Let’s say you’ve led a business for three years. If this year’s financial performance looks great, it’s likely this is mainly because a) the last business leader put strong growth capabilities in place, or b) you’ve cut costs and taken other short-term measures that will ultimately degrade this business. It takes a long time to build a growth juggernaut, and very little time to “raid” it for short-term gain. Companies should recognize this and reward the “builders” among us.
More in e-book, Leader’s Guide to B2B Organic Growth (Lesson 7)
This cloud-based software provides 10 advantages: 1) enhanced data security, 2) better determination of who to interview, 3) better interview preparation, 4) reduced stress recruiting interviewees, 5) improved customer process map-building capability, 6) stronger interview beginning, 7) better outcome capture, 8) on-screen viewing of trigger map, 9) easier selection of Top Picks, and 10 anywhere-anytime access of project data. ... Read More
Research shows that it’s often “game over” for your product if a competitor’s product has a better Google search ranking. The key is good search engine optimization (SEO), and the key to that is predicting which keywords your prospects will search for. Here’s a tip: In your front-end voice-of-customer interviews, capture customers’ comments verbatim. Then use their language—which is unlikely to change—in your SEO strategy.
More in article, B2B Product Launch: How to get it right
B2B companies can do 3 things with customer needs: guess, understand or model them. This article explores modeling and its 3 benefits: 1) It’s much cheaper and faster than starting with a prototype, 2) you’ll understand customers’ next-best alternatives better… so you can optimize product pricing, and 3) customers will be much more engaged. ... Read More
PDMA publishes “Four Steps to Product Management Excellence for B2B Companies” by Scott Burleson. In this article, Scott challenges B2B firms to win the future by capitalizing on a distinct advantage they can achieve over their competition by following four simple steps. About PDMA The Product Development and Management Association (PDMA) is a global community ... Read More
Many refer to the new-market, new-technology quadrant of the Ansoff matrix as the “suicide quadrant,” given its high-failure rate. This need not be the case. With good planning, you can spot potential “landmines” much earlier, and take steps to either kill your project quickly, redirect it, or accelerate success. Do this by rating risk factors for impact and certainty… and then communicate your progress through Certainty Matrices.
More in article, How to Thrive in the “Suicide Quadrant”
“Proven right” breeds confirmation bias; “be right” inspires a search for truth. In new product development, “proven right” seeks to validate the supplier’s ideas; “be right” explores customers’ worlds seeking what others have missed. “Proven right” results in squandered R&D spending and missed opportunities; “be right” in delighted customers, premium pricing, and pleasant financial review meetings.
More in e-book, Leader’s Guide to B2B Organic Growth
If you want profitable, sustainable B2B growth, you must develop "growth muscles." You wouldn’t try to climb El Capitan without climbing skills. Yet many business leaders proclaim double-digit growth plans year after year, but do nothing to build the capabilities needed to succeed. ... Read More
Can you eliminate most commercial risk when developing B2B new products? Yes… by building a Certainty Time Machine. Once you start the development stage, you should primarily be dealing with technical risk, not commercial risk. ... Read More
January 16, 2020 (Cuyahoga Falls, OH) – For many high-stakes projects, management can’t gauge how much progress teams are truly making. And they get very nervous hearing, “trust us… you’ll love this project.” Now teams can generate a 2-page report to show how they are detecting and defusing “landmine” assumptions. Best of all, teams easily ... Read More
Dan Adams has the honor to present at IRI 2020 Spring Networks Conference in New Orleans, LA on March 16-18. On March 17th, Dan will be presenting Research on Driving B2B Organic Growth: 8 Practices that Matter Most. There’s no need to hire a growth consultant to improve your B2B organic growth: The research has ... Read More
Imagine you just launched your new product and the market responded with… one big collective yawn. Was it a poorly orchestrated launch? Perhaps, but it’s more likely your launch was doomed a couple of years earlier by poor front-end work. Our research shows five of six B2B product development teams lack a clear understanding of market needs before conducting B2B-optimized VOC. Without this insight, your launch might be putting lipstick on a pig.
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January 15, 2020 (Cuyahoga Falls, OH) – For projects that require just 1 person-year of development, the Market Case, which is generated after step 3 in Blueprinting, may be the last step required before beginning development. Many people are familiar with a Business Case: For new product development, this is what the team presents to ... Read More
Voice-of-customer interviews don’t really work unless the customer trusts you. You’ll tell your doctor, lawyer or therapist everything they need to know so they can help you. But only if you trust them. The same is true for your customers when you seek information to innovate for them. You build trust with your credibility, reliability, and a sincere interest in their well-being.
More in e-book, Leader’s Guide to B2B Organic Growth
