Comments on: How Dominick Martinetti used Open Innovation to launch Slappa into market leadership

By: Dominick Martinetti

Dominick Martinetti — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 01:44:14 +0000

Guys, based on what we covered in the interview you are correct in that this shows how we used design based thinking, but one of the things that has enabled us to scale is something Philippe points out “On the third level, (lead) users are enabled to actively participate in the product development process (e.g. the Lego Factory). This is the level of co-creation”. One of our largest markets is the DJ market. when I started the company (from the design, branding and market targeting) I didn’t even know there was such a thing as a DJ market. It now accounts for about 70% of our business. The reason it has grown to be so large for us is, in a large part, because one reseller (Guitar Center) took a shot with our products when we first launched. We sold well, and then were told by the buyer and a few of the store managers, “you guys need to add a large DJ cd case, and a case with a trolley, and a shoulder bag that can hold specific DJ gear”. While this sounds like it is in the design thinking space, these products were actually developed by the buyer, specifically for his market. I have to say that 2 of of top selling products were developed by this small group of specialists.

One other note…Jen, I will do whatever I can to please everyone because I think once someone buys your product it should be easy to please/satisfy them….it’s a matter of how much you have “planned ahead” to please them. In other words, we work very hard on building top quality products. While most of the brands/products in our segment focus on price, we focus on quality because I believe strongly that people care about quality. I also believe (based on my personal experiences as a customer) that all customers want to be treated like they are “the one and only customer”, so if we are set up (trained and prepared to think of the customer on the other end “is me”) then it’s easy to please them even in the event there is a problem.

Nice discussion..

By: jen_chan, writer SureFireWealth.com

jen_chan, writer SureFireWealth.com — Fri, 04 Jan 2008 16:44:01 +0000

Well, he certainly has a very refreshing attitude when it comes to pleasing customers. They say that you can’t please everybody. But this guy doesn’t plan to use one method for everybody and he sure as hell would try his best.

By: Philippe De Ridder

Philippe De Ridder — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 10:22:20 +0000

I agree Thomas, if you consider the level of user participation. Slappa’s innovation process looks like a process of user-centered design to me, which you could see as low-level open innovation: users/reviewers are involved in the process on the level of product testing, focus groups, ethnographic interviews, and feedback (but still considered as passive users). A next level would be the level of customization, allowing users to decide themselves on a range of options according to their preferences. On the third level, (lead) users are enabled to actively participate in the product development process (e.g. the Lego Factory). This is the level of co-creation. I will write a post shortly on “the four levels of participation”.

On the other hand, Slappa quite intelligently involved professional journalists in the process (not only users, but experts in the domain). By doing so, they brought external expertise into the product development process, which is a key element of open innovation. In addition, in the stage of commercialisation, this provided them with strategic partners in sales and marketing.

By: Thomas

Thomas — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 04:10:22 +0000

Anand, thanks for the overview of Slappa’s process. I think it’s a good model for folks to follow.

What’s interesting to me is that I didn’t see his process as Open Innovation. I understood it to be Design Thinking. I’d love to know what others think.

Given Design Thinking’s reliance on user research and testing, it’s no surprise that there’s plenty of overlap between the two. That said, I see major differences in the ways which an Open Innovation model will engage users. In Design Thinking, we seek to understand users needs through ethnographic interviews, product testing and feedback. While a user may suggest a feature or product, the goal of this phase is to understand their needs. (which to me is what Dominick was doing with Slappa). In Design Thinking, the needs inspire the solution, but the responsibility of developing the solution falls to the designer.

To my understanding, Open Innovation is about creating a system which makes it easy for users (or outsiders) to generate solutions.

By: Edward Halim

Edward Halim — Mon, 31 Dec 2007 06:53:32 +0000

Thank you for that detailed information. I’m going to try to apply what I learn here to my start up.

Thanks!
-Ed