas to new flavor variants, service offerings, packaging, and more, idea validation is a critical step in the development lifecycle that, if done correctly, helps accurately identify the ideas that are most likely to succeed in-market. Using the right screening tools, companies can determine which ideas are the most viable, while failing fast on those that aren’t, directing their resources toward ideas that are more likely to deliver a robust ROI.

In this article, we take a closer look at the idea validation process, exploring what it is and why it matters for businesses looking to save time and money when assessing a new product or service for market potential. 

 

 

What is idea validation?

Idea validation is a form of market research in which new products and services are tested within an ideal target market to determine which are most likely to be successful on launch. The idea validation process allows businesses to make data-based decisions as to which new products or services should be progressed to the next stage of development, and which should be discarded. Using advanced screening tools, idea validation helps companies collect data on the viability and market potential of new products or services under consideration, allowing for more accurate decision-making and strategically sound allocation of resources. 

 

 

Why validating an idea matters

Bringing a new product or service to market is a time- and resource-intensive process, involving significant business risk. To mitigate this risk, companies need a way to increase the chances that the new product or service they choose to launch will be successful. Validating potential products and services early on in the development process by testing them within your targeted audience gives you the data you need to determine which product or service is most likely to bring you the desired return. 

The best idea testing methodologies gather both quantitative and qualitative data during screening. This gives you access to verbatim feedback from potential customers about your idea, helping you refine and improve the strongest contenders, and giving you insight into why weaker ideas are failing with consumers. 

The result? Streamlined processes, less risk, lower development costs, and more accurate, confident decision-making. 

 

 

The idea validation process: how to validate your idea in 4 steps

So, how does the idea validation process work? With CRG Predictive intelligence’s HUUNU prediction market platform, for example, the idea validation process works as follows:

Step 1. Define your criteria

To accurately assess the viability of a new product or service, you need to determine its success metrics. As such, the first step in the idea validation process is to define the criteria that will be important for your idea’s success. This could include metrics like market potential, feasibility, alignment with organizational goals, or customer needs. In a prediction market, you can test against metrics like “purchase likelihood”, “significant advantage”, “solves a problem”, “meets a need”, “occasion”, and “volume potential”, among others.

Step 2: Select an idea screening tool

The next step is to choose a screening tool that suits your organization’s needs. Screening tools vary in complexity, from a simple scoring system or ranking to more sophisticated and accurate predictive market research tools like CRG’s HUUNU platform. The tool you choose will be determined by a number of factors, including your budget, the level of detail you need from target audience feedback, required turnaround times, and the required scope of your test audience. 

Step 3: Submit recommended questions to the prediction market

Time to put your idea to the test! Once you’ve refined your criteria, CRG’s experts will furnish you with a list of recommended questions to include in the prediction market. These questions are carefully designed to extract high-quality qualitative and quantitative data from prediction market participants. CRG’s prediction market methodology, for example, enters your ideas into a gamified prediction market, in which participants are asked to bet virtual currency on ideas they think will be successful in a betting game environment. For example, participants will be asked questions like, “Do you think this pack size will appeal to families with children?”. How quickly they bet on their answer tells us their initial implicit reaction to the idea, and how much they bet tells us how sure they are about their answer. For each question, participants are asked to defend their bets with a rationale, which provides important qualitative data. 

Step 4: Collate and interpret your results

The data gathered during this process represents the collective judgment of participants and can be compared to thousands of predictive questions in the CRG Global Normative Database. Once interpreted by CRG’s validated behavior-based algorithm, the results indicate the likelihood of an idea’s success, how competitive it is, and, conversely, when it’s time to take the idea back to the drawing board. Qualitative feedback gathered during the survey provides valuable insight into how your idea may be improved, or why it’s not working as well as it should among consumers. 

Predicting the Growth of Plant-Based Proteins

Learn how HUUNU predicted key consumer trends in the plant-based protein market.

HUUNU Futures PBP eGuide Cover Photo

When it comes to testing ideas, accuracy matters

While idea validation is critical to mitigating risk and maximizing ROI, not all idea screening tools are equal. Accuracy matters. After all, if you can’t trust the results you’re receiving, then the entire exercise is moot. 

When it comes to accuracy, there’s one idea validation tool that leads the industry – CRG’s HUUNU platform. HUUNU’s validated behavior-based algorithm can predict winning ideas with a proven 90% accuracy rate. 

Contributing to HUUNU’s accuracy is the platform’s advanced ability to mitigate the effects of survey bias, a phenomenon in which the outcome of a survey is skewed or distorted as a result of inaccurate, untruthful, or otherwise influenced participant responses or feedback. The unique gamified prediction platform is incredibly good at reducing survey bias because it asks participants to judge how they believe others will behave. This reduces the impacts of several critical survey biases, such as social desirability bias, courtesy bias, and acquiescence bias. 

 

 

How to turn feedback into action

Once you’ve concluded the idea validation process, you’ll have the quantitative and qualitative data you need to make an informed, strategic decision as to the viability of the idea or ideas you’re considering. The data provided by the HUUNU platform is so granular, even the closest calls become obvious calls, and you’ll be able to identify clear winners, even when it’s (really) close. From the qualitative data collected, you’ll have key insights into the ways in which your idea can be refined and improved to further increase its chances of success in-market. The result is the ability to decide with confidence, mitigating risk and maximizing your chances of a slam-dunk.

For over a decade, CRG Predictive Intelligence has been helping insights professionals and marketers optimize their decision-making for unprecedented strategic advantage.

Find out how predictive market research can help you accurately validate your ideas by getting in touch with our team today!

 

 

[CONTACT US]

 

 

FAQs

What are the key metrics or indicators that will indicate the success or failure of my idea during the validation phase?

This varies and will be determined by your organization’s strategic goals, targeted consumers, product or service type, and more. With CRG Predictive Intelligence, there are many metrics you can validate ideas against, including criteria like “purchase”, “advantage”, “solves problem”, “meets a need”, “occasion”, and “volume potential”, among others.

How can I assess the scalability of my idea and its potential to meet growing demand?

While it is difficult to assess scalability in the early phase of the development process, HUUNU can identify the predicted growth trajectory of an idea or the predicted three-year adoption rate for services. 

In what ways can I simulate real-world conditions to observe how my idea performs in different scenarios?

With HUUNU, by CRG Predictive Intelligence, survey questions are designed to gain a clear understanding of the viability of an idea within the exact audience the idea was intended to appeal to. For example, a face mask may not succeed among Gen Pop women using traditional research methodologies, but in a prediction market, it’s tested using questions targeted to women who suffer from acne, for whom the product was designed. In this way, we gain insights from the exact target market, delivering more accurate results as to how the product will perform in the real world.  

Subscribe Here!

Related Blogs

Contrary to popular belief, Lorem Ipsum is not simply random text. It has roots in a piece of classical Latin literature from 45 BC

Unlocking the Future: The Power of Strategic Foresight in a Rapidly Evolving World

In a modern world characterized by rapid, unpredictable change, businesses have little choice but to adopt a chronically reactive posture...

Maximizing Market Reach with TURF Analysis: A Comprehensive Guide for Real-World Application

Whether you’re looking to add a new product to your product mix, rationalize your service offering, or tweak your messaging approach, a..

Mastering Brand Extensions with Predictive Intelligence: Your Guide to Success

Whether adding a new flavor or variant or adding a new product category to your current offering, brand extension is an excellent way to..