Keys to New Product Success (Part – 3) – Need identification in early product lifecycle

  ”You are a product manager in company ABC, involved in electronic displays, sensing etc. One day, research team comes up with a novel product i.e. a display that can not only show images/movies in 3D, but also gives you 3D touch-feeling when you place your hand on display. The project is code named “3DSense”.  The research team has spent considerable amount of resources & time on this project. There are still many issues to be resolved. Due to increased pressure for meeting revenue targets & to streamline the research direction, they have approached you to make strategic product road-map that is driven by customer needs & also help to self sustain the budgets for further development.”

Now, you decide to talk directly to number of customers to understand their perspective. You are not convinced about the maturity of technology to serve few obvious applications. Without further customer interest/feedback, a place for pilot, a compelling application & a willing customer as technology stands today, the project would be shelved. How would you go about it & which customer segments & applications do you target?

•1.       First, understand possibilities: Technology is obviously in stage 1 of its lifecycle. There are underlying performance & reliability issues. Brainstorm with research teams, developers, engineering teams & understand various functions, technology can satisfy under different operating & ambient conditions. Also, list down external constraints (like platform related) for other adjacent applications.

For example 3DSense, functions that are readily satisfied could be touch-feeling for small surface unevenness, detection of sharp edges, differentiate hard & soft surfaces, feeling of objects greater than say 5mm, straight-line detection etc. There could be some constraints like temperature effects, performance issues for smaller objects, curved surfaces etc. There could be platform constraints like limitation of camera to sense effective 3D, large size data management, communication speed, compatibility issues etc. Some applications might require other companies in value chain to develop other complementing technologies/products for creating compelling applications. Make a complete dashboard of ready applications, adjacent applications with platform issues/supporting complementary technology issues etc.

•2.      Identify Compelling Applications: Prioritization is utmost important step. For applications, that technology could readily satisfy; selection shall be based on number of factors & is highly contextual. Some of factors could be; ability of product to become mainstream some day (& hence, market size & macro trends), ability to create value & its sustenance in a profitable manner, threat of alternates & substitutes, ability to reach out to customers with existing sales/channel force etc.

For 3DSense, the main stream application can be multi-media gaming industry, entertainment etc. Then there is no point in selecting say “reading-support for blind” as stage 1 user. The current VOC needs & trajectory in which technology develops from this application may not assist mainstream product. Also, stage 1 user may not be good reference for main stream segment. Instead applications such as remote operational or quality control might be good starting point. This application may have similar architecture, but demands for performance must be limited.

•3.      Identify user context: For the application identified, identify all user stake holders. Know who shall use it, how, where & under what constraints is he going to use it. What are important to him for doing his job better & how product is going to help him in that direction? User & thereby industry attitude or resistance towards adoption shall depend upon products that require user to change current mode of working, behavior, significant learning or require changing other current products or services. Hence, adoption shall depend upon their characteristic response to these changes. The acceptance is easier if product can just compliment the existing system with additional benefits.

•4.      Identify technology enthusiasts & industry innovative leaders: There will always be certain company which leads the industry with latest technologies & benchmark, which others follow. They understand initial short comings of new products; & are willing to use it & give necessary feedback. They like to work closely with development teams. These customers like to adopt new product, just to be ahead of industry or the solution offered to them should give a performance which is an order better.

                In summery, this stage throws up unique set challenges & technical performance issues. Early life cycle is the stage where early users/uses of product are defined. This will ultimately define how mainstream product shall look like & which are the segments, users & applications ultimately targeted. Create reference customers who will help in accelerating to main stream. They are unique in their needs & demands for functions, performance, price, customer support etc. They don’t represent the needs of mainstream customers, but act as stepping stone or gate keepers. The issues shall also be unique in terms of broader cultural & behavioral adaptability & acceptability, industry regulation issues & help evolving value proposition. Make & prioritize VOC targeted at these early adopters & early issues. Evolve the needs as product progresses to next stage of life cycle.