2008 - Marketing Educators' Association

Figure 1. The top half of the interface exemplifies the
relationship between the task of discovering
consumer needs to creating value through
developing products that are priced right and are
part of a larger marketing mix to satisfy consumer
needs. The bottom half of the interface shows the
process of linking the discovery of consumer needs
to the development of products, services and ideas
that become part of the value package which
satisfies consumer needs. The purpose of this paper
is to point out the links that exist between marketing
practice and product design and development and to
encourage marketing educators to consider placing
the subject of product design and development in a
more prominent role to prepare students for the
opportunities that exist in today’s businesses.
On the other hand, this paper is not reporting how a
course in Innovation, Design and Development has
been conceived. My experience in teaching the
course is based on the pioneering efforts of Karl
Ulrich and Stephen Eppinger’s book Product Design
and Development. For those who want to examine
the course structure please visit their excellent
website: http://www.ulrich-eppinger.net/index.html;
and the MIT Open Courseware for the course in
Product Design and Development: http://ocw.mit.
edu/OcwWeb/Sloan-School-of-Management/15-
783JSpring-2006/CourseHome/ index.htm.
Briefly, the course is project-based covering modern
tools and methods for product design and
discussion, cases, readings and hands-on
exercises to reinforce key ideas such as identifying
customer needs, concept generation, selection, and
testing, product architecture, industrial design, and
design-for-manufacturing. The overriding philosophy
of the course demands taking a disciplined approach
in the process while breaking the rules to find
creative solutions. This way of thinking builds
confidence in students’ abilities to create a new
product or service and to coordinate multiple,
interdisciplinary tasks in order to achieve a common
objective.
The inspiration for this paper is derived from my
research efforts in the customer value paradigm as
well as teaching and writing in the area of business
creativity and innovation. This preparation has lead
to the conclusion that design and development is at
the center of competitive advantage in today’s global
economy. Specifically, I share my discoveries from a
marketer’s perspective in tracing the path from
customer needs to customer solutions in a marketing
course titled Innovation, Design and Development
(IDD). To survive in today’s marketplace, companies
need to create and maintain a competitive
84
advantage through the innovation of superior
products and services, enhanced customer service
and lower prices. Innovative companies drive
themselves to deliver extraordinary levels of
distinctive value to carefully selected customer
groups. Through this strategy they make it
impossible for other companies to compete based
on previously acceptable strategies (Treacy &
Wiersema, 1995). The customer provides a point of
balance in the development of new products and
services, simultaneously validating market and
design decisions, while empowering the satisfaction
of unique customer needs, thus differentiating new
offerings from their competitors’ (Innovation
Genesis, 2004).
INNOVATION, DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT
Innovation, design and development is an
imaginative process that uses experiential activities
that transform the traditional business school
problem solving to a more effective creative problem
solving model to challenge students to go beyond
the “usual” by developing the skills and ability to
generate new and original business-related ideas.
This approach in a course entails understanding the
symbiotic relationship between breaking the rules to
find creative solutions and taking a disciplined
approach in the process. In regard to this apparent
dichotomy, Stanford University professor Robert
Sutton’s opinion is, “… people say they want
innovation, yet they can’t depart from their deeply
ingrained beliefs about how to … make decisions,
and structure work” (LaBarre, 2002). “A common
misconception regarding creative problem solving is
that it is a freewheeling, unstructured, almost
mystical process. In this type of problem solving
environment, inhibitions and fear of making mistakes
can be the two biggest obstacles students need help
in overcoming” (Titus, 2000).
Using the innovation, design and development
process in a marketing program is a step forward in
meeting the daunting challenge to turn the
entrenched thinking of our left-brained approach to
business education which often relies on rules,
concepts and principles into a more creative
application. “The idea of ‘good ole Yankee’ ingenuity
may be assumed but unless we actively awaken this
creative right brain activity in our students, then we
are doomed to ‘in the box’ thinking which ultimately
leads to more of the same uninspiring products and
services” (Stovall & Dodds, 2002). Emerging
business professional students who have applied
themselves in a university setting that balances left
and right brain thinking should have the knowledge,
skills, and discipline to create authentic problem-