AIM Archives - Tag: statistical process control

What makes sense today that won’t make sense tomorrow?

343-Today-vs-Tomorrow

Quality control inspectors made sense for manufacturers… until statistical process control. High-pressure closing techniques made sense for salespeople… until consultative selling. Payback periods made sense for financial decision-making… until discounted cash flow methods. Think of these as “awkward realities.” Today, it seems to make sense for B2B companies to “ideate” new products… without first having intelligent conversations with B2B customers. The ones who could tell them precisely which outcomes to improve.

More in article, Own the Future with B2B Customer Insight

Future B2B companies will have a good laugh at our expense.

208-Laughing-at-Us

We now chuckle at how sales people used to rely on ABC (Always Be Closing) and manufacturers relied on end-of-line inspectors (vs. statistical quality control). But those will pale compared to the way today’s B2B companies test markets: by launching fully-developed products at their customers. When they could have learned customer needs first with some simple interviews. Funny stuff.

More in article, The Inputs to Innovation for B2B