In consumer goods the renewal of the offer must be permanent

In consumer goods, the renewal of the offer must be permanent. A Danone and a Coca-Cola must continually innovate if they want to continue to dominate and to progress in more mature economies. It first renovate the range of products and improve their performance. It must also respond to market developments: in less than ten years, the "light" products is thus interfered in most lines. Finally, to grow faster than the market, we must challenge the market and explore new habits of consumption...

This year, all patterns of twenty global leaders in consumer goods are without exception innovation as a strategic priority for Europe and the United States. This ambition must give good insomnia: two leaders in three express doubts as to the performance of the process of innovation in their business. The figures are dizzying: more than half of the innovation projects are abandoned in development, and many of those going to the commercialization stage do not reach their revenue goals. The Director of innovation for Procter & Gamble recently declared that for P & G, innovate, it was "launching a start-up of more than 4 billions of dollars each year". A goal of annual organic growth of 3 to 5, a company generating 10 billion euros of turnover must actually manage permanently a "pipeline" of innovations with a value up to 5 billion.

Need to be quick to multiply launch new products and projects It is the reaction most common when the innovation caught, and unfortunately the less effective. If it is relatively easy and inexpensive to enter many of the ideas in the pipeline of innovation, the perverse effects of the multiplication of the projects are felt later: costs, congestion, dispersion. First, development costs are exploding: it is necessary to develop the industrial solutions and preparing campaigns of marketing for a large number of projects. Second, local sales teams and distributors often refuse to launch too many new products at the same time. Finally, advertising budgets available to support the launches are distributed on a large number of products and lose their effectiveness.

What are the winners of the innovation They are developing a process which they follow every step with extreme attention: upstream, they concentrated the bulk of their investments on a few ideas to high potential research; downstream, they argue over time new products after their launch on the market. They finance these investments by productivity gains in the development phase. A few years ago, the American leader of cleaning products, Clorox (more known in France for its Brita water filters), has declined by 40 the number of projects in its pipeline of innovation, while increasing the value of these projects by 50. With as a result more "kicked in the mile", as the disinfectant spray kills 99.9 of bacteria and can be used around children, dogs and food! From 2001 to 2006, Clorox has generated a return on investment to its shareholders of 100, while the & S P 500 posted a score of 13 and the rest of the sector peaked at 42. "Innovation, this is not sow the seeds for the future review, said the former CEO of Clorox, Jerry Johnston, is avoid be distracted.

Building "platforms" of innovation

How to avoid the pitfall of the multiplication of small projects and channel ideas to high potential energy Winners of the innovation taking place of "platforms" of innovation. Whatever the configuration of this platform, it is to gather and mobilize R & D, marketing, sometimes independent researchers and even suppliers, around common directions, based on some "insight" consumer, as, for example, opportunities of consumption or new ways to buy...

These platforms allow to register at the entrance of the innovation pipeline customer purpose, with a clean and original vision built from consumers. Somehow, it is to start with the purpose of innovation: offer new products whose value is immediately recognized by the client. This practice allows to generate ideas and select the best from the outset. Operating for several brands at the same time, it allows also the undertaking to allocate costs on many new products, thereby increasing the yield of the process.

At the end of the 1990s, Danone limited its offer of yoghurt and cookies on the segments of the snacks and desserts. The group then decided to open a "breakfast platform", which allowed to observe consumers: they love their small habits (eating the same thing every morning) and prefer healthy products. Danone then concentrated its efforts of innovation on the concept "start the day in a healthy way." The company has created products enhancing immune (Actimel), yogurt packaged with trays of grains and nutritional biscuits (vitaminized biscuits Prince) supposed to bring consumers a maximum of energy early in the day.

The emphasis placed on platforms does not explore other ways, but this allows channel the efforts of search and selection of ideas up the pipeline.

Reduce congestion

The best innovators are a formidable efficiency when it comes to evaluate concepts, develop and test their marketing. They gain in productivity on two points: first, they develop systems to quickly determine if a product or concept is likely to make a tobacco market. More low potential projects were put aside committed too many expenses. Second, they accelerate the development of the projects by clearly identifying the key decision-maker at every stage of the process.

In 2003, for example, Gillette has created a program for the development of its new products: proposing a new concept must justify its proposal in relying on solid consumer tests. A concept is funded and its launch is approved, the team must demonstrate that it meets ambitious criteria (for example, preferred consumer of 2/1 from the flagship of the market) and that it can be a sufficient margin. And the team must set, early in the development process, the key roles that will achieve aggressive launch objectives.

Start to last

Innovation leaders give their products necessary to enter and remain on the market support. Everyone knows: the key to success in the first months is to quickly develop the presence in the distribution through targeted marketing efforts and dynamic monitoring (merchandising) in points of sale. But what differentiates the best innovators is their tenacity in the start-up phase. To firmly establish a new product, it takes between six months and five years. Danone Actimel was launched in 1997, but took more than five years to adjust its product and its marketing concept. In 2004, Actimel accounted for 16 of sales of Danone in France yoghurt. Danone has been able to avoid the pitfall of move too fast and kept a long term vision. Innovate, it is not to be distracted.

By improving the efficiency of the pipeline, innovation leaders have the necessary resources to create platforms, generate innovative ideas and to support their efforts of marketing in the long term. And this allows them to transform products into winning products and to avoid failures that so often make more risky innovation that it should be