It’s important to recognize what a stage-and-gate process will—and will not—do for you. This research shows why it’s a mistake to count on such a process to drive growth. Given the limitations of internal focus and analytical thinking, you need more. Simply put, your stage-and-gate process is necessary, but not sufficient. ... Read More

Modern “Jobs-to-be-Done” (JTBD) thinking began with the most popular HBR article ever written: Ted Levitt’s “Marketing Myopia.” It begins this way: “Every major industry was once a growth industry. But some that are not riding a wave of growth enthusiasm are very much in the shadow of decline. Others, which are thought of as seasoned ... Read More

What if you could turn B2B product development into a science? What if you searched for the causes of new product failures as you would for problems in chemical reactions or manufacturing steps? Now you can. We’ll use our “triple diamond” of NPD to examine all 6 steps you must do well to ensure success. ... Read More

In a concentrated market—where there are relatively few customers—B2B innovators should pursue customer engagement as well as market insight. Practical ways to do this include keeping customer objectives in the center, ensuring the interview process is a professional experience, and continuing to engage the customer after the interview. ... Read More

In a tough economy, B2B producers can follow these 4 tips: 1) Hear the voice of the customer inexpensively, 2) get everyone listening to the customer’s voice, 3) use other people’s knowledge, and 4) alter their training model. ... Read More

What is Blue Ocean Strategy? Blue Ocean Strategy is the process of targeting a combination of unmet customer needs for innovation that are currently underserved by traditional competitors. It’s one of those ideas that sounds obvious after someone explains it to you. But that is just the beginning… How should we think about Blue Ocean ... Read More

For rapid, profitable, sustainable growth, your goal should be, “Understand and meet customer needs better than anyone else.” These 7 other common paths simply won’t work. Use AIM’s B2B Growth Diagnostic to benchmark your business against average, top quartile, and top decile companies on 25 growth drivers. ... Read More