Be very nervous about “confirmation bias.” Most B2B companies have NPD processes designed to let this bias run rampant. See The AIM Institute’s research on how quantitative interviews and Market Satisfaction Gaps remove this bias… and help you reduce commercial risk in the front-end of innovation.
More in research report, Preference Interview Research Report
Is your pricing supplier-focused, competitor-focused, or customer-focused? If you don’t want to leave money on the table with your new innovation, it must be customer-focused. Unless you regularly employ value calculators for this today, you can be sure your prices are not being optimized.
More in article, Getting Top Price for Your New Product
What changes will future technology waves bring? Will we ride them to riches or drown under the weight of disruption? A Danish proverb warns that “Prediction is dangerous, especially about the future.” A cycle of bad logic Unfortunately, when we theorize, we can become more and more attached to our predictions. A cycle of bad ... Read More
Successful new product development is all about avoiding errors of omission and commission. The first error is failing to uncover unarticulated customer needs, and the second is pursuing the wrong needs. To win, use divergent and convergent customer interviews… and rely on your Market Satisfaction Gaps.
More in research report, Preference Interview Research Report
You don’t want to be surprised in most of business… overseeing production, traveling for business, building a facility. The one exception? You do want to be surprised when innovating. This is true in the lab, but also during customer interviews. See a totally different VOC method that boosts surprises.
More in research report, Discovery Interview Research Report
In B2B we can do even better than “understanding” customer needs. We can “model” them. Use customer interviews to understand customers’ key outcomes. But don’t stop there. Ask how they measure these outcomes… and how good is “good enough.” Then create a model so you can test how they’ll react to any product design you imagine.
More in article, How to model customer needs
Consider 3 phases of product development: front-end, development, and launch. You resolve technical risk in the development stage. Most companies resolve commercial risk during the launch stage. Big mistake. Nearly everything needed to resolve commercial B2B risk is knowable in the front-end.
More in white paper, Timing is Everything: Exposing Deep Flaws in B2B Innovation Today
I’ve seen many new-product teams foiled by organizational turmoil: A travel ban blocks customer meetings… Spending freezes delay critical work… A reorganization creates uncertainty until the “dust settles”… New initiatives overshadow their project… Key team members are given new assignments. Success requires persistent focus.
More in article, What’s Restraining Your Growth? Your Time Horizon
Most B2B companies don’t test market needs until they launch their products… to see if anyone buys them. Imagine using a medieval catapult aimed at customers: “You’ll love this next one.” Future companies will laugh at how we failed to understand B2B customer needs in the front end of innovation.
More in article, Why will future companies laugh at us?
Keep your process… but don’t expect a neat, linear progression for all projects. Product development is like preparing a fine meal: There’s a messy kitchen somewhere. Look at the unpredictable, messy paths of your own company’s earlier blockbuster products. You need nimble, open-minded teams to complete such journeys quickly.
More in e-book, Reinventing VOC for B2B