Case Studies
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Growing Microsoft's Software Assurance Business
Microsoft’s Software Assurance was a business under pressure, facing declining renewals that put substantial revenue at risk. Working with Strategyn, the company used the ODI methodology to better understand their customers' needs and address them. They discovered customers were having trouble tracking the number of PC licenses they owned, training employees on upgrades, and preventing internal security violations.
The resulting solution, however, didn't require a "big idea" or new innovations. Instead, Microsoft was able to repackage the Software Assurance offering, add products it was using internally to create value, and develop a more effective marketing strategy and marketing message.
As a result of this innovative solution, Microsoft was able to substantially grow the Software Assurance business and increase customer satisfaction -- a true service innovation
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Disruptive Strategy at Kroll Ontrack
To prosecute or defend a corporate legal case, a lawyer must find, cull, and organize pertinent data that resides electronically on storage devices housed throughout a firm. Kroll Ontrack, a technology services division of the risk consultancy firm Kroll, recognized an opportunity to develop an electronic document discovery solution for this purpose. But it lacked a product strategy.
With Strategyn as its innovation partner, Kroll used the ODI process to create an award-winning, innovative solution. The company focused on the jobs customers were trying to get done, rather than seeking to improve the existing solution platform. The result? Ontrack's innovative electronic discovery product disrupted the paper discovery products offered by entrenched competitors.
Because of this new innovation, Kroll became - and remains - the industry leader.
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Service Innovation at Abbott Medical Optics
Abbott Medical Optics (AMO) was losing customers due to poor customer service. The company, a strong technical innovator, knew it needed to apply the same scientific rigor to service innovation. Working with Strategyn, AMO used the Outcome-Driven Innovation process to discover unique service innovation opportunities.
Understanding the customers needs, Strategyn led a team of AMO sales, technical support, customer service, accounts payable, logistics and IT infrastructure managers through the process of developing innovative solutions to satisfy the most promising opportunities.
The result? AMO realized a 10 percent increase in its Net Promoter score and a 14 percent increase in its customer loyalty index in the year following the introduction of the new innovations -- and won a prestigious award for world-class customer service.
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Creating the Hussmann EcoShine LED Lighting Solution
Ingersoll Rand’s Hussmann division decided in 2009 to reexamine its LED product line. Used to illuminate refrigeration cases for cold beverages and perishable and frozen foods, the product line offered reduced operating costs—especially when compared with fluorescent lighting. But in the four years following the launch of the product line, Hussmann had seen little reaction from customers. Customers simply didn’t warm up to the idea.
To discover opportunities for competitive differentiation, Hussmann applied Strategyn’s Outcome-Driven Innovation (ODI) methodology. Drawing on the responses of shoppers, store merchandisers, and executive merchandisers, Hussmann dissected the complementary jobs of those key groups. As a result, it created an innovative line of LED products—the EcoShine LED Lighting System—and focused on satisfying eight underserved outcomes in the merchandising of perishable food products.
The product has been a hit in the market. “In only one year, we’ve gone from a fraction of a digit to double digits in market share in North America,” said Anshuman Bhargava, Innovation & Business Development Manager and LED Product Manager.
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Creating an Innovative Surgical Tool
Advanced Surgical Tools wanted to extend a successful product line into attractive adjacent markets. Partnering with Strategyn, the company was able to discover the unmet needs of the physicians it served - enabling them to formulate a clear innovation strategy.
With idea generation focused on 21 identified unmet customer needs, AST was able to create an innovative solution – the JOC205 Couple Arc Blade. The product features a different geometry that relates to the physicians' specific, sought-after outcomes.
Knowing its customers' needs also enabled AST to simplify its idea generation process, shaving more than nine months off the original development schedule and significantly reducing capital expenditures. The new features are highlighted in AST's marketing and sales materials to strengthen the product's market positioning.
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Creating the Bosch CS20 Circular Saw
When Bosch’s power tool division decided to enter the US market with a high-end, Bosch-brand circular saw, the company worked with Strategyn and used its Outcome-Driven Innovation process to give them a competitive edge.
Bosch recognized that there had been little innovation in the market; it was perceived as mature and commodity-like. Therefore, they knew that finding innovative solutions would depend on the company's ability to uncover and inexpensively address market opportunities that others had missed.
The company hit a home run in the competitive saw market by understanding the jobs customers were trying to get done - and generating innovative ideas to address those needs. The product improved customer satisfaction and enabled Bosch to gain the distribution support of Big Box retailers such as Home Depot and Lowe's.
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Service Innovation at Kroll
With consumer identity theft on the rise and increasing awareness that data breaches are a major source of the problem, Kroll recognized an opportunity to differentiate itself with a valued solution for data breach response. Kroll had been providing data breach response services for years, but it lacked a comprehensive strategy based on client needs.
Using Strategyn's outcome-driven innovation (ODI) methodology, the company was able to:
- Gain a comprehensive understanding of what organizations are trying to get done when responding to a data breach
- Prioritize opportunities for service innovation in the data breach response market
- Create an integrated, end-to-end data breach service line that uniquely combines Kroll's expertise and capabilities in satisfying client needs
- Effectively position itself for growth in an estimated $200 million/year market
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Service Delivery Innovation at Ceridian
Ceridian provides its corporate clients with human resources, payroll, and benefits administration services, and serves as the first line of contact for client employees who have HR-related questions. In many instances, it also serves as the clients' HR department.
Although strong operationally, Ceridian lacked the insight into customer needs that would enable it to create a distinctive brand for quality customer care. Working with Strategyn's Outcome-Driven Innovation methodology, the company was able to develop a detailed set of best-practice service standards and process flows that improved their offerings.
By better understanding critical customer outcomes, Ceridian improved its service reliability and customer satisfaction at critical touch points in the outsourcing service relationship. As a result, it’s Net Promoter scores from clients who have used its improved offerings have risen 27 percent.
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A Market Case for Chronic Wound Care
In 2008, ITI Scotland announced it would invest £7.9m over three and a half years toward the development of an advanced wound care technology, specifically targeting diabetes-related injuries. But before the organization invested public money in the endeavor, it needed to ensure that its proposed investment was backed by a solid market case.
Working with Strategyn UK, ITI used the Outcome-Driven Innovation (ODI) process to understand the unmet needs of wound care practitioners, reveal a clear market opportunity for superior chronic wound care solutions, discover four practitioner segments with distinct patterns of need, and formulate a multi-platform innovation roadmap.
The ODI process enabled the organization to establish a complete picture of how diabetic foot care practitioners think about the job they are trying to accomplish. ITI Scotland is now in a position to drive ahead confidently with its research and development program and deliver a revolutionary new approach to chronic wound care management.
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Innovation at Line 6: The BackTrack Digital Recorder
Having made a name for itself in the guitar business, Line 6 realized that it needed a detailed understanding of its customers’ needs in new markets if it wanted to continue to meet its aggressive growth goals. Relying on the intuition of staff and experienced musicians would no longer suffice.
Using Strategyn's Outcome-Driven Innovation process, the company was able to discover the underserved functional needs and emotional needs of guitar players, resulting in the creation of a innovative digital recording product called BackTrack. Further, Line 6 was able to use this information to craft messaging that resonated with guitarists.
This innovative idea is receiving glowing accolades from customers and professional reviewers alike.
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