Lecture 6
3/11/11
Questions to consider:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
How has 3M’S innovation process evolved?
How does Lead user research differ from more
traditional types of market research methods?
Do you think that they have applied the Lead user
research method successfully?
What should the Medical-Surgical team recommend the
three new product concepts or the new business
strategy?
What are the risks associated with the Lead User
method?
3M: Overview
3M is a diversified technology company serving
customers and communities with innovative products and
services within businesses as office, health care,
industrial and transportation. 3M is a global corporate
employing more than 67.000 people. Yearly revenue
exceeds 20 billion US$.
Salient Points:
• Breakthrough products and services
• Development of Lead User Research • ‘Necessity is the mother of invention’
• Managing Change
3M
LEAD USERS
Traditional v Lead User
Traditional 3M Process
• Developers lack direct
access with customers
• Developers not directly
responsible for
understanding customer
needs
• Marketing research
outsourced
• Linear – incremental
innovations
Lead User Process
• Developers in direct contact
•
•
•
•
with users
Focus on few ‘lead’ experts
Developers outside
traditional business
Pushes developers towards
potentially new concepts
Complimentary to traditional
market research techniques
6
Lead Users
• Provide another way to obtain insights directly from the
market.
• Defined as being at the leading edge of markets, and as
having a high incentive to innovate.
• Lead users’ needs can anticipate the general needs of the
market.
• Lead user technique seeks and collects needs of existing
users and ideas from users of similar products and
services in the market.
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7
Selection of a Lead User Group

A screening process is used with existing users to
identify which of them have more demanding needs.


Once the extreme users have been identified
analogous fields are identified.


Extreme users are placed at the top of “the pyramid of users”.
Important to identify analogous fields where similar but even
more extreme challenges are faced than the ones in the current
market place.
For each of the lead users identified, techniques
such as observation and contextual interviewing
should be used to understand their working
environment.
8
Selection of a Lead User Group