Volume 8, #3 March 2010
On the Hook
Customer Value Questions That Make You Squirm
All of us remember situations in which we stood before an authority figure—a parent, a teacher, the boss—and were asked a question that made us wish we could disappear into a giant hole in the floor.
Sometimes such questions come not from authority figures but from peers or even from ourselves. In the case of customer value, which is becoming a cornerstone of many R&D groups and a mantra of many marketing departments, there are many questions I have observed make people a little uncomfortable.
I had occasion to review and present the top 10 of these questions at a Town Hall session at Frost & Sullivan's recent Medical Devices MindXChange. PDC's Wayne Mackey and I led the audience through the questions and asked for input. It took a few minutes for audience members to warm up (perhaps an indication that even contemplating some of the questions is a tad painful). But once they did, they offered incisive insights and instructive stories.
Not surprisingly, some of the top squirm producers related to money, resources, and relationships (as in working with senior management). After hearing from conference attendees we decided we'd like to hear from more of you. Take our short survey to let us know which of the questions you find most challenging. (You don't have rank them exclusively—if all rate a #10, that's fine.)
You can also download a write-up of conference attendees' comments and PDC's reflections on the questions.
