{"id":380,"date":"2013-09-22T22:48:19","date_gmt":"2013-09-23T02:48:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.sdaconseil.com\/blog\/?p=380"},"modified":"2013-09-22T22:54:20","modified_gmt":"2013-09-23T02:54:20","slug":"innovation-step-5-hitting-the-market-like-a-bowling-strike","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sdaconseil.com\/?p=380","title":{"rendered":"Innovation Step 5: Hitting the market just like a bowling strike"},"content":{"rendered":"

Montreal,\u00a022 September\u00a02013
\n\"Bowling\"<\/a><\/p>\n

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There comes a time when your innovation must hit the market.\u00a0 Launch is always a nerve-racking moment.\u00a0 This is because we often have at best just an educated guess of what the client really wants.\u00a0 Clients are moving targets.\u00a0 They are constantly lifting their expectations, are a little less loyal every day and technology serves them better at every new product cycle.<\/p>\n

We have advocated in our Innovation Steps 1 to 4 to stay close and work with your customers.\u00a0 As a matter of fact, if you have deftly done so, customers and stakeholders will have actually worked for you and directly contributed to your project. They would have told you some of their secrets.<\/p>\n

Still, is the marketing of your innovation best summarized as ‘a shot in the dark’?\u00a0 To help you zero in on your target, we propose three simple tests. They are meant to ensure you will build a sufficient customer base that will give you traction in the market.<\/p>\n

Test 1:\u00a0 Commercial Readiness Level<\/p>\n

Test 2:\u00a0 Engine of Performance Readiness<\/p>\n

Test 3:\u00a0 Hidden Hurdles for a Customer Base<\/p>\n

TEST 1 – COMMERCIAL READINESS LEVEL<\/b><\/p>\n

To what extent is your commercial strategy in or out of sync <\/i>with your product development?<\/b><\/p>\n

Product development often follows guidelines such as the Technology Readiness Level (TRL) from NASA, stage gates, critical milestones, etc.\u00a0 Guidelines abound.\u00a0 Yet it is not unusual to witness a dir e lack of investment in the development of a sturdy commercial strategy, thereby putting at risk the whole project.<\/p>\n

Here is a single scale to see whether you have covered all the bases or that you are left dangerously trailing the curve. It is a practical tool\u00a0 presented as a quick guideline in the context of a position paper. Much material would merit to be expanded for each CRL.<\/p>\n

COMMERCIAL READINESS LEVEL (CRL)<\/strong><\/p>\n