2007 is off to a roaring start: some people have already forgotten the holidays! Of course, our 2007 objectives are front and center. But I wonder, do we have the right targets—and metrics? Let's use new product (service) development as an example.

New Product Development Metrics

Do you have targets like: launch 1 new product and 2 enhancements in 1Q, 2 in 2Q, etc.? I can't count how many times I've had those targets (the objective usually says "launch new widget X and enhancements to Widgets A, B and C in 1Q," etc.). What's wrong with this picture?

Start with the basics: how did we do last year? How many new products were launched? What % were successful 6 months after launch? 12 months? 3 years? How many launched on time? on budget?

If we have this information, we can find better, more strategic metrics.

Product Roadmap--not

Product roadmaps-- timeline pictures showing products and features scheduled to launch each month--are great communications tools. They inform the sales force and customers what to expect and when. Those involved in product launches can use the roadmap as a planning tool.

But senior management needs more. The roadmap is a result, a tactic. It is not a strategy. If we know we launched 5 new services last year with 3 on time, 2 on budget and 4 meeting initial 6-month targets, we can do better. We want all 7 of the new services targeted for 2007 to launch on time and on budget, then meet their 6 and 12 month targets. But is this realistic, given our track record? Probably not.

Strategic Product Launch Objectives 

The solution? Start with strategic priorities: e.g. launch 70% of new products on time, on budget and meeting 6 month financial goals, with the remaining 30% no more than 15% over budget, 2 months late and/or 25% off financial targets. Is this realistic? Probably--if we give these goals to our team as they are creating the roadmap.

Of course, there are other strategic factors, like cycle time (product development from official start to launch), % of revenue from new products, etc. But those can wait if all we have is a product roadmap!

As 2007 swings into high gear, I like to remember those holiday moments when I reconnected with an old friend. You know: haven't heard from them for 2 years and a card or email shows up. Even better, I run into them at a party and the conversation picks up like it was yesterday.

Why aren't more B2B customers old friends?

How many of your B2B customers are "old friends"? They've been around for years. But when do we think about them? Have a conversation? I don't mean day-to-day transactional stuff. We know about that. And they show up on our revenue and billing reports. I'm thinking about the relationship: have we cultivated it to "friend" status?

Marketing role in B2B customer relationships

Business customer relationships are more complex than personal ones. So the first step: a clear, complete, and up-to-date roadmap of all the players. Sales people may call it a positioning matrix. Each of the customer's individuals, their role, and our person(s) assigned to work with them. Add contact information and we have the beginning of a roadmap. Marketing overlays targeted email campaigns, newsletters, webinars, events, product launches, executive meetings, etc. Where does the "friend" part come in? 

If we tailor our messages to accurately reflect how the two companies perceive each other and how we actually work together, we can build (over time) a sense of mutual respect--making for a more and more "friendly" relationship. Sales has a role, but I believe marketing also has a leadership role. For example, messages cannot be "one size fits all".

–       If customer B has been with us for 2 years steadily expanding their purchases, we want to reinforce the value and applications for their purchases and promote (in a low key way) future possibilities.

–       Customer C, who made their first purchase 3 months ago needs lots of reinforcement about why they made a good purchase decision.

–       Customer A, who has been with us for 5 years requires a third set of messages.

I believe it is marketing's role to identify and execute against these customer "segments". After all, who doesn't like to count their customers as friends?