New Thinking

In the Q&A of a Meetup, someone from the audience asked a very interesting question: Is there a connection between Blue Ocean strategy and Jobs-to-be-done? The question was put rather loosely and not specifically related to the content of the talk, so the answer we gave was a kind of shot from the hips. But the question is actually quite interesting and stuck with us. After giving it some more thought, here’s our take on where we see the connection between the Blue Ocean stra

To become more customer-centric and innovative, many companies carry out market research or ask their sales force to identify what their customers want. Only to find quite generic insights that are already known. For example, banks find out that “relationship is key”, mobile operators that users want “good network quality” and life insurance companies that clients want “more flexibility”. Not very useful to guide engineers and product developers, we thought. And co-created in

Question 1: Do we bring our clients added value? No, is the loud answer. Neither we nor our products bring added value; it is the customers themselves that create added value. In B2B, products help to achieve more sales, to increase the price or reduce operating costs. In B2C, for example, products lead to a better appearance, a faster healing process or a comprehensive sense of security. The idea that we as a company create the value is not customer-focused. So, question 2:

How do we enter a new segment? What is most relevant for premium grill users? We have plenty of ideas in the pipeline – but are we betting on the right things? How do we achieve true innovations rather than incremental improvements? These were our client’s questions. The answers lay in understanding users’ perspective. The Challenge OUTDOORCHEF, a DKB (www.dksh.com) Household brand, is a leading manufacturer and seller of premium grills. Over 25 years ago, the company became