Volume 6, #6, September, 2008
The Worst, the Best, and the Cheats
What works and what doesn't in customer-driven innovation -- and how to make it work for you
At Frost & Sullivan's recent Growth, Innovation, and
Leadership Conference,
Richard
Tait and I had an opportunity to present 10 best practices around using
customer insight to uncover growth opportunities. The room was filled with
experienced R&D, marketing, and innovation professionals from companies such as The Clorox Company, Thomsen Reuters, Panduit, Steris, and National Instruments. After hearing from Erika Bajars, who serves as Director of Marketing/Hypodermic for Becton-Dickinson, each table had its own discussion about their experiences with
these best practices.
I'm always fascinated to hear what people find missing from
the list and what they do differently. Sometimes companies are unable, for
practical reasons, to follow best practices, or they encounter organizational or personal resistance to doing so. This issue of Discoveries looks at
three best practices that companies consistently skip or resist doing. To
emphasize the problems with not pursuing these, we're presenting each as its opposite: a worst practice. When you're done reading, I hope you'll see the value of overcoming this resistance. And, because we all know that the real world often gets in the way of the best of intentions, we offer some insights into how you can "cheat" and still get value out of these practices.
Worst Practice #1: Gather customer data through focus groups, phone interviews, and online surveys.
Why this does not work:
Each of these methods of data gathering is missing a key
element: trust. How comfortable would you feel in sharing details
about the challenges of your job with a room full of strangers (focus group
setting)? Many of us find it difficult to open up on the telephone even to good
friends, so why would customers feel safe discussing the nuances of their jobs
over the phone -- even if they know your company well? And on the Internet, as
the saying goes,
nobody
knows you're a dog, which makes it hard for you to tell exactly who is
answering your survey.
Apart from the issue of trust, another key element is
missing when you don't see a customer in person: that is, is everything they don't
say. When you conduct interviews at the site where the product or service will
be used (the customer's environment), you gain valuable data simply through
observation.
Best practice: Observe, interview and probe in the
customer's environment
One conference attendee from a large consumer product
company contrasted the experience of focus groups with conducting in-home
interviews: "In our industry, focus groups are so contrived. People tell
you what you think they want to hear. One-on-one, they tell you they read the
product label, but you can see they don't. When you go and observe, there are
so many 'ahas.' You can see the extra steps people are taking that they're
doing subconsciously, like wetting the sponge before applying the product. Then
when you ask them why, they say, 'because that's the way I always saw my mom do
it.' We ask 'Tell us about your life.' And then we can see what they actually
do -- do they use the product while on the phone or holding the kid with the
other hand?"
The cheat
There is a place for phone and e-mail surveys: to verify the
results and add a quantifiable dimension to the qualitative information you
gather initially. But beware of skipping the in-person interview altogether.
Some companies have gone as far as proscribing that all
interviews must take place face-to-face, the idea being that you either do them
right or don't do them at all. If you can't make all your interviews in person,
then aim for as many as possible in person and conduct the rest by phone. As
Erika Bajars put it, "It's better to talk to people over the phone than to
not talk at all -- but in-person is better."
Worst Practice #2: Bring a prototype to the interview and ask for feedback
Why this does not work
When you show a prototype before finding out what pain
points are driving the customer's behavior, you close the box for them. PDC has
experimented by interviewing with and without prototypes. The data obtained in
the absence of prototypes is much deeper and richer. A prototype in the room
becomes the focus of the conversation. The purpose of these interviews is to
learn about the customer, not to learn about your product.
Best practice - Create an interview guide with
open-ended questions
Asking open-ended questions can be more difficult than you
think. That's why having an interview guide (not a rigid script that you follow
letter-for-letter) can be so helpful. "Chance favors the prepared
mind," as Louis Pasteur said. With a well-thought-out interview guide, you
can have the best of both worlds: an interview that follows the subject's
interests and passions but that comes back to the main areas they may not have
considered.
The cheat
If you, or someone in your organization, insists on getting
feedback on a prototype, at least separate the interviews, or conduct the first
part of the interview before you show the prototype. Certainly, it can be
valuable to have feedback on the direction your product development is taking
-- but only after you have gathered the information that can lead to
innovation. Simply receiving feedback on existing ideas or ideas generated from
within your company does not lead to the category-changing kinds of products
that true innovators produce.
Worst Practice #3: Have your salespeople conduct the interviews.
Why this does not work
There are several reasons why this is not a good idea. While
your salespeople probably have great relationships with their top accounts, you
don't want information just from top accounts. You want to talk to accounts
you've lost or companies who have never bought your product. The chance that a
salesperson could even get an interview at these companies is small. You need
someone who can help foster a level of trust with the interviewee, someone
perceived as neutral. In the minds of customers or potential customers, the
presence of a salesperson implies selling, and they may not trust that the
purpose of the interview is to learn about the problems a customer experiences
in doing his or her job.
Another problem with having a single function conduct the
interview is what you leave on the table. In-person interviews yield a rich
understanding of exactly what challenges customers face. That visceral
understanding often translates into a sustained enthusiasm for carrying out
day-to-day work. You have the opportunity for individuals in R&D, sales,
marketing, purchasing, and any other relevant function to participate in this
experience.
Best practice: Use cross-functional teams to
gather and process information
As part of the cross-functional team, a salesperson can be
extremely valuable, and in fact a good salesperson uses exactly the same skills
-- open-ended questioning, deep listening -- that make the process successful. The
salesperson can be a great door-opener to schedule interviews, but that person
shouldn't lead or initiate the interviews. Pay careful attention to the
structure of the team and be sure to separate the roles of questioner and
note-taker.
Becton Dickinson employed a cross-functional team to conduct
interviews, including clinicians and representatives from public relations,
marketing, sales, and R&D. "Everyone got trained in the process,"
says Erika Bajars. When each of these people returned, they shared the
knowledge with the people they worked with every day. "There's a certain
type of energy that develops when you go out and talk directly with the
customer."
The activities of a cross-functional team from
"corporate" can also sometimes benefit those tough accounts. One
attendee described how, several months after the interviews, the customer asked
the salesperson what had come out of the interviews. In sharing that
information, the salesperson was able to rebuild a relationship of trust and
interest on the part of the customer.
The cheat:
Put together the most diverse team you can. If one function
is missing, you may still be able to gather valuable information, but that
function will miss the invaluable experience of sitting face-to-face with a
customer or potential customer and seeing the challenges that customer faces.
Again, it is better to do interviews with only marketing and product
development participating than not doing them at all.
What Works for You?
Take a look at
The VOC Top Ten. I'd love to hear how you're working these into the front end of your R&D process, what works for you, and what you have to work around.
Drop
me an e-mail.
