If we bring a prototype to a customer, this is “concept testing.” Something different from voice of the customer research.  But when definitions are not understood, these become conflated and we fool ourselves into believing that we’re more customer-centric than we really are. This confusion results from how innovation and new product processes have evolved. ... Read More

Do your sales and tech support reps make hundreds of customer calls annually? Why not train them to probe deeply and capture customer needs uniformly in your CRM? You’ll gain unprecedented market insight when you turn your sales force into a learning force—to help you develop better future products. And with Everyday VOC probing, they’ll ... Read More

What’s the key to accelerating your B2B business’s organic growth? The research is clear: Superior customer insight drives stronger new product value propositions… which in turn boosts organic growth. Now you can use this new Innovation Maturity Level chart to assess your current level… and plan your ascent all the way to Level 6. The ... Read More

Portfolio management links strategy with execution for new product development. A Voice of the Customer program maximizes ROI for all new product initiatives, whether incremental or breakthrough. ... Read More

A missile strike? Well, that sounds a bit aggressive, doesn’t it? But consider the two targeting steps you’d take in the military, before firing those missiles: 1) survey all possible enemy positions, and then 2) isolate the high-value targets. You should do the same in the front-end of innovation, before the development stage: “Step 1” ... Read More

Tired of new product failures? Get one simple step right and your new product success rates will soar. For B2B companies, this step is prioritizing customers’ needs. Not sure about that? We’ll show you strong evidence that supports this… and show you how to turn new product failures into rare and distant memories. What’s more ... Read More

The “consumption job” may be the most important concept that you’ve never heard of. Consider this. We are all unique, or we think we are, with this problem: our products are becoming more and more like commodities. You know, gasoline, steel, topsoil. Our superior product dreams are trampled under the heavy feet of commoditization. Wouldn’t ... Read More