Consumer product companies use crude prototypes to create new innovations. First, a list of potential consumer problems to solve is created and concept tested. Then, 2-D versions are tested on paper, followed by rough 3-D models. Each time getting feedback and refining along the way: Can we build it? Does the customer care about it? Will they pay for it?
But for private businesses–especially B2B companies–the concept of a prototype is foreign. But it can be a powerful way to reduce the risk and increase the impact of new products and services.
It reduces your risk of investing time or money in an idea that your customer might not care about or your company is not ready to deliver.
Prototyping can help you increase the impact by editing the idea along the way to focus on what matters most to your customer.
The process of prototyping might be:
- Create a hypothesis about how you could better relieve a customer’s pain. See my blog Double Your Failure Rate.
- Test your hypotheses by actually creating the offer–on paper, on your website, in a broadcast email or in a sales presentation–to gauge interest.
- Refine your offer based on direct customer feedback.
- And then repeat steps 1-4.
This week I am encouraging business owners to try more things. To find out what customers really want. To create more prototypes. To test ideas, new products or services, new ways to price, bold new marketing approaches.
To intentionally set out to fail faster and cheaper than ever before.
~Tony
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Our three-minute Big Strategy Assessment is designed to get you thinking. To get your team talking. To begin to answer the question “How do we create better growth?” Take it here and get the conversation going.