Customer Centric Product Definition

Citation

Porter, J.L. (2003), "Customer Centric Product Definition", Journal of Consumer Marketing, Vol. 20 No. 2, pp. 174-175. https://doi.org/10.1108/jcm.2003.20.2.174.3

Midway through her adventures in Wonderland, Alice asked the Cheshire Cat which way she ought to go. “That depends a good deal on where you want to get to”, said the Cat. “I don’t much care where”, said Alice. “Then it doesn’t matter which way you go”, said the Cat. “So long as I get somewhere”, Alice added as an explanation. “Oh, you’re sure to do that”, said the Cat, “if you only walk long enough” – (From Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, by Lewis Carroll).

Sound familiar? This seems to be a common product development problem. This book helps to take the guesswork out of the process.

In Mello’s own words, “It [Market‐Driven Product Definition] addresses the customer’s requirements in a systematic, analytical and repeatable way to generate a product definition that will lead to innovative product solutions, with attendant measurable results for companies” (p. 5). Studies by Product Development Consulting Inc. (PDC), a firm devoted to helping companies optimize processes throughout the product life‐cycle, confirm that using Market‐Driven Product Definition produces results. According to PDC, Market‐Driven Product Definition decreases time to market, thereby saving companies money and often accounting for the difference between being a market leader and the rest of the pack.

Throughout the book, Mello provides case studies of the product development process. Possibly the most interesting of these is Mello’s examples of the focus being shifted from product‐centric thinking to customer‐centric thinking, as in the illustration of the Ford Edsel versus the Ford Mustang. For most Baby Boomers, the name Edsel is commonly associated with failure.

The Edsel had all sorts of innovative features that later became standards of the industry. Customers, however, did not see all these features as something that equated to making a purchase of a vehicle with a larger engine, quality problems, and a higher price. Less than ten years later the Mustang was developed for a completely different reason. It was created as Lee Iacocca and Ford saw the needs of the modern family evolve. The Mustang was manufactured after Ford researched the customer and really understood the consumer’s need, wants and desires.

Lee Iacocca, in a later biography, described the difference between the developments of the two cars: “Whereas the Edsel had been a car in search of a market it never found, here was a market in search of a car. The normal procedure in Detroit was to build a car and then try and identify its buyers. But we were in a position to move in the opposite direction – and tailor a new product for a hungry new market” (p. 13). Sounds simple to most, but as most marketing folks will tell you, nine out of ten new products fail.

An overview of the Market‐Driven Product Definition Process can be seen on page 28, Figure 1.2. The book is organized into 12 chapters and has an extensive appendix at the end. Chapter 1 discusses what Market‐Driven Product Definition is and why it should be used. Chapters 2 and 3 discuss the extensive planning process for Market‐Driven Product Definition. Chapters 4, 5 and 6 go into how to obtain the voice of the customer and the techniques associated with this process. Chapters 7, 8, and 9, constitute some of the most important material in the book, discussing how to develop systems to be certain the product addresses key customer requirements. Chapters 10 and 11 reveal how to turn ideas into solutions to create true value for the customer. Finally, chapter 12 shows how to measure the results of the Market‐Driven Product Definition process.

I realize this is all part of Marketing 101, but it is often the forgotten ingredient to the new product development recipe. I recommend this book to anyone involved in the new‐product development process (i.e. top decision makers, research and development, marketing, etc.). Students could also benefit from this book because there are lots of relevant examples of well‐known products that have succeeded and failed along with reasons for their successes and failures.