Awkward Reality #526

Got a new product hypothesis? Give it the “silent treatment” during customer interviews.

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I love it when our clients have cool technology and clever ideas. But don’t mention these to customers during VOC interviews. From the customer’s perspective, the interview should look exactly the same whether or not you’ve got a great hypothesis. Give your hypothesis the silent treatment for now. Simply listen to the customer.

More in 2-minute growth video #21, Give your hypotheses the silent treatment

See the Whole Picture with The Jobs-to-be-Done Pyramid™

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Why do people really buy what they buy? It’s a question that has reshaped how we think about customers, markets, and innovation. Thanks to the foundational work of Clayton Christensen, Tony Ulwick, Bob Moesta, and Lance Bettencourt, Jobs-to-be-Done (JTBD) theory gave us a breakthrough insight: “Customers don’t buy products—they hire them to get jobs done.” ... Read More

Awkward Reality #525

Strong innovation metrics should be insightful, predictive and actionable. Not missing.

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Strong intermediate (vs. ultimate) innovation metrics share these qualities: 1. Insightful: They help firms understand relationships between cause and effect. 2. Predictive: They measure behavior that will foretell ultimate success. 3. Actionable: Their short “feedback loop” allows rapid adjustments to be made. Are you using such metrics?

More in white paper, New Innovation Metrics

Awkward Reality #524

The most overlooked innovation practice? Understanding customers’ alternatives.

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Sure, the most important practice is understanding customer needs. But most overlooked? Few suppliers ask customers 1) for the most important, unsatisfied outcomes, 2) what test methods measure these outcomes, and 3) how satisfied customers are by various test results. Without these questions, you cannot properly assess competing alternatives.

More in growth video #36, Benchmark competing alternatives

Awkward Reality #523

Awkward Reality #522

Awkward Reality #521

Awkward Reality #520

B2B customers can tell you exactly what they want… but you must know how to ask.

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Imagine you’re planning to build a new home: Your architect sees you for half an hour, spends the first 15 minutes talking about sports, and then shows you pictures of other houses he designed. Later, when the house fails to please you, he dismisses it saying, “Well that buyer just didn’t know what he wanted.” Ever treat customers this way?

More in white paper, Guessing at Customer Needs

Awkward Reality #519

AI can help you quickly prepare pre-call customer reports.

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Here’s what to include: 1) Business status: You’ll need a refresher on all aspects of your current dealings with this customer, 2) Company news: You don’t want to be surprised by their new acquisition, divestiture, VP, etc. 3) Market trends: You’ll be able to engage your customer more deeply if you’re conversant in the trends they’re facing, 4) Common problems: If your customer brings up one of these problems, you’ll be prepared to discuss it, and 5) Process steps: This lets you explore steps you could help them to accomplish faster, better or cheaper.

More in white paper, Sales Call Preparation with AI

Awkward Reality #518