Learn how to understand, involve, communicate, demonstrate, experiment, and celebrate to overcome skepticism from stakeholders and customers in product innovation.

It's critical that you take a human-centered design approach and bring your primary stakeholders and customer into the design process. Don't just build your voice-of-the-customer from secondary data but give your customers a voice and let them know they are heard. Even if you don't incorporate all of their feedback, they recognize they are valued in the process and will have buy-in much earlier.

How can you overcome skepticism from stakeholders and customers in product innovation?

Product innovation is the process of creating new or improved solutions that meet the needs and expectations of your target market. However, it also involves uncertainty, risk, and change, which can trigger skepticism from your stakeholders and customers. How can you overcome this challenge and convince them to support your product innovation efforts? Here are some tips to help you:

1 Understand their concerns

The first step to overcoming skepticism is to understand where it comes from. What are the fears, doubts, or objections that your stakeholders and customers have about your product innovation? Are they worried about the costs, the feasibility, the benefits, or the impact? Are they satisfied with the current situation or do they have unmet needs? By listening to their concerns, you can empathize with them and address them in your product innovation process.

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Seth Orsborn

Product Design & Innovation
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It's critical that you take a human-centered design approach and bring your primary stakeholders and customer into the design process. Don't just build your voice-of-the-customer from secondary data but give your customers a voice and let them know they are heard. Even if you don't incorporate all of their feedback, they recognize they are valued in the process and will have buy-in much earlier.

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Sunil Kumar Sharma

Growth-driven C-suite business leader, marketer, and entrepreneur. Ex- Coca-Cola, Unilever, Abbott, Goodyear, Tata, and Mahindra. Freelance Consultant (Sales, Marketing, CRM)
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Stakeholders (internal audience) - One-on-one stakeholder meetings with the objective of reaching an alignment on the area that the innovation targets to address - an opportunity or a pain area. It is important to highlight how the innovation responds to the "organization's why", on which there is bound to be alignment across stakeholders. One-on-ones provide an opportunity to have an objective discussion and redressal of concerns/fears. Customers (External audience): 1. One could look at the innovators for the category where the innovation has been planned and seed the product with them and build acceptance for the product 2. Pilot markets could be another route before a large-scale roll-out to iron out rough edges on the marketing mix

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2 Involve them in the process

The second step to overcoming skepticism is to involve your stakeholders and customers in your product innovation process. This can help you build trust, collaboration, and feedback loops with them. You can invite them to participate in ideation, prototyping, testing, or validation stages, depending on your goals and methods. You can also use tools such as surveys, interviews, focus groups, or co-creation workshops to gather their insights and opinions. By involving them in the process, you can show them that you value their input and that you are creating solutions that solve their problems.

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Gijsbertus J.J. van Wulfen

Innovation keynote speaker, Number One Thought Leader Design Thinking 2024, LinkedIn Top Voice helping you and your organisation, to become amazing innovators with keynotes, workshops, and a proven innovation method.
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WENNOVATE instead of INNOVATE The main reason why innovation projects get stopped is according to a linkedin poll: ‘LACK OF MANAGEMENT BUY-IN. That’s why in my experience as facilitator of 100+ projects you should better WENNOVATEinstead of INNOVATE. Let me explain… Innovation is a long journey with high uncertainty. That’s why you should get all your internal - and external partners and the decision makers aligned as from the start, agreeing all on both your assignment and process. When you WENNOVATE in the way your project will be based on: - commitment, - trust, and - openness. Check out the FORTH innovation methodology, which comebines design thinking with business thinking, which is based on this WENNOVATE principle.

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3 Communicate your value proposition

The third step to overcoming skepticism is to communicate your value proposition clearly and convincingly. Your value proposition is the statement that summarizes how your product innovation delivers value to your customers and differentiates you from your competitors. It should answer the questions: what is your product innovation, who is it for, what problem does it solve, and why is it better than the alternatives. You can use storytelling, visuals, data, or testimonials to communicate your value proposition to your stakeholders and customers.

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4 Demonstrate your credibility

The fourth step to overcoming skepticism is to demonstrate your credibility as a product innovator. Your credibility is the degree to which your stakeholders and customers trust and respect your expertise, experience, and reputation. You can enhance your credibility by showing evidence of your previous successes, your industry knowledge, your customer testimonials, or your awards and recognition. You can also leverage your network, partnerships, or endorsements to boost your credibility.

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5 Experiment and iterate

The fifth step to overcoming skepticism is to experiment and iterate your product innovation. Experimentation and iteration are the practices of testing your assumptions, learning from your results, and making improvements based on feedback. They can help you reduce uncertainty, risk, and waste, and increase efficiency, effectiveness, and customer satisfaction. By experimenting and iterating your product innovation, you can show your stakeholders and customers that you are willing to learn from your mistakes, adapt to changing needs, and deliver better solutions.

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6 Celebrate and share your achievements

The sixth step to overcoming skepticism is to celebrate and share your achievements with your stakeholders and customers. Your achievements are the outcomes and impacts of your product innovation, such as increased sales, improved customer loyalty, reduced costs, or enhanced social or environmental benefits. By celebrating and sharing your achievements, you can reinforce your value proposition, demonstrate your credibility, and inspire your stakeholders and customers to support your product innovation efforts.

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7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?

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How can you overcome skepticism from stakeholders and customers in product innovation?

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1 Understand their concerns

2 Involve them in the process

3 Communicate your value proposition

4 Demonstrate your credibility

5 Experiment and iterate

6 Celebrate and share your achievements

7 Here’s what else to consider

Product Innovation

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How can you overcome skepticism from stakeholders and customers in product innovation?

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

1 Understand their concerns

2 Involve them in the process

3 Communicate your value proposition

4 Demonstrate your credibility

5 Experiment and iterate

6 Celebrate and share your achievements

7 Here’s what else to consider

Product Innovation

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