The new product development process: let the voice of the salesperson be heard
| Pages | 194-202 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/10610420610668630 |
| Date | 01 April 2006 |
| Published date | 01 April 2006 |
| Author | Kimberly Judson,Denise D. Schoenbachler,Geoffrey L. Gordon,Rick E. Ridnour,Dan C. Weilbaker |
| Subject Matter | Marketing |
The new product development process: let the
voice of the salesperson be heard
Kimberly Judson, Denise D. Schoenbachler, Geoffrey L. Gordon, Rick E. Ridnour and Dan C. Weilbaker
Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, Illinois, USA
Abstract
Purpose – The purpose of this research is to provide an empirical examination of the role of the salesperson in the new product/service development
process.
Design/methodology/approach – A survey was mailed to 2,650 sales managers representing US firms across the nation, and the resulting sample
size consisted of 246 respondents with a response rate of 9.3 percent. The survey sample included firms with a business-to-business emphasis, and
those with a minimum of 50 employees.
Findings – The majority of the respondents reported that salespeople are indirectly or directly involved in the new product/service development
process. In spite of this contribution, many firms do not directly reward salespeople for their involvement. Offering appropriate incentives could greatly
increase their efforts to collect information for new product/service idea generation.
Research limitations/implications – Suggested future research includes the perspectives of salespeople, new product development directors, etc. In
addition, the study was strictly domestic and could benefit from an international focus, as well as a comparison of products versus services sectors.
Practical implications – The findings from this study can be used by managers as a benchmark for assessing sales force participation in the new
product/service development, and to identify ways to encourage increased participation by the sales force with incentives.
Originality/value – Little formalized research has been conducted on the specific role that salespeople play in the new product/service development
process. The findings from this study may provide strategic guidance to organizations with respect to the role of salespeople in the critical new product/
service development process.
Keywords Sales force, Product development, Marketing intelligence
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
The successful development and market introduction of new
products/services continues to be of critical importance for an
organization’s survival, particularly in a globally competitive
business environment. Unfor tunately, the failure rate of new
products and services for US companies is in the range of 40-
90 percent (Clancy and Stone, 2005; Goldhill, 2005;
Newmaster, 2005; Stevens and Burley, 2003; Wells, 2005).
Both the marketing and the management literatures report
studies designed to identify why product/service innovations
fail, and to suggest strategies to improve success rates. A
common themefound throughout the studies is that companies
that are successful in identifying customer needsand wants, and
can subsequently develop and bring to market products and
services to address those needs and wants, tend to fare better
than companies that cannot (Pooltan and Barclay, 1998; Li and
Calantone, 1998; Calantone et al., 2002; Di Benedetto, 1999;
Song and Montoya-Weiss, 1998; Rogers et al., 2005).
Identifying customer needs and wants and developing
innovations to address those needs and wants suggests that
organizations need to collect and act on customer-initiated
feedback and input. One functional area that exists within
companies and should be well suited for this purpose is the
sales force. It is the sales force that is uniquely equipped to
understand how to best serve customers’ needs and wants
(Avlontis and Gounaris, 1997; Pelham and Lieb, 2004).
Despite the apparent opportunity to utilize the sales force as a
resource in soliciting customer input in the new product/
service development process, there has been little formalized
research conducted on the specific role that salespeople play
or could play in this process.
This research seeks to fill this void by empirically examining
the role of the salesperson in the new product/service
development process. The study explored the extent to which
salespeople are involved in the product development process,
the outcomes of such involvement, barriers to successful use o f
salespeopleto gather information,and identification of variables
affecting the role of salespeople in the product/ser vice
development process. The research may provide strategic
guidance to organizationswith respect to the role of salespeople
in the critical new product/service development process.
Background
If the traditional management directive “successfully innovate
or perish” holds any truth, then a multitude of US companies
may be in trouble. Results from a recent study conducted by a
Product Development Management Association Foundation
indicate that new product sales fell from 32 percent of total
company sales in 1990 to 28 percent in 2004 (Cooper, 2005).
Further, the same study reported that business profits derived
from new products are down from 33.2 percent to 28.3
percent during the same period. Business Week (2005) has
called for US companies to renew their commitment to
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at
www.emeraldinsight.com/1061-0421.htm
Journal of Product & Brand Management
15/3 (2006) 194–202
qEmerald Group Publishing Limited [ISSN 1061-0421]
[DOI 10.1108/10610420610668630]
194
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