Creating Innovative Products and Services

Book excerpt: Really new products and services are scarce, yet the need for them is huge. That's why Innovation is an important managerial instrument – but many of us struggle with how to approach it. Gijs van Wulfen's Creating Innovative Products and Services is an essential read for anyone involved in new product or service design, brand development, new business development or organizational development because it 'unfuzzies' the front end of innovation with practical tools, effective checklists and an inspiring innovation route map. Gijs van Wulfen explains how to: • Build a committed ideation team, compile a concrete innovation assignment and identify opportunities; • Explore trends, technology and potential customers, then choose the most positive opportunities and customer insights to transfer to the next step - raise ideas; • Develop twelve new promising innovative product or service concepts; • Check the concepts in qualitative research among potential clients and improve them; • Work the best into a tangible mini business case per product idea, and present them for decision making and adoption in the regular stage gate development process. The effective 5-step FORTH method presented in this book, will jump start your product and service innovations. The success of this practical approach is highlighted in a case study of one of the largest insurance companies in The Netherlands: Univé VGZ IZA Trias and is suitable for both business-to-consumer and business-to-business markets. Creating Innovative Products and Services has been written for directors, managers, advisors and innovation specialists in organisations who are responsible for, or involved in, product innovation. In it you will find practical guidance through every stage.