Experts of execution
Let’s Put a Stake Through That Moving Target
As an engineering leader, are you looking for some help locking down sales and marketing on the specification, schedule, or cost of a product offering? Do you want better market intelligence or clearer direction? Simply need someone to manage the project? You’re in the right place!
Step by step
our solutions
Given enough time, we know you could figure it out yourself. Yet the constraints don’t make it possible. Having lived in each seat of the new product development process, we have a unique understanding of how elements work together to help drive a project. We will be your utility man to help keep things moving.
Step 1:
Investigation
- Market Prioritization
- Market & Competitive Gap Analysis
- Contact Database
- Qualitative Research
- Quantitative Research
- User Preference Mapping
- Kano Analysis
- Product Development Roadmap
- Customer Journey Analysis
- Strategic Roadmap
Step 2:
Feasibility
- Specification Development
- Test Plan Definitions
- Project Business Case
- Sales Forecasting
- Product Concepting
- IP Applications
Step 3:
Activation
- Product Design
- Bill Of Materials
- First Article
- Field Testing
- Certifications
- Pre-Production Build (Alpha)
- MarCom
Step 4:
Validation
- Pre-Production Build (Beta)
- Quality Review
- Validation Checklist
Pressed for time?
Ambiguity and Time Are Not an Engineer’s Friend
As an engineer, you know the challenges of sales and marketing shifting the requirements. Maintaining Spec, Schedule, and Cost are always difficult. So often, you wish you didn’t have to make a change based on what a customer told sales. Or with all the daily interruptions, you can’t focus on anything new. You are not alone!
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Key Benefits
You’re technical and like to fix things, yet sometimes there just isn’t enough time to address all the items that need to be done. Sometimes it’s as simple as getting an outside perspective to help generate a new concept or process that will move things forward. Many hands make light work and we’re here to help.
What Success Looks Like
• More Time for You
• Better Market Intelligence
• Additional Resources
• Less Stress
Time to clarify
THE PROCESS
Our goal is to keep it simple. We work together to ensure we understand the core value of the company and the offering to the customer. With that, we map the elements and metrics to define success. Then we execute!
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Build a Business Plan
Map Out Timelines and Deliver
testimonials
What our clients say
We have a history of making other business leaders' lives easier. Manufacturing to marketing, our clients have achieved their visions and grown their business with our help. Hear their story and take your business goals to the next step.
I started working with The Next Step Inc. as I was entering a new company and new role. Their understanding of the markets and ability to map out what buyers are thinking was critical for me to get up to speed quickly. It’s great to have a metric focused marketing firm that is always pushing to drive value and uses the data to bring clarity to where we need to put our resources. I have really been impressed and enjoyed working with them.
I worked with Jeff and his team to build out our first Google Ad campaign. We hadn’t done one before and their team was able to do the heavy lifting. They understood my market and products, mapped out the forms, built the content, and launched the campaign. Within a few weeks the new ad was driving 25% of our website traffic with one ad! I didn’t need to write content, project manage or really get involved. This is the way a marketing firm should work.
I was given Jeff’s name as a recommendation from a friend. The front-end assessment of our business and market helped align our team quickly. Within a matter of a week, they built out the highly professional content with a clear value proposition message. They helped us focus on a few key materials that would drive value in the sales process. The Next Step team managed everything so I didn’t have to, and also were able to get grant money in the process to help pay for the efforts.
I sat down with Jeff to talk about building a new website for my business. He quickly assessed that before we could build anything, let’s first go work on selling a system so that we could understand what was actually needed to market the product. His approach of finding the key elements to close business was impressive, and I enjoy working with someone who understands the technical nature of my product.
Jeff was hired on a consultant basis and got busy. 6 weeks down the path, we now own a clear vision and template for New Product Development predicated on market data. This guy is 110% devoted to the science of business and product development.
We have been working with Jeff at The Next Step for about two months and we have made more progress than over the last 5 years. He was able to come in and work with our Team and create systems to eliminate wasted time and effort. He was also good at working with the different personalities involved and uncovers the underlying issues. I would highly recommend him.
Jeff has served as a board member for Manufacturers Alliance since 2012. His insights have always challenged our thinking and helped us to get to the next level. Having someone I can trust that will take over and drive a program so I don’t have to is so relieving. It allows me the ability to stay focused on running the business. If you have a project that needs to get done, give them a call.
I served as a board member for a small manufacturing company Jeff was working on. Within 6 months of starting the company had built out a new brand, found new channel partners, moved the facility, gotten to profitability, and started their lean journey all while evaluating and hiring staff to meet the company objectives. Jeff’s well rounded business knowledge makes him a key resource that can solve any business challenge. If you are struggling with a problem and need some support to drive through it. The Next Step Inc. is your team.