Upcoming Events > June 18, 2008
Developing Products That Hit The Market Sweet Spot
Are your products and services failing to live up to expectations after launch? Are you frustrated because your customers don’t seem to know what they want, or they keep changing their mind? Do your prospects love your product but fail to buy?
A “customer centric” approach to product development is considered to be important for predictable and repeatable success, yet many companies fail to incorporate “Voice of the Customer” (VOC) into their process. In some cases, the company doesn’t know how, in some cases the VOC is dismissed because “the customer doesn’t really know what they want anyway“, in still other cases the company tries to do the right things but fails in one or more aspects of the execution. The result: many products fail to hit the sweet spot of the market.
Join Lee Shaeffer of PLM Associates and Tony Lemus of Value Creation Institute as they cover proven techniques for improving the definition of products. You will learn:
- The importance of viewing the product from the customer’s perspective, not the vendor’s perspective, and the significant differences that result.
- How to get beyond what the customer says to understand what the customer really means
- How to distill the customer input into the appropriate “requirements” that keep Development on target.
- An important reason why an otherwise well-conceived product fails to fit the market, and how to address it.
Attendees will come from this session with ideas and tips they can put into action immediately.
Session Leaders
Leland D. Shaeffer, Managing Director of PLM Associates, focuses on helping companies improve their existing product lifecycle management processes to better achieve business objectives and to produce better outcomes. He has taught executive workshops on various topics such as “Agile Product Development”, “Develop and Market Better Products Faster!” and “Successful Development of Products and Services” through Caltech, the USC Marshall School and Institute of International Research (respectively). He has over 20 years practical experience in engineering and marketing at companies ranging from venture-backed startups to Apple Computer, Unisys and a subsidiary of Eastman Kodak.
Anthony Lemus recently was Vice President of Six Sigma Business Development with Citigroup, where he deployed Six Sigma and restructured the business processes used for developing and delivering a variety of loans, servicing and refinancing products. Tony has over has over 20 years experience in new product development and process design, having held positions in R&D, Operations, Strategic Business Development, and Process Engineering at companies that include Johnson & Johnson, Allergan Medical Optics and Pfizer Inc. He now is a partner in the Value Creation Institute.
Who Should Attend
Professionals and decision-makers at all levels as well as entrepreneurs who have interest in product success. This event qualifies as two (2) Professional Development Hours toward PDMA’s NPDP recertification.
Date: Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Time: Networking & Registration 6-6:45 pm; Presentation and Q&A 6:45 – 8:30 pm; Pizza and drinks.
Location: MCNC Auditorium, 3021 Cornwallis Rd, Research Triangle Park (Durham), NC 27709.
Fees: Early bird (online registration before June 17 at 6pm): $20 PDMA, $30 non-members, $15 students and volunteers. $10 surcharge for late and walk-in registration. Check only for walk-in.
Registration at http://www.eventbrite.com/event/115523534.
Questions? Email claire@touch360.com
