Make research easier, not optional
Editor’s note: Mary Kay Evans is the chief go-to-market officer at Alida.
Product innovation doesn’t require reinventing the wheel. It requires revisiting your topline strategy. At its core, product development is about solving customer pain points and making their lives easier. So, when it comes to innovating, start where it matters most: with your users. It’s really not more complicated than that. Grounding your innovation in user needs will shape your inspiration, guide your direction and ultimately drive better outcomes. Yet too often, product teams rush into development without this foundation. But why?
Research is often seen as time-consuming, resource-draining and hard to access. But here's the real question: Is the risk of launching a product without validation really worth it? Especially in today’s economy – when very few can afford to waste time or money – the answer is no. Still, I see way too many companies rush the product development process, relying on internally identified pain points or assumptions instead of leveraging their real user feedback. The result: A devastating number of missed opportunities and costly missteps.
In fact, 80% of product managers still feel they don’t spend enough time talking to their customers. That’s a real problem. If you’re not prioritizing user input, who exactly are you innovating for?
While you’re likely already talking to users, I challenge you to ask yourself if those conversations are being thoughtfully integrated into a larger, intentional research strategy. Building in user feedback as part of your organization’s broader priorities is essential if you want to make smarter, faster business decisions. Ongoing user feedback provides a layer of consistency you can count on. When all parts of your business – marketing, support, product, operations – can access and act on user insights, the impact will reach far beyond product development.
The pain point I often hear is that traditional user research is too time consuming, and it’s true. Interviewing users one by one isn’t scalable in today’s fast-paced market. That’s why it is important to find a reliable research platform and to look for tools that help you reach real users consistently, collect high-quality feedback using mixed-method research and analyze insights all in one place. As you work to integrate research into your overall business strategy, there are four key considerations to keep in mind.
1. Involve users early
Start gathering user feedback at the idea stage. This shapes your product from the very start and ensures alignment with real needs.
2. Democratize research
Make insights accessible across teams. The more people with visibility into your users' insights, the more opportunities for innovation.
3. Leverage AI
Use AI to accelerate tasks like transcriptions and data analysis. But remember, AI is the amplifier of your innovations, not the engine. It can’t replace human insight; it can only help you get there faster.
4. Embrace continuous research
Build feedback loops. Innovation thrives when research isn’t a one-off task, but a continuous process that adapts with your users.
Integrating sustainable, user-first research practices isn’t something that happens overnight. The real work begins at the strategic level. Executives must commit to embedding user feedback as part of their core business strategy that informs every department, not just their product teams. Innovation should be collective, continuous and should always, always start with your users.