"I'll be back..."
Some products have very long life spans - take baked beans for example. The humble bean in a smoky tomato sauce has remained unchanged for many decades. Contrast that with the Camcorder where last years model looks more like a washing machine in our hands compared to the slim, lite (I've gotta have it) model in the shop window. Why do we, as consumers, remain satisfied with the inertia in R&D at the beans factory and yet will spend money each year to reduce the size of our domestic appliances? Baked beans and Camcorders are just extreme examples of products where consumers have vastly different aspirations of the pace of change.
Anyone heard of the prisoner's dilemma? (http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/PRISDIL.html) Pace of change forces organizations to compete on an R&D and time to market basis. The baked bean manufactures have got it right, in this context, where they do not force each other to invest in new and improved beans each year. The electronics manufacturers have to play this strategy in order to remain competitive. As this cycle perpetuates their R&D depts become Marketing Terminators - stating that their next version of the technology will grab back market share "we'll be back".
Managing both strategies effectivily requires a keen understanding of consumer requirements and matching those to product developement cycles. Sounds easy...but processes must be water tight to remain competitive. Whether its beans or VCR's having effective development to communication processes keeps that organization ahead of the game. Are these processes different for each organziation type? Are beans easier to manage than VCR's?
Felix would love hear your thoughts and ideas on this...
Dave.
