Finding Balance!

July 21st, 2010

Me!

Generally, we’ve seen many organizations move away from having a product centric stance to one that is more customer centric.

In my opinion, there isn’t really a right or wrong approach to take…it’s all about finding balance.  Success will be determined by how you execute the particular strategy you choose for your business.

Being customer centric, you might ask “What unmet needs to my customers have?” In order to figure that out, you’d have to go directly to the source and find the problems from which you can create solutions. The product centric approach asks the question “How can I create something to satisfy a need my customers may not even be aware of?” Companies that have successfully achieved market dominance through product centric approaches include 3M, Apple Corporation, Nike, Toyota and Google.

Everyone seems to dog the product centric approach! So, I’ll root for it in today’s post!

Giving Customers what they want and need…even if they don’t know it!

At an organization that takes a product centric approach, there is a strong commitment to delivering the best products possible to the marketplace; whether it’s one of a kind and unique, or is possibly a substitute to other products in the marketplace.

Taking a product centric approach is about creating revolutionary products, regardless of industry. Innovation is what’s key at any organization that is product centric.

The perfect example of a well-know organization taking a product centric approach is Apple and their very popular iPod.  There was no product like it before it hit the market and it created a need and want in consumers. Would it have been possible to develop the iPod using a customer centric approach? The likelihood is slim. The Apple iPod is a true intersection of great product design and the identified latent pain that not even its potential users were aware of.

Getting a Grip on Innovation

Managing innovation is not easy, especially in the initial stages of design when there are many ideas flying around, changes constantly being made and when nothing is ever really final. The coordination of different business units and people can impede the innovation process.  It’s not easy; you many find yourself asking “How are we going to make this work?” There are many technology solutions that can bring together all the pieces that you need to effectively manage your products and will ultimately be a key to the success of any product centric organization.   You’ll need a solution that can bring all the necessary people and processes together in a central environment that will allow team members to find the information they need when they need it. With a solution that can achieve that you can put more effort and attention into making the best products possible instead of trying to manage the processes that are required to get them to market.

Do you have an opinion? Which do you think is better? The Product Centric or Customer Centric Approach?

Leave us your comments!

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Building a Business Case for Going Green

April 20th, 2010

green

We’ve written an article about Going Green that you’ll be able to have access to soon, but until then, I wanted write about getting organization buy-in for Green!

There is probably a general sentiment that practices towards environmental sustainability while protecting the interests of an organization’s bottom line is not mutually exclusive. In reality, they can be mutually exclusive if done right…and getting it done right doesn’t have to be difficult at all.

In terms of our business and the client companies and the ones we target, “Going Green” is all about efficient manufacturing.  Do we say “Go Green” in our marketing communications? No. We focus more on manufacturing efficiency and make mention of the positive effects in can have on the environment. And if you’re looking to champion Green Initiatives in your workplace, you should do the same. If you can build a strong business case outlining the benefits of efficient manufacturing and mention the “Go Green” part five minutes into your document/presentation you have a better chance of having your goal met.

While Going Green sure looks good and it may bring your organization better brand value, trust and credibility, those benefits can only be realized in the long term and is hard to quantify in dollars and cents.

Improving on processes and saving of valuable company resources are much easier to quantify in ROI. Make sure you also include supporting evidence, for example, the European Union estimates that more than 80% of a product’s environmental impact is determined in the product conception phase.  So improving that process could not only minimize waste of resources but contribute to beneficial environmental factors as well.

Has your organization gone green? Share with us how you were able to achieve organizational buy in.

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Making Your Processes Better!

April 12th, 2010

process_improvement_cartoon

Do you have processes that are slow, inefficient and/or have been around since 1896, the year your company was incorporated, then this post is probably for you. Don’t worry, when you’re using archaic methods to execute your processes the only thing left to do is fast forward to the future.

It’s probably not even your fault. Things happen. Processes sometimes pop out of nowhere quite quickly, purely out of the need to get things done, prevent problems, maybe even fix problems or make things better. Soon after a process is created, it is  neglected. Never to be touched again really, expect MAYBE in situations out of need. For example, there is a regulatory change or some other kind of company mandated requirement that requires a change in how a process is executed.

Getting comfortable is not ideal. A process can’t be developed to never…(or almost never) be touched again. There are no review and update procedures and maintaining the status quo is just easier.

It’s not uncommon for paper-based systems to go electronic, with e-mail, workflow systems and other web based tools, however, a bad process on paper will be a bad process in electronic format. For example, instead of keeping a document in a filing cabinet, you might keep it in some online repository, but you really haven’t made the process any better,  maybe simpler, but definitely not BETTER.

If you have the available resources, you may want to consider reviewing some of your company processes and the solutions to help you automate and amplify those processes. It’s a great way to build a competitive advantage in a number of different areas. It’s also a good use of your internal resources, because it will generate a return for your organization, getting rid of inefficiences or cutting out unnecessary costs.

You can also take a collaborative approach (which I recommend), by being honest and mapping out processes EXACTLY the way they are and solicit advice from people who actually do the work within a process on how they would make the process better. Not only will you gain valuable insight, but should you choose to adopt a new solution to manage your processes, you’ll encounter less resistance to the change.

Are you considering improving some of your processes? You can visit out Business Process Management webpage here!

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