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We Already Know Our Customers.... |
So, Why Worry About Market Research?
In New Product Development, we often hear the mantra of "Do Your Up-Front Homework." Yet, data shows that less than 20% of firms study what customers need or want in the marketplace. Meanwhile, success rates of 50% are considered among "the best".
 Market Research allows the organization to evaluate whether a technology will be salable for economic gain. Too many companies are caught in the trap of developing a technology without a market.
In our busy, fast-paced world where speed to market is an important driver for NPD projects, it's easy to skip the Market Research. A litany of reasons exist:
- Not Knowing Who the Ultimate Customer Is
- Not Knowing How to Interact with Customers
- Untested Assumptions
- We Already Know the Answer.
The last of these is especially dangerous in rapidly growing global markets. Market Research allows to verify the impact your new product will have in the market. Reaearch shows that Customer-centric companies demonstrate a significant advantage over competitors.
Finally, Market Research is not that difficult. Talk to your customers, but more importantly LISTEN to your end-users.
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Greetings!
Halfway through the year, it's time to take stock of how you're doing. You may be personally evaluating if you've gained fitness as promised in your New Year's Resolutions, or if your stock portfolio is performing on track to reach your retirement goals.
New Product Innovation | In the world of Innovation, we can look at Innovation Strategy to guide our New Product Development efforts...sort of our New Year's Resolutions for our company. In the January issue of The Village, we asked you to take a good, hard look at your Innovation Strategy. Are you meeting the goals you set for the operating year? Are you getting the market share desired, developing the new technologies needed for the NPD effort? In this issue of The Village, we provide a technqiue ( Miles & Snow strategy typologies) for evaluating how well you've implemented your strategy today. Perhaps, , you can take a look at where you'd like to position for the rest of the year: strategy, markets, technology, and products. |
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Innovation Fun Fact | |
The Science behind Golf Balls
Golf has been a sometimes relaxing, sometimes frustrating pastime for many people around the globe. A bad shot might be blamed on the ball, but it turns out there is a lot of science in manufacturing that perfect golf ball!
Did you know that after a bad round of golf in 1930, a  dentist x-rayed the golf ball and found that the core was off-center? This led to new technologies in manufacturing the golf ball. Just like the perfect baseball, the golf ball experienced evolution through leather, and chicken feather cores, until today's ball which is made with a synthetic rubber core.
Click on the picture of the golf ball at the right for an 8-minute tour of the Titleist golf ball factory in New England.
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| A Review of Innovation Strategy Types | |
Evaluate Strategy & Response to Change
Gaining a deeper understanding of your organization's response to external pressures, such as changes in the markets or technologies, will help to guide the company to make better decisions and gain competitive advantage.
Following the classic Miles & Snow strategy typology  definitions, we investigate how four ideal companies may approach New Product Development.
Defender: Uses checklists and relies heavily on procedures for NPD in order to maintain stablility and cost efficiency.
Prospector: Conducts in-depth, up-front Market Research in order to be first to market. Uses Portfolio Management tools to coordinate diverse business units.
Analyzer: Successful implementation of NPD tools in order to balance efficiency in core technologies while positioning as a fast follower for new markets.
Reactor: As implied in the name, the Reactor firm responds to market and technologies changes without much planning.
Register for a free one hour webinar on this topic to be held Tuesday, 24 August 2010 by clicking here. To maintain a shared experience for all, this webinar is limited to 15 attendees. |
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Reading Recommendation
 Dr. John Kao penned " Innovation Nation" to stimulate the 2008 U.S. Presidential election, asking the candidates to think about the future in terms of science and strategy.
You can learn more about Dr. Kao here or get a copy of Innovation Nation here.
The first 5 people to send an e-mail to me at info@globalnpsolutions.com with the subject line showing "Innovation Nation" will receive a free copy of this thought-provoking book. |
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