What’s Your Product DNA?
Ford Motor company logged a $2.7 billion profit in 2009. It nearly doubled cash reserves. It gained market share for the first time since the mid-nineties. It paid out profit sharing checks.
Chances are you didn't.
There are a host of reasons for Ford's success in 2009, but chief among them is a commitment to listening to customers. Their self-titled "Product DNA" criteria describe features and benefits that improve customer experiences and grow the bottom line.
Product DNA is a fantastic example of putting your customer data to work for you. Ford made the critical shift from strategy to customer-facing action by translating historical survey data, satisfaction scores, and NPS-style customer interview data into product-centered criteria.
How do you copy Ford's Product DNA example?
Like Ford CEO Alan Mullaly, spend time with your competition. Understand their products and services. Mullaly drives competitor cars as much or more than he drives Fords.
Listen to your customers. Really listen to what gets customers excited and what doesn't. Ford calls this "emotional engineering" and it smacks of, well, user-driven experiences. A recent press release from Ford describes emotional engineering as such:
This "emotional engineering"—where everything about the vehicle must work together to create an emotional response—is helping Ford deliver vehicles that are gratifying to own and drive because it focuses on the human senses of sight, sound and touch.
Results like Ford's 2009 turnaround (by the way, the stock price is up 700% since last Feb.) rest on an ability to translate feedback into product DNA.
How do you rank?
Contact
Webinars
Case Studies
