New Trends in Innovation and Customer Relationship Management: A Challenge for Market Researchers

Abstract

For decades, one of the key roles of market research has been to help companies forecast customer acceptance of innovation and of changes to the market mix (the 4 Ps). However, traditional market research is in danger of being left behind by new practices in Sales, Marketing and R & D. Reflecting an increasingly participative approach to customer relationships, these disciplines are moving towards customer involvement and co-creation of value rather than innovation mainly generated by head office and only then tested among customers (Roberts, Baker and Walker, 2005). Co-creation involves working participatively with customers to enhance the value customers get when buying and using goods and services. It enables firms to understand and respond to deeper and more valuable customer needs and reduces the inherent risks of innovation. Nor is this increasing trend towards co-creation limited to new product introduction. As companies invest in customer relationship management (CRM) programmes, they need to design new forms of relationships with those directly affected: their customers. As customers use internet-related technologies to manage their relationships with suppliers, co-creation will become a more important component of innovation and growth strategies. In this context, traditional market research approaches begin to look outdated. The authors illustrate how Action Research can provide tools and methods by which market researchers can assist and improve the co-creation process with a case study of a dot.com company. The implications for market researchers and research practices are identified.

Client's championing characteristics that promote construction innovation

“…This shift in focus is also being confirmed by the trends in innovation in other sectors as the understanding of innovation changes from a supply side driven simple process to a complex process involving multiple sources (DIUS, 2008). Further, there is compelling evidence from other industries to confirm the influence that a client can exert on the generation of innovation (Maklan et al, 2008;Mackay et al, 2000;Martin et al, 1999;Fullerton and West, 1996;Gardiner and Rothwell, 1985).…”

Does reliable information matter? Towards a trustworthy co-created recommendation model by mining unboxing reviews

“…Co-creation can allow a company to create value, reduce risks and operating costs, increase the success rate of innovative product launches, and provide deeper insights into effective customer relationship management practices (Prahalad and Ramaswamy 2004a, b;Vargo et al 2008;Vargo 2009;Markus and Stefan 2012). Therefore, the co-creation of value is an important process, and one that provides a platform on which companies and consumers can interact with each other (Maklan et al 2008;Prahalad and Ramaswamy 2004a). This study develops a trustworthy co-created recommendation (TCo-CR) model, a value co-creation platform that provides users with reliable recommendations, based on customer reviews extracted from unboxing forums, as well as details of customer preferences.…”

Peculiarities of Customer Relationships Management: a Case of Lithuanian Companies

“…Deja, praktikoje įmonėse vis dar pasitaiko papildomo darbo ar prarandama laiko perkeliant duomenis iš vienos informacinės sistemos į kitą. Naudojantis tam tikromis programomis to galima išvengti, nes daugumos sistemų bazinis paketas gali būti integruojamas su organizacijos jau naudojama programine įranga, atsižvelgiant į poreikius (Maklan et al 2008). Išskirtinas svarbus CRM diegimo veiksnys -įmonės darbuotojai bei jų požiūris į sistemą.…”