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.

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.

Every product development professional should have a copy of this book because it covers the entire spectrum of the product design process. In particular, it emphasizes that a total design approach--in all its complexity--is absolutely essential for consistent success in product development.

Advance praise for Service Innovation: "To the CEOs of all service companies I deal with: READ THIS BOOK!" -- Dave Wascha, senior director, Bing Product Management, Microsoft Corporation "Lance Bettencourt deftly blends his academic and consulting experience to provide an example-rich, readable, practical, and innovative discussion of service innovation." -- Leonard Berry, coauthor of Management Lessons from Mayo Clinic "Provides the robust framework to design services that unlock growth opportunities for every business." -- Lance Reschke, vice president, Ceridian Corporation "The tools and guidance in this book will inspire companies, small and large, to create effective and innovative services that are desperately needed." -- Mary Jo Bitner, Ph.D., W. P. Carey School of Business, Arizona State University, and coauthor of Services Marketing: Integrating Customer Focus Across the Firm "Cracks the code from the fuzzy front end through the complete life cycle of Service Innovation." -- Angelo Rago, division vice president, Global Customer Services, Abbott Medical Optics "Filled with rich examples of how firms can innovate service through helping customers get jobs done." -- Stephen W. Brown, Ph.D., W. P. Carey School of Business, Arizona State University "Any leader intent on providing distinctive value to customers must read Service Innovation." -- Michael Reynolds, staff vice president, Commercial Marketing, WellPoint, Inc. If there’s one truism about the service sector, it's that businesses don't succeed by inventing a better mousetrap; they succeed by finding the best, most cost-effective way to get rid of their customers' mice. In industries ranging from heavy machinery to health care to financial services to consumer goods, service innovation is helping businesses find new revenue streams--and enhance existing ones--by satisfying their customer's need to get things done. Few understand this better than Lance Bettencourt, a strategy adviser at Strategyn and a leading educator in management innovation consulting. And in Service Innovation, Bettencourt gives a master's class on the art and science of creating breakthrough service products. True service innovation demands that you shift the focus away from the solution and back to the customer. To achieve this shift in your business--one that takes you from making educated guesses to building a clear model to guide service innovation--Bettencourt instructs on the finer points of how to rethink your approach to the customer's needs: how the customer defines value in a product or service. Bettencourt mines nearly 20 years' experience in teaching and advising clients with service- and product-dominant businesses to demonstrate proven ways you can build, streamline, and focus your company's service product innovation processes. Among the numerous key ideas and practices are: Insight on understanding the different types of clients you serve—and how your products deliver value to them Ways to design specific frameworks for discovering service innovation opportunities for new, improved, and supplementary service products Practical guidance on staying focused on the "fuzzy front end" of service innovation The fundamental elements of a winning service strategy Finding new ways to help people solve problems and get things done is why there are goods and services in the first place. And in Service Innovation, Lance Bettencourt fills a vital need by delivering the essential guide that can put your business on the latest frontier of value creation.

For more than two decades, Winning at New Products has served as the bible for product developers everywhere. Robert G. Cooper demonstrates why consistent product development is vital to corporate growth and how to maximize your chances of success. Citing the author's most recent research, Winning at New Products showcases innovative practices by industry leaders to present a field-tested game plan for achieving product leadership. Cooper outlines specific strategies for making sound business decisions at every step-from idea generation to launch. This fully updated and expanded edition is an essential resource for product developers around the world. "This is a must read. There's so much new in this book, from how to generate the breakthrough ideas, picking the winners, and driving them to market successfully." -- Philip Kotler, Professor of International Marketing, Northwestern University, Kellogg School of Management

Creating Breakthrough Products describes the new forces driving product development that companies must master if they want to lead and innovate. It is a step-by-step guide to the new ideal in product development.