The Value of Value

When it comes to new product development in the post-recession world, few topics are more important than value. That was a key theme at NPD World Tour, which was held last month in Stockholm.


“Value is defined by customers, and processes are where value is created,” explained Jesper Toubol of Lego. He explained that it is a bit like painting: the value (painting) is the decision making unit, but the process (frame) plays an important role in holding everything together. The role of marketers, then, when developing new products, should concentrate on capturing and communicating value.


One of the highlights of the event was Daniel Cho, whose presentation actually focused on value. He detailed how to build an effective value proposition, and key questions one should ask himself: “What is value to customers?” “How impactful is the innovation on their work?” And without value-driven product development, there can be no value-based pricing…


Two other highly discussed and appreciated topics were crowdsourcing
and lean. The first one leads back to “value”, as crowdsourcing is a great
tool to capture customer value by communicating directly with the end
users. Lean, on the other hand, more directly impacts the “frame”, or
process. Two key points were mentioned when it came to lean: continuous
improvement (striving for excellence) and transparency of KPI’s and key
development goals throughout the organization.


The 2013 NPD World Tour event will take place in Singapore. More info: www.npdworldtour.com