Speaker of Verhaert at the 8th edition of our Innovation Day on October 21st 2011.

1. INNOVATIONDAY 2011
PRODUCT DIFFERENTIATION
STRATEGIES – THE HOLY
GRAIL IN PRODUCT
INNOVATION
CONFIDENTI
AL
Dany Robberecht
Director consulting office
Dany.robberecht@verhaert.com

2. INNOVATIONDAY 2011
commoditization
become unique
expectations
conclusion

3. INNOVATIONDAY 2011
Differentiating a product or service means
creating a product or service which is
perceived industrywide as being
unique. It results in brand loyalty and
lower sensitivity to price. I'm willing to pay
extra for my …

4. INNOVATIONDAY 2011
A successful differentiation is focusing on
delivering (perceived) value add to users
and on competitive advantage. In other
words the story telling component is
as essential as the distinctive
benefit of your innovation. Eventually it
should lead to a strong experience.

5. INNOVATIONDAY 2011
performance
+
+
+
+
brand A
brand B
In the product economy
we try to over class each
other with ‘better’ features.
time© C. Christensen

6. INNOVATIONDAY 2011
+
+
+
+
brand A
brand B
customer
absorbtion level
performance
time
The rules of the game change
when willingness to pay ends because
products become good enough.
© C. Christensen

7. INNOVATIONDAY 2011
+
+
+
+
brand A
brand B
customer
absorbtion level
performance
time
How to be perceived valuable?
You seek recognition, strong story
telling or distinctive benefits to satisfy
needs. The experience
economy becomes the rule.
?
© C. Christensen

8. INNOVATIONDAY 2011
An example …
In our product economy we
often tell bizarre stories. Stories
that not engage our users,
neither they improve our competitive
position. Despite the efforts of a whole
company they don’t deliver anything.

9. INNOVATIONDAY 2011
If you manage it poorly, then this
is your destiny.

10. INNOVATIONDAY 2011
But, we all love commodities.
They offer economies of scale, thus
accomplish efficiency in manufacturing
as they target high volume markets. If
we only could maintain our
margins, YES!

11. INNOVATIONDAY 2011
the other side of the coin

12. INNOVATIONDAY 2011
CONFIDENTIAL
There are two strategy choices: do what
everyone else is doing, only better,
cheaper or faster. Or do something different
and truly distinctive.

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It starts with being different
therefore you must think differently

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Let’s unveil the puzzle pieces
and construct our puzzle.

15. INNOVATIONDAY 2011
Canon’s professional L series – though
used extensively by non-pros - is
recognized easy because of its
distinctive color. It doesn’t add
functions, but connects users to the
brand.

16. INNOVATIONDAY 2011
Brompton folding bikes do not excel in
weight, neither in usability, but
everybody knows it’s a
Brompton because of the iconic
design.

17. INNOVATIONDAY 2011
ALU modem
Materials, color, finishing, styling, modus
operandi provide foothold for iconic
products. Recognition and
visibility combined with strong story
telling are the foundation of iconic
products. Users are willing to pay a
premium price as they create
value.

18. INNOVATIONDAY 2011
recognition
in-store
walking
models

19. INNOVATIONDAY 2011
Often technology benefits are
difficult to explain to users. Dyson’s
bladeless fan promises a smooth
airflow with no unpleasant buffeting
because it has no blades. Users will buy it
for another reason I suppose.

20. INNOVATIONDAY 2011
user research often leads to better
insights of unmet needs. It provides
foothold for distinctive features.
Companies can build a succesful
product strategy based upon
these distinctive benefits, especially when
they are visible and recognized easy.

21. INNOVATIONDAY 2011

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reduce
eliminate create
raise
attributesjuggling
© Verhaert

23. INNOVATIONDAY 2011
What are great functionalities? Those that
create experiences …
Products having these abilities typically
show a low churn rate. Especially in
mature markets it is essential to keep your
customer base, as the market faces a low
or even zero-growth.

24. INNOVATIONDAY 2011
experience driven services
In 1991 the concept was launched as
a pilot project. Today it foresees
athletes with custom made
shoes. The concept includes
scanners at the POS, a sales website
and marketing collateral. At the back
end the manufacturing
concept was rigorously changed
as well as the product architecture
and logistics.

25. INNOVATIONDAY 2011
If creating superior products is not
ambitious enough for your company then
you seek the blue ocean by
creating a new market. You want to
discover how to tap into refusing
non-consumers by addressing
latent needs. However it is difficult to
reinvent the meaning of a
product or service, this strategy is very
rewarding.

26. INNOVATIONDAY 2011
On-the-go
health
1994

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Back in a
minute
1961

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Stream
and share
2008

29. INNOVATIONDAY 2011
+
+
+
+
brand A
brand B
customer
absorbtion level
performance
time
How to be perceived valuable?
You seek recognition, strong story
telling or distinctive benefits to satisfy
needs. The experience
economy becomes the rule.
?
© C. Christensen

30. INNOVATIONDAY 2011
make goods
create
commodities
services
experiences
market pricing premium pricing
Choose
your
strategy
© Verhaert

31. INNOVATIONDAY 2011
Understand
focus and
risks
© Verhaert

32. INNOVATIONDAY 2011
+
competitive
advantage
© Verhaert

33. INNOVATIONDAY 2011
manage
perceived
value
Create distinctive performances
and attributes. Translate into iconic
designs. Resulting in user experiences
and brand value.

34. INNOVATIONDAY 2011
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9150 Kruibeke (B)
tel +32 (0)3 250 19 00
fax +32 (0)3 254 10 08
info@verhaert.com
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