Some thoughts and reflections on life, work, and shoes. Ok, maybe a little more…
 

business, Product Development, Decisions, Strategy Robert Klein business, Product Development, Decisions, Strategy Robert Klein

Put the money where it counts

It takes guts and marketing acumen to take the right road in order to reach the right customers, your target group that will appreciate the fact that you didn’t strip out the most important product features and benefits.

When developing a product, we look at the COGS (Cost of Goods Sold) to discover if our costs are on track and why the product costs what it does.

Sure, it’s easy to look at the highest cost items on the list and declare that we have to get that cost down, but think again. Are you falling prey to the race to the bottom trap? Cost reducing to compete on price? Emotional buy-in from your manager? Take the cost out of the wrong components and are you now eliminating your key benefits over competing products?

Value does not mean low price. Value means the product offers something other products do not, or perhaps the product does something others do as well, but your product does it better.

It takes guts and marketing acumen to take the right road in order to reach the right customers, your target group that will appreciate the fact that you didn’t strip out the most important product features and benefits.

This is not to say that cost is not important, nothing could be further than the truth, but taking the position that the footbed in the shoe is too expensive, for example, so we have to get a cheaper less comfortable footbed, is counter-productive if the shoe brand is a comfort shoe brand competing on comfort in a market with similarly styled and priced shoes.

Of course, don’t overpay for the right footbed, and make sure that footbed really is the right one so you’re putting your money where it counts. Why not piece the upper, or use a less expensive breathable lining, or choose from any number of other opportunities to lower your cost instead?

If the item improves the product in a way that is meaningful to the brand and to the customer, then the item is an Asset. If not, it’s a cost that’s ready to be reduced. Be thoughtful about where the money is going and put it where it counts.

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The quest for better

Every day, every project brings new challenges and new opportunities to learn and improve. Maybe this is why product development is so much fun…its never the same thing twice. Each brand, each factory, each season, each product brings a new set of aesthetic, technical and pricing challenges.

Every day, every project brings new challenges and new opportunities to learn and improve. Maybe this is why product development is so much fun…it’s never the same thing twice. Each brand, each factory, each season, each product brings a new set of aesthetic, technical and pricing challenges.

Let’s not forget the big picture stuff that’s equally fun and important– shaping the brand taste level and market position, price points, merchandising, planning assortments, and keeping the design and development effort on track, on budget and on schedule.

The goal is better and the quest is never-ending.

Better means creating a mix of product traits that will be more meaningful to customers compared to other products on the market. Better than they expect, more wow, more fashionable, more practical, better materials, better value, a better fit for their wants and needs, overall a better product that makes customers happy and keeps them coming back, generating better revenue and better profit growth.  

This is my world, so here is my blog. It’s a sounding board for my reflections on getting to that position of "better" relating to strategy, business, design, development, shoes, life and more…it's also a vehicle to share what I’ve learned from my victories and failures in the trenches and in the boardroom...an opportunity to explore common situations in uncommon ways and to shed light on those subtle things that made all the difference.

I hope you enjoy it and feel compelled to share and leave a comment.

-Rob

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Product Development, Strategy, Decisions Robert Klein Product Development, Strategy, Decisions Robert Klein

The vital few at the center of the universe

Product development is a delicate balancing act that needs to reflect and balance the needs of the vital few, thoughtfully and thoroughly. There’s no single right answer as to what’s best for a particular product in terms of its mix of traits or styling cues.

Product development is a delicate balancing act that needs to reflect and balance the needs of the vital few, thoughtfully and thoroughly. There’s no single right answer as to what’s best for a particular product in terms of its mix of traits or styling cues. To make matters more complicated, the competitive landscape is ever-changing and internal (corporate/client/brand) needs can be a moving target as well.

Fortunately, there are many good solutions for all opportunities and problems, but only a few great ones. So then, how to choose the great ones and set aside the rest? Identify the main participants in the business, uncover their challenges, needs and wants and the rest becomes clear.  

Start by putting the vital few users at the center of the universe and then developing solutions that serve their needs the best within time, cost and other constraints.

So then, who are the vital few?

…this could include end customers, buyers, the company, the factory, the delivery person, the maintenance technician, and anyone else who comes into contact with the product. In the case of shoes, there are three:

1) the consumer / end-user who wears the shoes (the customer is always first) 

2) the company (client, brand) that is commissioning the work to be done. and

3) manufacturing: the network of factories and suppliers that makes the shoes

These three groups live at the center of the shoe universe. Take care of these three players and others’ needs are typically addresses as well.

For example, environmental issues are addressed within the client/brand and factory/manufacturing pieces. Investor needs are addressed withing the client and consumer piece.

Thinking of this in an easy to utter phrase helps to keep this concept at the forefront:  each shoe has to deliver a high level of delight and functionality to the customer while being manufacturable for the factory and profitable for the company...hmm, not as easy to say as I had hoped...delight the customer, factory and the company with a wow, high-quality and profitable product that will have a positive effect on all. 

Poor choices can now be easily eliminated enabling the best path forward to come into focus.

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This blog is a sounding board for my reflections on getting to that position of "better" relating to strategy, business, design, development, shoes, life and more. It's also a vehicle to share what I’ve learned from my victories and failures in the trenches and beyond...an opportunity to explore common situations in uncommon ways and to shed light on those subtle things that made all the difference, and an opportunity to delve into issues that are worthy of attention.

I hope you enjoy reading and feel compelled to share and leave a comment -Rob