Warren Buffet once observed, “Only when the tide goes out do you discover who’s been swimming naked.” If you’re a business leader worried about your “exposure” in troubled times, consider three tools to put in your economic survival kit: 1) cut the waste, 2) invest in B2B training, and 3) increase customer engagement. 1. Cut ... Read More
As we begin training employees in B2B front-end-of-innovation skills, the business leader often asks, “Can you make the project teams go faster?” I understand this… but a better approach would have been to not dither away so many months making a decision to start training in the first place. Investing in such skills can never begin too soon.
Learn about B2B innovation at www.newproductblueprinting.com
Many suppliers unwittingly detach from customers with a host of risky behaviors: 1) Asking customers to fill in boring questionnaires, 2) using interviews to “validate” their preconceived solutions, 3) failing to probe with insightful questions, and 4) neglecting to follow-up interviews with rich, ongoing engagement. Is it time to learn customer-engagement skills?
More in 2-minute video at 29. Engage your B2B customers
Join Ian Machan and Parikshit Naik with the Advanced Services Group to learn about the concept of “Servitization.” on June 15 at 10:00 AM EST. Over years of research and supporting product-led businesses to compete differently, we have acknowledged and emphasized the importance of truly understanding your customers’ needs. While having a ‘customer-first’ approach is ... Read More
Do you think your competitors also plan to exceed market growth? So, all the competing suppliers plan to grow faster than the market they serve, year… after year… after year. As Dr. Phil would say, “How’s that been working for you?” Maybe it’s time for a different plan. A plan built on innovation, not hope… on well-grounded skills, not blue-sky spreadsheets.
More in 2-minute video at 2. Superior B2B growth is challenging
Learn how to determine new product pricing for B2B markets. Plus… 4 added benefits of using a value calculator: 1) Increase customer awareness of value. 2) Build customer confidence. 3) Increase your understanding of customers’ world. 4) Boost customer “internal selling.” ... Read More
Dan Adams has the honor to present at ASG’s Servitization Live Webinar “Driving Servitization Success with B2B Voice-of-Customer Skills” on June 7 at 9:00 AM EST (14:00 BST | 15:00 CEST). Key take-aways will be: Key skills necessary for VoC How VoC exercises unlock deep understanding of customer needs How manufacturers can use VoC to ... Read More
A large, unexpected revenue upturn this quarter is good news, right? It certainly feels good, but the satisfaction is fleeting. What you really need is growth that is unrelenting, earned and reliable. When business executives don’t understand the nature of “good” B2B organic growth, they risk three pitfalls. B2B Organic Growth Pitfalls Pitfall 1. “Let’s ... Read More
Will you win because your R&D people are 20% smarter than the competition’s? If that logic sounds shaky, here’s a suggestion: What if your R&D worked only on problems customers truly cared about… while competitors kept guessing what to work on? Would that be a competitive advantage? This is easier than you think… but maybe you’d rather try to hire geniuses.
More in white paper, www.catchtheinnovationwave.com (page 4)
What is the value proposition of a product? The Value Proposition of a product is a formal statement describing the competitive advantage of a new product for a given market segment. Though many examples exist, the jobs-to-be-done methodology provides a precise template upon which to build a clear, concise, unambiguous statement. It tells WHAT we’re ... Read More
Consider these best practices for recruiting customers for interviews: 1) Value representativeness over sample size. 2) Include respondents along the value chain. 3) Recruit some respondents with internal resources. 4) Use outside recruiting if you get stuck. 5) Get the sales team on board. 6) Use a script for recruiting calls. 7) Email an agenda. 8) Send respondent to www.haveyoubeendiscovered.com. 9) Start with a big list. ... Read More
Unless you deal with two growth problems, you'd better get used to mediocre organic growth: 1) You only “earned” a small part of your growth today; the rest is “inherited” and “market” growth. 2) If you and your competitors are all planning to growth faster than the market you serve, someone will be disappointed. ... Read More