Creating Insanely Great Customers Accelerating Innovation Culture and Strategy

Accelerating Innovation Strategy & Culture

Michael ConnorAuthor, Speaker, Catalyst

10 Questions, metrics and actions to help CEO’s assess and accelerate innovation strategy

Creating Insanely Great Customers

Creating Insanely Great Customers Accelerating Innovation Culture and Strategy

A Perfect Stormis blurring the boundaries between how we engage customers and innovate!

Creating Insanely Great Customers Accelerating Innovation Culture and Strategy

In a market driven by a Perfect Storm of innovation there is one thing you must do to stay relevant and grow.

Accelerate the value you create for your most visionary customers, the Insanely Great ones.“

- Michael Connor

Creating Insanely Great Customers Accelerating Innovation Culture and Strategy

“Here's to the crazy ones, the misfits, the rebels, the troublemakers, the round pegs in the square holes... the ones who see things differently -- they're not fond of rules... You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them, but the only thing you can't do is ignore them because they change things... they push the human race forward, and while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius, because the ones who are crazy enough to think that they can change the world, are the ones who do.

Apple, Think Different Campaign

Creating Insanely Great Customers Accelerating Innovation Culture and Strategy

Always-On Innovation Roadmap

• Vision: Reframe your mission to be “Always-On” creation of customer value

• Identify: Identify your most visionary “Insanely Great” Customers

• Develop: Develop “Always-On Innovation Zones” that accelerate customer value

• Engage: Engage customers in “Always-On” marketing and innovation initiatives

• Transform: Transform thinking, processes, and systems to Always-On innovation

Creating Insanely Great Customers Accelerating Innovation Culture and Strategy

How do your vision and culture create unique value for you and visionary customers driving innovation? 1 Vision

CEO Acceleration

Metrics• Company vision embraces Always-On innovation

• Culture focused on accelerating customer value

• Culture rewards engaging visionary customers in innovation

• Marketing, Product Development, and innovation strategies prioritize needs of visionary customers

• Actively lead re-visioning company for new opportunities

• Set example by continually engaging visionary customers

• Establish culture / compensation / initiatives that focus company on finding and engaging these customers in innovation

Creating Insanely Great Customers Accelerating Innovation Culture and Strategy

Who are your most visionary customers? 2 Identify

CEO Acceleration

Metrics• Have defined list of visionary customers in each major market

segment

• Focus and align company processes to identify and understand these thought leaders

Creating Insanely Great Customers Accelerating Innovation Culture and Strategy

What areas of innovation and customer engagement create the greatest value for your most visionary customers?

3 Identify

CEO Acceleration

Metrics• Clear map of where these customers are driving

innovation and why• Assessment of what customer segments & innovation

will drive greatest company growth• Links established between customer innovation zones

and company strategies for innovation, products, customer engagement, and vendor partners

• Focus company on identifying customer segments, innovation zones and engagement practices that create greatest value for customers and company

Creating Insanely Great Customers Accelerating Innovation Culture and Strategy

What unique value do your product, partnering, and engagement strategies create for your most visionary customers?

4 Develop

CEO Acceleration

Metrics• Clear definition and verification of how product, innovation,

partnering, and customer engagement strategies create unique value for visionary customers within the innovation zones of highest and growth

• Identification and engagement of innovation partners• Ongoing assessment and refinement of incoming trends and

technologies and how they influence above

• Focus company on continually assessing and refining and communicating that value

Creating Insanely Great Customers Accelerating Innovation Culture and Strategy

How will innovations in technology and business impact your most visionary customers and how they value your solutions and innovation initiatives?

5 Develop

CEO Acceleration

Metrics• Identification of emerging technologies and business models• Assessment of risk / opportunity those create for key market /

customer segments and for company• Assessment, exploration, investment / development roadmap

• Prioritization, funding and support for continual evaluation, exploration and development of innovative ways to harness the above to create new value

Creating Insanely Great Customers Accelerating Innovation Culture and Strategy

How are your customer insight and market intelligence programs creating leadership advantage for you and your most visionary customers?

6 Develop

CEO Acceleration

Metrics• Ongoing market insight and analysis in place designed to

understand and assist visionary customers in mapping emerging technology and market opportunities and risks

• Insight initiatives tied to primary innovation zones

• Prioritize analysis in market and customer insight analysis for visionary customers.

• Evaluating cross organizational sharing and action based on above.

Creating Insanely Great Customers Accelerating Innovation Culture and Strategy

What incremental value do your marketing and customer engagement strategies create for your most visionary customers?

7 Engage

CEO Acceleration

Metrics• Marketing programs focused on thought leadership• Definitive understanding of the innovation journey / process

needs of visionary customers• Incorporation of those needs into marketing approach, customer

engagement and materials

• Support and funding for marketing initiatives and engagement processes focused on thought leadership and visionary customers

• Validate value being created with visionary customers

Creating Insanely Great Customers Accelerating Innovation Culture and Strategy

How do you align team skills, decision making, and management to support continual collaborative, customer value led innovation?

8 Transform

CEO Acceleration

Metrics• Lean company and Agile training, mentoring and methods in

place• Leadership team with affinity and experience in emerging

technology and trends• Decision process that focuses on investing in things that create

breakthrough outcomes / value for customer and company

• Advocate for Agile / Lean management• Build an executive team committed to Agile / Lean• Accelerate decision making to stay relevant in fast changing

market• Emphasize time bound initiatives and investments based on

customer validated business outcomes

Creating Insanely Great Customers Accelerating Innovation Culture and Strategy

How do you align process improvement with the areas that create the greatest value for your mostvisionary customers?

9 Transform

CEO Acceleration

Metrics• Process optimization initiatives prioritized on accelerating

delivery of value for visionary customers in customer segments and innovation zones that create growth and value

• Processes continually refined to support Lean / Agile• Emphasis on customer value / outcome based metrics

• Support and funding for marketing initiatives and engagement processes focused on thought leadership and visionary customers

• Validate value being created with visionary customers

Creating Insanely Great Customers Accelerating Innovation Culture and Strategy

How engaged are visionary customers in your innovation and engagement strategy. 10 Transform

CEO Acceleration

CEO Metrics• Visionary customers engaged in:

• Strategy• Products• Innovation• Marketing & Service assessment

• Act as a role model for engagement through customer advisory boards

• Engaging in mutual discovery sessions and strategy formulation• Support / reward teams across company for engaging

Creating Insanely Great Customers Accelerating Innovation Culture and Strategy

Creating Insanely Great Customers

“There is a lot written about creating great companies, but dramatically less about how to create great customers, customers that fuel your company’s innovation engine and help drive it to greatness. This book does that.

Bill Rusitzky,VP Strategic Alliances & Business DevelopmentAdobe

Creating Insanely Great Customers, takes the concepts of customer development and puts them on steroids.

The book helps you identify Insanely Great Customers, create an environment of "always on" innovation, and leverage today's technology to engage customers in Always-On Innovation.”

Steve JohnsonProduct management guru, speaker, authorUnder 10 Consulting

Click here to sign up for a free .pdf review copy

Creating Insanely Great Customers Accelerating Innovation Culture and Strategy

Mike ConnorThank You

mike@spicecatalyst.com

Principal Chief Crazy Officer

Creating Insanely Great Customers