Early and well-planned customer involvement ensures timely direction setting with the customer focus in mind during the development of new market opportunities. This is the next logical next step arising from the LVOC outcome. Customer Success Journey (with the positive outcome) is what creates revenue and profit for the manufacturer of the products. That success must be carefully planned in advance of the product launch and realised by building an iterative understanding and validation of the true Customer Needs. This training allows participants to get very familiar with the Customer Involvement Toolbox, which enables them to plan and execute targeted customer interactions that go well beyond interviews and customer clinics. Customers most often do not just spell out their real needs, rather their “wish list” ideas. By carefully selecting, adapting & executing involvement activities, the manufacturer of products will experience the real customer environment in which the product is going to being used, allowing the true translation of the needs to the validated Customer Requirements Specification - CRS (key objective for new product development).
Duration
This is a one-day training with the possibility to extend to a 2-day long workshop where practical implementation concepts of the Customer Involvement strategy and the Customer Success Journey will be discussed and planned in more detail based on a real client case study (project).
Who is this for?
- Product Development Project Leaders
- Product Managers
- Marketing & Sales Representatives
- Customer Service Personnel
- R&D
Content
- Importance of the Customer Involvement: Understanding why, when, and how to effectively engage customers in projects.
- Overcoming Barriers: Identifying and addressing obstacles to meaningful customer involvement.
- Methods of Customer Involvement: Going beyond basic surveys to explore diverse engagement strategies.
- Planning & Execution: Key steps for designing and carrying out successful customer involvement activities.
- Customer Success Journey: An overview of the Customer Success Journey concept and its importance.
- Journey Mapping: Developing an ideal Customer Success Journey, defining each step, and identifying key success factors.
- Integration of the Customer Involvement & Success Journey in NPD project plans
Delivery Options
- Initial consultation: virtual 2-hour meeting (free of charge)
- Virtual delivery of training modules (2 half-a-day sessions)
- Physical on-site delivery, 1-full day, is a possibility
- Agile, iterative & practical (on-site and virtual) support in preparing for the customer involvement based on the LVOC output, practicing involvement exercises and following up real involvement by translating the outcomes to learnings that will validate the Customer Requirements Specification
Objectives
- Understand why customer involvement is important and the optimal timing
- Raise awareness of the Customer Success Journey and its potential
- Learn the key steps in planning and executing customer involvement activities and to define an ideal customer success journey
- Identify and overcome barriers to customer involvement (internal and external)
- Define the responsibilities for customer involvement within a project
Outcomes
- Participants will design and plan the customer involvement strategy for a particular project
- Participants will develop an optimal Customer Success Journey in the real project
- Participants will improve customer relationships and make a successful sales process
- Participants will make better decisions on market launch plans
Exhibit 6: Customer Involvement Toolbox