Understanding your customers and providing them with ongoing attention is the backbone of operational excellence. Yet customers themselves are embedded into an environment in flux. That is why it is paramount to take a step back and seek to adopt a broader perspective, spanning the entire global market value chain. Only this holistic view enables […]
To become a leader, analyse the market’s value chain Read Post »
Many start-ups, small or medium-sized companies are eager to grow through innovation. When uncertainty is high, for example about market demand for an innovative product or which market adoption lever is best, market research is a must-have. But the resources and skills required are often limited or non-existent. A well-conducted innovation market study should help
Innovation market study: How to make of it an experience that gives you strength? Read Post »
Your company is setting out to conquer a new B2B market with an innovative offering. Your strategy should be to acquire a significant position as soon as possible in a selected use case, a carefully defined “vertical” that may be geographically extended. It’s like cutting a slice of cheese with a knife: the sharper the
To conquer a new market, prefer the knife to the fork! Read Post »
Marketing managers describe their target market using persona profiles. A persona is a fictional typical customer whose background, values, habits and attitudes towards the product are outlined. Market segmentation classifies buyers or users into groups of individuals with similar characteristics. It enables the development of a marketing strategy tailored to each group. Market segmentation and
Persona: The trap of fake marketing Read Post »
To innovative and ambitious teams, the quest for competitiveness paves the way for success. Really? The quest starts at the very beginning, when the first business plan is drawn up, by making sure that price assumptions are based on robust research. Setting the target selling price is an even trickier stage, as the project team
Innovators: Set as soon as possible your target selling price ! Read Post »
Your company has just completed the development of a promising technological innovation: manufacturing process, high performance material, algorithm, sensor, energy production or storage device, etc. This building block has many potential uses across a broad span of activities. Congratulations! The hiccup is that your resources are limited. How do you pick the best use case?
Technological innovation: How to pick the best use case? Read Post »
You are regularly requested to briefly present your company, for instance at a first meeting with a potential customer or partner, or at the start of a speech at a conference. As you speak, what you can read in the eyes and faces of our audience says a lot about the strength and relevance of
Company positioning statement:How to make a splash? Read Post »
A difficult decision Our era of crises, disruptions and daunting challenges brings companies back to essential questions. Addressing them in earnest requires time. Building a product roadmap allows to answer to one of them: “What will we offer tomorrow and the day after tomorrow?”. It encompasses a vision of the major trends at work in
Should I embark on a product roadmap? Read Post »
Having spent most of my career in marketing, I never miss an opportunity to champion the added value of this function, and the importance of acquiring solid training and experience before taking on responsibilities. It is therefore with perplexity that I sometimes discover the gap between the advertised function and the actual skills of the
Industry: What to do with the usurpers of the marketing title? Read Post »
Until recently, financial investors in industrial companies where keen to slash first marketing and communication costs to improve cash flow and short-term profitability. Geopolitical crises, economic sovereignty policies, the digitalisation of production, and efforts to reduce CO2 emissions have increased the interest in relocating factories closer to end markets. A new generation of investors is
Industrial CAPEX:Do not forget to invest in marketing! Read Post »