Meaningful Differentiation

Our client asked us to make a common product unique enough to patent. It wasn't going to be easy to meaningfully differentiate their product in a crowded field. On top of this, our client had a lot of stakeholders, decision-makers, and ideas. This meant there was a lot of input and opinions for every decision.

Getting Alignment from a Diverse Team

With so many decision-makers, we had to become a critical voice to guide our client’s team. We started by gathering input, documenting product goals, and getting alignment from everyone on their team. Then we developed a product roadmap with clear, actionable steps. We recommended the right designer from our network of highly-experienced professionals. We provided the designer with the goals we had documented. He took those and applied his incredible creativity to design a product that our client was thrilled with.

Overcoming Commoditization

This product could have easily ended up as another commodity in a crowded market.  We had to discover ways to add unique value that would excite our client’s customers.  We ended up creating a unique mechanism that allowed the user to easily open and close the product. It was completely different and helped their product stand out in a crowded field.

Modular Packaging Leads To Higher Margins

After the design was ready, we reviewed it with the engineers at our factory. We found a more reliable way to manufacture the product without changing the functionality. That change sparked an idea. Our client asked if we could find a way to package this with a few of their existing accessories. Although this would take some work, we recognized that this could be a big differentiator from other products.  So we got to work.

We found a way for our client to package several items together that were being produced in multiple countries. We had to develop a modular packaging system that would allow our client’s warehouse to efficiently add the accessories to the product. It resulted in a differentiated product and a higher margin for them.

The Power Of An Outside Perspective

Because our client was entering a crowded marketplace, we had to stay open to making changes to the product during design and development. Changes add cost and time. A key role we played was providing guidance and direction for our client.  We acted as an outside sounding board for their team to keep the project moving forward on schedule. In the end, the changes made a big impact and created a distinct product for their customers.

Our clients told us that having an outside perspective became a huge asset for them.  It helped find opportunities they couldn't see. They were too close. Our team didn’t have the same emotional attachment to the project. This allowed us to be both objective and agile in solving problems and overcoming setbacks.