Bringing a new campaign, product, or service to market carries a huge amount of business risk. To mitigate that risk and ensure a healthy return on development investment, companies need a clear idea of how new concepts will perform in-market before they’re launched. Short of a crystal ball, marketers and insights professionals are increasingly relying on predictive intelligence methodologies to drive data-backed decision-making, exponentially increasing their chances of in-market success. Here’s why.
Predictive intelligence is a highly effective market research methodology that leverages an advanced behavior-based algorithm to help decision-makers predict trends, product preferences, and future consumer behavior with unprecedented accuracy. Participants in a predictive research exercise are asked to predict how they believe a target audience will respond to an idea, concept, or trend under evaluation, providing both qualitative and quantitative data in the process. Research has shown that humans are much better at predicting how others will behave than they are at predicting their own personal behavior, leading to better-quality data.
Predictive intelligence methodologies can be applied in a number of ways to deliver a significant competitive advantage. Here are three top applications of predictive intelligence:
Prediction markets leverage the collective judgment of a target audience to predict future trends, consumer behaviors, and preferences by incorporating both individual preferences and tacit knowledge to predict outcomes. Prediction markets use an engaging betting game in which participants wager virtual currency (tokens) on future outcomes, allowing you to gather data reflecting not only predicted outcomes but also emotion and confidence, which helps surface niche and breakthrough ideas.
A predictive survey is a market research methodology that provides participants with context and topical knowledge, then asks them to make their best predictions about how they think consumers will react to a product, idea, or message being tested. Predictive surveys offer a great alternative to traditional survey methodologies, delivering more accurate results in a highly contextual, predictive experience.
Predictive intelligence methodologies can also be used to engage creators and influencers in particular market segments to help predict the future of your category. CRG, for example, offers a 360-degree solution that brings together industry creators, target consumers, AI, and predictive intelligence to identify future consumer needs and category trends, prioritize white space opportunities for product development and innovation, predict the growth and impact of needs and opportunities, and provide actionable recommendations for investment.