Directions

• Video #69: Overview of Products and Services Part 1: How to Look
• Video #70: Overview of Products and Services Part 2: What to Expect
• Video #71: Overview of Products and Services Part 3: What to Do

The objective of the Improve Products and Services section of StrategyStreet is to help you develop innovations to improve the products and services you offer your customers. This section offers you several thousand innovation ideas that have been used by management teams in over 400 industries since 1984. Before continuing with your innovation activities, we recommend that you read our overview Perspective, “Patterns of Product and Service Innovation.”

Before using the innovation ideas for the first time, we recommend you take five steps to focus your efforts:

STEP 1: DEFINE YOUR CUSTOMER/SUPPLIER RELATIONSHIP

Define the customer for whom you are developing new products and services. We offer these innovation ideas for three separate customer/supplier transactions: Skip to Section >>

An Intermediary customer buying from a product producer

An Intermediary customer is one who purchases the product for resale or who plays the major role in recommending the product purchase to the Final customer. Shortcut to Examples >>

A Final customer buying from a product producer

The Final customer is the one who makes the final decision on what product to buy and from which supplier to buy it. Some Final customers purchase directly from the producer of a product. Shortcut to Examples >>

A Final customer buying from an Intermediary

Most consumer products, and many industrial products, reach Final customers through Intermediaries. Shortcut to Examples >>

STEP 2: DESCRIBE YOUR CUSTOMER’S COSTS

Describe the four costs your key customers incur with their current products and services. Skip to Section >>

Intermediary customers incur four typical costs with the product over its entire life: Obtain, Sell, Guarantee and Return.

Final customers incur four typical costs with the product over its entire life: Acquire, Use, Maintain and Dispose.

STEP 3: REVIEW KEY PERFORMANCE INNOVATION VIDEOS

We recommend that you review the following videos, which we designed to help you develop effective product and service innovations:

• Video #17: Value and the Customer Buying Hierarchy
• Video #25: Short Explanation of Customer Buying Hierarchy
• Video #37: Performance Innovation Tradeoffs in Hostility
• Video #78: Competing Against Low-End Competition Part 1
• Video #79: Competing Against Low-End Competition Part 2

STEP 4: REVIEW OPTIONS TO ADD PERFORMANCE

Review the three main options you have to improve performance and reduce your customer’s costs: add knowledge, reduce resources and improve experience. Skip to Section >>

• Audio Tip #64: The Objectives of a Performance Improvement Program

• Audio Tip #68: Producing a Net Value Improvement for Customers

• Audio Tip #79: How Much Must My Product Reduce the Customer’s Costs?

• Audio Tip #80: Measuring Customer Cost Savings

STEP 5: USE INNOVATION IDEAS TO DEVELOP NEW PRODUCTS AND SERVICES FOR YOUR CUSTOMER

An Intermediary customer buying from a product producer. Examples>>

A Final customer buying from a product producer. Examples>>

A Final customer buying from an Intermediary. Examples>>

Organizing the innovation ideas: Review how we have organized the innovation ideas for you. Skip to Section >>

We suggest you use this section of the website as follows: Open the portion of the innovation outline of interest to you. Create innovation ideas to innovate your current products and services for your customers, using only the outline. Use the examples supporting the outline item in order to expand your range of ideas.

• Worksheet #12: How to Produce Results with Innovation Meetings

<Innovation Ideas

Basic Strategy Guide Users Go To: Step 18

RELATED LINKS

For a greater overall perspective on this subject, we recommend the following related items. Especially helpful is the Perspective, “Patterns of Product and Service Innovation.”

Perspectives: Since 1985, we have conducted an ongoing in-depth study of companies and industries who face particularly competitive marketplaces. This section of the website enables you to apply the results of this extensive research to your business situation.

	List of Price Point Coverage Perspectives
	List of Performance Innovation Perspectives

Symptoms and Implications: This section allows you to check current developments in your industry in order to understand their implications for the future of your marketplace.

	List of Price Point Coverage Symptoms and Implications
	List of Performance Innovation Symptoms and Implications

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