Solve the Right Problem-Unlock Real Customer Value
 
In today’s innovation-driven marketplace, the difference between a product that succeeds and one that fails often comes down to a single question: are you solving a problem your customer truly cares about? Irish Manufacturing Research (IMR), a national leader in advanced technology innovation, presents the Customer Challenge Insights service-a structured, evidence-based approach that puts your team face-to-face with real customers and equips you with proven tools, templates, and mentoring. Over the course of structured sprints and eight weeks of expert guidance, IMR helps you uncover the genuine challenges your customers face, ensuring your next innovation is grounded in real-world needs and poised for market success.
 
Whether you’re an entrepreneur designing your first prototype or a product owner looking to reset your product journey, this service is designed to challenge assumptions, foster breakthrough thinking, and deliver actionable insights that drive meaningful innovation.
 
What to Expect
 
The Customer Challenge Insights service is delivered through a series of structured, interactive sprints, each designed to immerse your team in the real-world challenges faced by your target customers and to rigorously validate your innovation concept. Here’s how the journey unfolds:
 
Kick-off and Orientation: The engagement begins with a comprehensive onboarding session, where IMR’s experts introduce your team to the customer discovery process, outline the sprint structure, and set expectations for the weeks ahead. You’ll receive templates, tools, and a roadmap for the journey, ensuring everyone is aligned and ready to participate fully.
Customer Engagement Sprints: Over several structured sprints, your team is guided through direct interactions with prospective customers. Using proven interview techniques and discovery frameworks, you’ll gather qualitative and quantitative data to uncover the real pain points, motivations, and unmet needs in your market. These sprints are designed to push your thinking beyond assumptions, challenge your preconceptions, and ensure your innovation is grounded in genuine customer insight.
Step-by-Step Guidance and Success Metrics: Each sprint is supported by step-by-step instructions and clear measures of success, so you know exactly what to do and how to evaluate your progress. IMR’s mentors are on hand throughout to provide feedback, troubleshoot challenges, and help you interpret the data you collect.
Weekly Check-ins and Mentoring: For eight weeks, you’ll benefit from regular mentoring sessions with IMR’s innovation experts. These check-ins provide an opportunity to reflect on findings, adjust your approach, and receive independent, constructive feedback. The mentoring is tailored to your team’s needs, ensuring you stay on track and maximise learning.
Iterative Refinement and Validation: As you progress, you’ll be encouraged to iterate on your problem statement and innovation concept, testing emerging hypotheses with customers and refining your value proposition in response to real-world evidence. This iterative approach ensures that your final concept is robust, relevant, and customer-centric.
Final Review and Next Steps: The service concludes with a comprehensive review session, where IMR’s experts help you synthesise your insights, assess the viability of your innovation, and develop a clear set of recommendations for next steps. You’ll leave with actionable guidance on how to advance your concept, whether that means further validation, prototyping, or go-to-market planning.
 
Throughout the process, you’ll be supported by a blend of structured learning, practical tools, and hands-on mentoring, ensuring your innovation journey is both rigorous and rewarding.
This approach ensures that your team not only uncovers the real customer challenges worth solving, but also builds the mindset and skills needed for ongoing customer-centric innovation
 
Stop guessing-start solving the problems your customers care about. Book the Customer Challenge Insights service with Irish Manufacturing Research today and ensure your next innovation delivers real, lasting value.