How can sensors predictably fulfill a market need?

At Sensor Expo 2017, Roger Grace, president of Roger Grace Associates, a marketing consultancy that specializes in sensors and microelectromechanical system (MEMS) devices, explains the role that marketing should play in new product development and product introduction.  Roger has frequently published many articles on the topic that are available through links on his website.

In this short video, Grace suggests three essential steps that should be performed to ensure that a sensor is well received in the market.

To find out what is going to solve a problem and sell in the marketplace, the first step is listening to the voice of the customer.  While this can be as simple as asking customers what they need, obviously follow-up questions are extremely important.  What are they not getting that they want? If they had their wish, what would they want? The complete process involves talking to a lot of potential customers to zero in on essential product details, their value and what the associated costs should be.

The second step, the competitive part, involves understanding/finding out how others are currently addressing or planning to address the customer’s needs so you can do an even better job to provide a differentiated solution.

The third aspect is understanding/evaluating the distinct competencies of your organization to ensure that what you can do fits in with the market needs.

While there are many additional approaches to expand and flesh out more market details, these essential three steps provide a simple, memorable and easy start to defining deliverables that will make a new sensor or any product successful.