Active and passive generation of new product opportunities as spin outs of the ongoing business operation. New product suggestions, changes in marketing plan, resource changes, and new needs/wants in the marketplace. Research, evaluate, validate, and rank them (as opportunities, not specific product concepts). Give major ones a preliminary strategic statement to guide further work on it.
How to Generate Ideas?
Source: Environment
Ways of scanning the environment:
Method & Mean for collecting Information:
Source: Environment
- Scan & Understand the needs & wants of people:
- Take macro-perspective or view larger environment where business will be situated (Look at the Social, Technological, Economic, Environmental, & Political)
Ways of scanning the environment:
- Demand & Supply Gap Analysis
- Import-Export Movement
- Product Substitution
- Observe the community to look at people’s skills
- Look at available businesses: government & private institutions, lead organizations, etc.
- Look at the greenfield market: • Find another location or venue. Once McDonald’s had taken up the best locations for traditional fast-food restaurants, it continued its U.S. expansion by placing stores inside Wal-Marts, in sports arenas, and elsewhere. Starbucks Coffeecomplemented coffee-shop sales by selling its coffee beans and ice creams in supermarkets.
• Leverage your firm’s strengths in a new activity center. Nike has recently moved into golf and hockey, and Honeywell is looking into casino opportunities.
• Identify a fast-growing need, and adapt your products to that need. Hewlett-Packard followed the need for “total information solutions” that led it to develop computing and communications products for the World Cup and other sporting events.
• Find a “new to you” industry: P&G in pharmaceuticals, GE in broadcasting (NBC), Disney in cruises, Rubbermaid in gardening products – either through alliance,acquisition, or internal developme
- Look at emerging social trends: • “Just-in-time” life
• Sensing consumers
• The transparent self
• In search of “enoughness”
• Virtual made real
• Co-creation
Method & Mean for collecting Information:
- Regular vs Continuous Scanning
- Access networks
- Public meetings, trade fairs
- Focused group discussion
- Key people surveys
- Publications
- In- depth Interviews
- Usage & Awareness studies
Obstacles to Idea Generation
• Group think: We think we are being creative, when in reality we are only coming up with ideas that our group will find acceptable.
• Targeting error: We keep going back to the same simple demographic targets (for example, the under-35 or under-50 markets.
• Poor customer knowledge: Lavish research spending doesn’t guarantee that customer research was done well.
• Complexity: Creative types within organizations, as well as senior management, often think that the more complex the idea, the better it is (or the smarter and more promotable they seem).
• Lack of empathy: These same managers are also well-educated, high-income individuals accustomed to an upscale lifestyle. They may simply not understand the “typical” customer.
• Too many cooks: A small new product team works fine, but large companies especially are prone to internal competition for power and influence.
• Targeting error: We keep going back to the same simple demographic targets (for example, the under-35 or under-50 markets.
• Poor customer knowledge: Lavish research spending doesn’t guarantee that customer research was done well.
• Complexity: Creative types within organizations, as well as senior management, often think that the more complex the idea, the better it is (or the smarter and more promotable they seem).
• Lack of empathy: These same managers are also well-educated, high-income individuals accustomed to an upscale lifestyle. They may simply not understand the “typical” customer.
• Too many cooks: A small new product team works fine, but large companies especially are prone to internal competition for power and influence.
The Role of Management in Stimulating Creativity
• Recognize individuality
• Be tolerant of mistakes
• Be supportive under stress
• Techniques include:
– Competitive teams
– Idea bank of unused ideas for possible reuse
– Encourage interaction – even in how offices are laid out
• Be tolerant of mistakes
• Be supportive under stress
• Techniques include:
– Competitive teams
– Idea bank of unused ideas for possible reuse
– Encourage interaction – even in how offices are laid out
Barriers to Firm Creativity
• Cross-functional diversity: Diversity leads to more creative stimulation but also to problem solving difficulties.
• Allegiance to functional areas: Team members need to have a stake in the team’s success, or won’t be loyal to the team.
• Social cohesion: If interpersonal ties among team members are too strong, candid debate may not occur, resulting in less innovative ideas.
• Role of top management: Management should encourage the teams to be adventurous, otherwise only incremental changes will occur.
• Allegiance to functional areas: Team members need to have a stake in the team’s success, or won’t be loyal to the team.
• Social cohesion: If interpersonal ties among team members are too strong, candid debate may not occur, resulting in less innovative ideas.
• Role of top management: Management should encourage the teams to be adventurous, otherwise only incremental changes will occur.