Marketers know that understanding the market in which a new product will compete is an important first step in the innovation process; consequently, they invest significant resources in analyzing potential markets via focus groups, attitude and usage studies, segmentations and market structures prior to developing concepts. However, it is important to recognize the significance of the market throughout the innovation process and to incorporate market parameters – specifically market permeability – into the volumetric forecasting phase of new product development.

This POV demonstrates how market permeability – the ease or difficulty of achieving long-term success in a market – impacts new product potential. Further, this POV describes how and why market permeability should be incorporated into volumetric forecasting.