Balanced Product Development
Aligning Innovation with Market Needs
“Design isn’t just what it looks like and feels like. Deisgn is how it works”
Imagine you’re in your office, brainstorming the next groundbreaking product that will dazzle both your customers and the editors of Refrigerators Weekly, the definitive guide to the wondrous machines that keep our food chilled.
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Suddenly, the CEO bursts in with a spark of inspiration. “I’ve got it! My grill, toaster, and oven are all part of the Internet of Things. It’s clear now—we’re lagging behind! Our refrigerators need to join the digital age too. Let’s create a fridge that lets you tweak the temperature from any corner of the globe!”
Naturally, no one dares to challenge the CEO. Her track record of lucrative innovations in refrigeration technology speaks for itself. And since ovens, toasters, and grills have already embraced connectivity, it stands to reason that refrigerators should follow suit. Without further ado, you equip the latest model with Wi-Fi, not pausing to ponder the practical applications of a “smart” fridge. To cap it off, you adorn it with a prominent sticker proclaiming its membership in the Internet of Things, and off they go to your major retail partners.
“The customer’s perception is your reality.”
The scene shifts, and you find yourself amidst the towering aisles of your local home improvement store, seeking a worthy successor to your dearly departed refrigerator. The salesperson, with a gleam in his eye, gestures towards the latest model—a sleek behemoth boasting Internet of Things (IoT) connectivity. “This marvel,” he proclaims, “is internet compatible!”
You raise an eyebrow, your curiosity piqued yet tinged with skepticism. “What does it do? Can it alert me when I’m running low on milk?”
He shakes his head. “No, it’s solely for remote temperature adjustments. You can adjust the temperature from literally anywhere!”
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You ponder this, bemused. “But why would I need that? My previous fridge’s dial was set to 5 for a decade and a half. If I never felt the urge to tweak it while under the same roof, what are the odds I’d do so from Buenos Aires?”
Where did your innovation go wrong?
Product ideas come from all directions. A great idea, a new technology, a customer request, someone else is making money from it so we should too. However, do we need to develop every idea? Just because it is an engineering marvel or takes our core specialty to new heights, will anyone buy it? Just because there is demand, is it consistent with who we are? Do we have the right technical expertise?
A successful product portfolio is balanced and prioritized. While there are unlimited possible products, no company has unlimited resources to develop or maintain all of them. An organization that generates lots of ideas is healthy, productive, and innovative. However, not every idea should make it to the retailer’s shelf or even onto the development roadmap.
So how do we keep our idea funnel full while ensuring concepts that will move the needle make it through validation, development, launch, and beyond? How do we balance who we are, what we do, and what our customers need?
The Product Innovation Funnel
Several years ago, a key customer asked for a solution to a specific problem. However, during concept validation, we couldn’t find enough people who were doing the job it was designed for to give us input. We had a customer for it and the know-how to build it. It was consistent with our brand and vision. However, given the market size, development costs would have put its price beyond what the few dozen asking for it were willing to pay. We canceled the project.
Let’s move down the funnel a step. As we were setting up product management at another company, we made a list of all the concepts in development across the company. We found more than 20, most of them great ideas with solid business cases behind them. However, none of them were making significant progress toward launch. Our resources were spread too thin. We needed to narrow our focus and prioritize the best ones so we could dedicate our limited resources to the few that would move the needle the most.
We put together a summary of each idea, including where the idea had come from, estimated market size, and cost of development. The management team then used the information to evaluate each on what I call the Product Management Triangle – alignment with vision and brand, customer needs, and current products and core competencies. They then prioritized their top five choices. The winners became active development projects and the next five were put on the roadmap. All the rest were given a rank in the backlog.
Not only did this allow us to devote limited resources to a focused group of products that everyone agreed would provide maximum impact and invest in the best innovations, but it also provided a speed bump when the Good Idea Fairy hit somebody.
A steady flow of new ideas is crucial, but now we have a process to take advantage of them. Each was assessed and periodically presented to the leadership team. If someone wanted to fast-track one, the concept was presented with data on the costs of pausing or canceling a project in flight and the costs and benefits of starting the new project. Next, we looked at the priority list and asked, “These are our current priorities. If we want to pivot to this new one, which current project do we drop?” While at times we did and other times we did not pivot, this process provided a speed bump ensuring we had ample justification and executive alignment.
The Product Triangle
“Do what you do so well that they will want to see it again and bring their friends.”
There are always more ideas than time and resources to bring them to market. Successful companies have processes to sort through the many good ideas to find the true gems, allowing them to focus their energies on bringing them to life. This prioritization gets them to market faster. Furthermore, products that balance vision and brand with customer needs and corporate capabilities result in a market fit that avoids brand confusion and dilution, solves problems that matter, and is something the company can do well. This focus and prioritization results in a steady flow of well-vetted quality products that sell because they make the customer’s life, work, and play better.
At Customer-Led Innovations Consulting, an experienced product manager helps bring your ideas into focus, align your product portfolio, and bring together teams to make your customers' dreams a reality. Our fractional model provides the flexibility to include product management in your business without the cost of a full-time product leader. Contact us at brent@customerledinnovations.com for a free introductory consultation.
