Book Review: NEW PRODUCT BLUEPRINTING

New Product Blueprinting

New Product Blueprinting
Author: Dan Adams
ISBN-13:  9780980112344
Topic:  Business & Economics – Product Development
Format:  Hardcover
Language:  English
Publication Year:  2008





Review:

New Product Blueprinting explains how to develop new products to grow your company organically.  To grow from within by developing outstanding products and services.  The goal is to retain current customers and find new ones.  The alternative is to grow with debt financing or through the minefield of mergers and acquisitions.  

The problem is your competitors are employing the same debt and M&A strategies, you need to out-smart them by ending your mistakes, the same mistakes they are making.  If you can correct your course, you will propel past your competitors.

Something I found useful in the book was the use of the seven deadly sins of B2B companies.  Relying too much or too little on the sales team’s vision of “what the customer wants.”  A salesperson is unlikely to uncover a full set of market needs, especially if he is rewarded for near-term selling.  If you instead put a salesperson on a team with marketing and technical colleagues, train all in advanced B2B interviewing methods, you will run circles around your competition.

To truly hear the "voice of the customer" (VOC) a team conducts customer tours and Discovery Interviews, generating scores of potential needs to pursue. A laptop, projector and Blueprinter software are used with powerful listening and probing skills. Later, the team conducts Preference Interviews to gather hard data about customer needs

This book is very focused on the fact that if you are a B2B company, your methods are out of date.  

About the Author

Dan Adams is president of Advanced Industrial Marketing Inc.  He is passionate about B2B new product development.  In over 30 years working within and with major B2B corporations, he has explored every aspect of product development, building New Product Blueprinting from the ground up. He is a chemical engineer and holder of many patents and innovation awards, including a listing in the National Inventors Hall of Fame. Adams was head of strategic planning for a billion-dollar company and has extensive experience in Fortune 500 marketing, business development and leadership positions. He is an award-winning speaker and conducts workshops in every region of the world.

Book Review: BUSINESS INNOVATION FOR DUMMIES

BUSINESS INNOVATION FOR DUMMIES

Business Innovation for Dummies

Author: Alexander Hiam
ISBN-13:  9780470601747
Topic:  Business & Economics – Business Management
Format:  Softcover
Language:  English
Publication Year:  2010

BUY IT NOW

Review:
Easy to read format, typical of the . . . For Dummies Series.  Filled with actionable tips to get new ideas for your business.  This is a workbook and very useful.  Recommended for business owners and top managers.

Business Innovation For Dummies gives you practical, easy-to-follow information for generating new ideas, using creativity to boost sales, solving problems creatively, mastering the art of invention, honing creative thinking skills, and identifying new opportunities.

• Advice on how to apply creativity to the workplace
• Ideas for spicing up presentations
• Shows you how innovation leads to more productive business 

About The Author

Alexander Hiam is the author of more than twenty popular books on business, including Marketing For Dummies and Marketing Kit For Dummies. Formerly a professor at the business school at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, he has had many Fortune 500 firms and large U.S. government agencies as his clients.


Take-Aways:
Once a week, focus on something big. That’s the biggest secret of successful innovators -- they elbow aside the routine stuff and find time to focus on something major.


“Eat ideas for lunch,” says Hiam. “Make a lunch date with a creative friend and lay these ground rules: Brainstorm about the topic of your choice, and in order to earn a bite, you have to suggest an idea. If you finish and don’t have the breakthrough idea you need, order dessert.”

Hiam also recommends working on your self-talk – the tendency to over-generalize from failures can depress your creative impulse. Creativity and innovation are tightly tied to mood, and hopefulness and optimism produce innovation. Work on your state of mind first, he says, and the innovative behavior you want will naturally follow.

He also suggests you cross train in art. Even if you never achieve full mastery of cooking, playing guitar or dancing, the journey offers many benefits. Studying anything artistic is a great way to get in touch with and strengthen your creative self.
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Business Innovation For Dummies is for anyone looking to become more creative in their work. It helps generate new ideas, spice-up presentations, boost sales, solve problems, master the art of invention, hone creative thinking skills, and identify new opportunities.

“Being creative at work means bringing a special spark to it and recognizing that things are going to change,” says Hiam. “So why not be the one who dreams up and then spearheads innovations?”

MARKETING: Use Social Media to Build Your Opt-In List

Here are five tips for using social media to build your opt-in list:

1.      Join Targeted Groups and Post Effective Discussions. Within your social networks, choose the groups wisely in which you will participate, focusing on groups that are active and contain your target market. You should post discussions to demonstrate your professional expertise and drive people to your website, taking care to make your headlines short and interesting. Making the headline for your post a question is an effective attention-getter, or using wording containing phrases like "tips for" or "strategies for," also works very well. Be sure to post a paragraph-long teaser in the discussion body telling people what helpful information you have to share and include a link to your website where they can read it in full. Close with a question for the reader or a statement soliciting feedback. When readers comment, your post will remain at the top of the group list where more people can see it.
  

2.      Make Sure your Website is "Opt-in" Friendly. Make sure your opt-in form is prominent throughout your website, with a message telling visitors that when they sign up for your list they will receive helpful information as opposed to spam. You can also include incentives to help encourage people to opt-in. E-books work nicely.
  

3.      Invite Every One…But Don't Pester! Every time you get a friend request or a new follower, send a message introducing yourself and include an invitation (with the link to your site’s opt-in form) to sign up for the helpful information you send to your list. If the new connection does not immediately respond, don't message them again with a repeat of your invitation. If they didn't take the bait through the initial invitation, you’ll have plenty of chances to win them over as they continue to see the wealth of information you have to share.
  

4.      Be Direct…But Not Too Often. If you have a helpful and valuable incentive to offer, occasionally post updates inviting your friends and followers to go get it! Keep in mind you are treading a thin line with this type of post, so make sure they are infrequent and are mixed in with many posts that are completely non-promotional in nature. You don't want to be considered "that guy" who's just there to promote to people.
  

5.      Be Consistent in Your Social Networking! The key to making points 1 – 4 above really work for you is – stay active in your networks and groups. If you are only an occasional visitor, you might as well “stay home.” In order to reap the rewards of these strategies, post often and wisely, and pay attention to your group members.