Today, putting customers at the heart of innovation is a no-brainer for most business managers. However, should the innovation process involve all customers or only specific segments? In this article we explore the hurdles of these initiatives and propose a method to select the most relevant customers with whom to innovate.
The whiplash journey of Mattel’s beloved kids’ toy range perfectly sums up the fundamentals and key challenges of managing continuous, successful corporate innovation.
When it comes to B2B businesses, many companies do not put enough importance on the marketing department. Yes, marketing is an essential part of generating leads and customers for a B2B company. However, a lot more emphasis is placed on the sales and business development departments. But if the goal is in growing the company, it more important to give B2B marketers a greater role and responsibility.
Customer experience is perhaps the single most valuable and emphasized component of business operations. Both B2B and B2C companies greatly value the concept of creating exceptional customer experience as the bottom line of achieving revenue growth.
B2B, or business to business marketing, involves selling of a [...]
Switzerland – a tiny country with few natural advantages – has become incredibly successful in the world of banking, pharmaceuticals, machinery, and more. James Breiding, author of the bestselling book, Swiss Made, explores the enabling factors for innovation in Switzerland. He makes the point that when an entrepreneur comes up with a new and innovative method or product, there will be resistance from those who have accepted the status quo. Entrepreneurs as well as intrapreneurs need to have thick skin if they wish to disrupt the market.
SMEs are perceived as the back-bone of most economies in Europe. Therefore, a lot of programs have been launched to support their growth. Over the past years, offering innovation support has become popular, complementing the well-known start-up financing and technology transfer programs. Despite the above, there is a level of dissatisfaction regarding the impact of these services.
Today, almost any B2B firm claims to be “customer-oriented”. However, only few firms have a rigorous and stringent system that integrates the “best” (B2B) customers into its innovation process – where “best” in this context is measured not by volume of sales but by contribution to the firm’s innovation. A lot of insight has been generated on how to engage consumers in the innovation process. There is also a growing body of knowledge about how to innovate openly on the R&D side of the innovation process. But little has been written up so far about how to systematically integrate B2B customers in the firm’s Open Innovation system. innovation-3’s Frank Mattes closes this gap by sharing some insights.
What does it take for companies to market new, innovative capabilities as a service? The challenge to expand beyond products is daunting, but as market exemplars show, the returns on the investment can be worth it. The case studies explored in this article illustrate the extent to which services demand a premium in the market, drive differentiation from the competition, and build loyalty.
Customer experience is much more than simply buying and using a product. Whether a firm is B2C or B2B focused, every interaction the customer has with a company or a company
