Technology development is science-facing and converts money into knowledge. Product development is market-facing and converts knowledge back into money. Both are critical, but don’t confuse them. And never do any product development until you have quantified, unbiased, unfiltered data on customer needs.

More in white paper, Commercialize technology in six foolproof steps

Some companies have a small staff of “interviewing experts.” But large businesses chalk up thousands of face-to-face customer meetings each year… as sales and technical service reps go about their normal duties. Why not train these people to become VOC experts? They’ve already gained customers’ trust, they know the customer’s language, they’ll get key information first-hand, and there’s no extra travel cost.

More in white paper, Everyday VOC

It’s usually a sign the new-product team has a supplier-centric mindset, not a customer-centric one. Validating hypotheses is converging around a supplier solution… which should occur after diverging around customer needs. It’s important to get the sequence right. Look around and study Problem Solving 101: Divergent thinking nearly always precedes convergent thinking.

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

I worked in manufacturing in the 1970s, when it seemed like “overkill” to train operators in statistics for quality control. But this is expected today. I met Dr. Deming in the 1980’s and heard him say, “It is not necessary to change. Survival is optional.”  Compared to statistics, the science of B2B customer insight is quite simple. Will you be GM or Toyota in the innovation wave?

More in white paper, Catch the Innovation Wave (page 12)

Key account managers have a HARD job: Members of the customer buying team are… HIDDEN (the person saying “no” may be completely unknown), ABUNDANT (on average, 5.4 people are involved in B2B buying decisions), RELUCTANT (stakeholders believe they’re “too busy to meet with a salesperson”), and DISAGREEING (they have different perspectives on what is needed). To overcome this, try Key Account Blueprinting… New Product Blueprinting applied to one large account at a time.

More in white paper, Key Account Blueprinting

I call this the golden rule of investment. In the case of innovation, it explains why the front-end-of-innovation is the critical battleground. The winning company is the one that most efficiently learns whatever intelligence is needed to drive this important decision: “Should we advance this project into the costly development stage?”

More in e-book, Supercharge your Stage-Gate® process

Many think new product pricing is determined by how much value a supplier delivers to customers… but that’s not strictly true. Pricing is driven by customers’ perception of value delivered. Therefore, you need to give prospective buyers a value calculator or similar tool, so they can see how much money they’ll make or save.

More in 2-minute growth video #34, Use value calculators to establish pricing