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Chap 004

This chapter discusses methods for generating new product concepts, including gathering ready-made concepts from external sources or using internal processes. It describes sourcing concepts from users through toolkits, crowdsourcing, and consulting lead users. Open innovation is introduced as a process of searching externally for ideas from customers, partners, and the public. The chapter also defines what constitutes a product concept and how it differs from a simple idea.

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Alka Ferrian
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54 views31 pages

Chap 004

This chapter discusses methods for generating new product concepts, including gathering ready-made concepts from external sources or using internal processes. It describes sourcing concepts from users through toolkits, crowdsourcing, and consulting lead users. Open innovation is introduced as a process of searching externally for ideas from customers, partners, and the public. The chapter also defines what constitutes a product concept and how it differs from a simple idea.

Uploaded by

Alka Ferrian
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PPT, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Chapter 4

Creativity and the Product Concept

4-1
TOPICS
Setting Preparation
• Product Innovation Charter
• Finding the right people
• Management role’s in creativity
• Activities to encourage creativity
• Special rewards
• The removal of roadblocks
Setting Preparation
• Product Innovation Charter
• Finding the right people
 Creative and productive staff
• Harry Coover, the discoverer of superglue. He was working on plastics from
which to cast precision gunsights. The plastic he created did not work well
for creating the sights, but worked excellently at bonding things
together.
• He also was the first to get the idea that superglues could be used by doctors as
an adhesive for human tissues.
• He demonstrates that originality and usefulness are both important characteristics
of creative ideas.

https://www.cedesa.co.uk/who-invented-superglue.html
“Inventing new ways to think.”

• Nobel Prize–winning physicist Richard


Feynman called it “inventing new ways to
think.”
• For example, what is half of 13?
The Role of Management in
Stimulating Creativity
• Recognize individuality
• Be tolerant of mistakes
– Michael Dell: innovation involves learning from
failures
• Be supportive under stress
• Techniques include:
– Competitive teams
• Deadline, flextime
– Idea bank of unused ideas for possible reuse
– Encourage interaction
4-7
Setting Preparation
• Special rewards (examples)
 The famous Thomas Watson of IBM commonly carried
spare cash in his pockets so he could reward persons
with good ideas when he heard them.
 Presidential Awards for Excellence
 Thanksgiving week off
Setting Preparation

• The removal of roadblocks


What are the barriers to firm creativity?
Barriers to Firm Creativity
• Cross-functional diversity
– More creative stimulation
– Information overload
• Allegiance to functional areas
– Only loyal to the functional areas, not to the team
• Social cohesion
– Strong interpersonal ties: friendly agreement, less innovative
ideas
• Role of top management
– “simply won’t work,” or “it’s against policy,” or “we don’t
do things that way.”

4-10
Product Concept
• The three inputs required by the creation
process:
– Form (the physical thing created, or, for a
service, the set of steps by which the service
will be created)
– Technology (the source by which the form is to
be attained)
– Benefit/Need (benefit to the customer for which
the customer sees a need or desire)

Technology permits us to develop a form that


provides the benefit.
4-11
The New Product Concept
Figure 4.4

Any two of the three


(form, benefit,
technology) can come
together to make a
concept, a potential
product. All three
together produce a
new product that may
or may not be
successful.

4-12
Example

• Benefit: “Consumers want decaffeinated


espresso that tastes identical to regular.”
• Form: “We should make a darker, thicker,
Turkish-coffee-like espresso.”
• Technology: “There’s a new chemical
extraction process that isolates and
separates chemicals from foods; maybe we
can use that for decaffeinating espresso
coffee.”
4-13
Some Patterns in Concept
Generation
• Customer need  firm develops technology
 produces form
• Firm develops technology  finds match to
need in a customer segment  produces form
• Firm envisions form  develops technology to
product form  tests with customer to see what
benefits are delivered

Note: the innovation process can start with any


of the three inputs.
4-14
THINK!
• In the creation process, any of the three
inputs can start the process in generating
the concept. However, putting “benefit”
last is very risky.

• Do you are agree with this statement?

4-15
What is a Product Concept?
• A product concept is a verbal or prototype
statement of what is going to be changed
and how the customer stands to gain or
lose.

• Rule: You need at least two of the three


inputs to have a feasible new product
concept, and all three to have a new
product.

4-16
Why Do You Need a Product Concept
and Not Just an Idea?

• Needed to judge whether it is worthy of


development
• Potential customers do not have enough
information to judge the worthiness of an idea: the
product concept gives them the required
information.
• Ex.: Would a taxi operator like cars with a 10 cents per mile
operating cost? (need)
– Not if it used Caterpillar tractor technology instead of
wheels! (need plus technology)

4-17
Example

• Idea: A new and improved toilet brush.


• Concept: A toilet brush that contains
detergent, refillable, and easy for the customer
to attach to the handle.
• Product (executions of this concept):
– Lysol Ready Brush
– Scrubbing Bubbles Fresh Brush
– Clorox Toilet Wand

4-18
What a Concept Is and Is Not

IS: “Learning needs of computer users can


be met by using online systems to let
them see training videos on the leading
software packages.” (good concept; need
and technology clear)

4-19
What a Concept Is and Is Not

IS NOT: “A new way to solve the in-home


training/educational needs of PC users.”
(need only; actually more like a wish)

4-20
What a Concept Is and Is Not

IS NOT: “Let’s develop a new line of


instructional videos.” (technology only,
lacking market need and form)

4-21
Methods for Generating Product
Concepts
• How should we go about generating new
product concepts?

Two Broad Categories of Methods:


• Ready-made versus do-it-ourselves
– Gathering ready-made product concepts
created by others
– Using a managed process run by the new
products team (Chapters 5-7)
4-22
Sources of Ready-Made New Product
Concepts

4-23
Ready-Made New Product Ideas
• Ways to source customer ideas:
– User toolkits, crowdsourcing, and lead user
analysis
• Ways to source from external partners
– Open innovation

4-24
User Toolkits
• User Toolkits
– A toolkit is a user-friendly set of design tools that
customers can use, together with their
understanding of their own needs, to customize
a product that would be best suited to them.
– Product configuration.
– Mass customization

4-25
User Innovation

• A set of design tools that customers can use to


customize a product best suited to them.
• Example: International Flavors and Fragrances:
Internet-based toolkit that provides a database
of flavor profiles and rules on how to combine
them. Customer can specify flavor mixes that
are immediately made into samples; customer
can then make adjustments until the desired
flavor is obtained.

4-26
Crowdsourcing

• Many firms have recently gone online to


obtain product ideas from their customers
efficiently: this kind of open idea
solicitation is known as crowdsourcing

VOICE of
CUSTOMERS
4-27
Lead Users
• Many firms seek to elicit new product ideas
from their lead users, that is, the
customers associated with a significant
current trend .
• Characteristics of lead users: they are at the
front edge of the trend, have the best
understanding of the problems faced, and
expect to gain significantly from solutions to
those problems.

4-28
Lead Users
• Suppose your firm makes snowboards for use by
extreme athletes in competition, such as the X-
Games.
• So what should your next generation of snowboard
be like?
– Shorter?
– Longer?
– Lighter?
– Heavier?
– Wider?
– More flexible?
How should you know? Whom should you ask?

4-29
Open Innovation
• The process by which a firm searches for
research, innovation, technologies, and
products.
• Increases speed of research and innovation,
cuts risks, and generates new innovative
ideas.
• Inputs can come from internal sources
(marketing, strategic planning) and external
ones (customers, market information, etc.).
– Inside-out, outside-in, and coupled
4-30
Open Innovation
• A new paradigm for innovation in which the
firm makes a strategic commitment to use
the knowledge in the external environment to
improve innovation performance
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GD2wCS2xwWQ

4-31

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