Key Principle
Once you hold a prioritized list of underserved outcomes, every strategic decision -- messaging, R&D, partnerships, acquisitions -- becomes a scoring exercise against that list. The first and highest-ROI moves are almost never invention; they are repositioning, retargeting, and reframing what already exists. Product strategy then escalates through seven actions, from borrowing existing features to conceptualizing a single-platform solution that gets the entire job done.
Why This Matters
Most companies default to building new things because they lack a precise definition of what is underserved. ODI eliminates this blindness. Case after case shows the same pattern: the solution already existed inside the company, but nobody connected it to the segment that needed it. Without outcome data, portfolio decisions collapse into internal politics; with it, they become mechanical scoring.
Good Examples
- Coloplast Wound Care: Competitors messaged "heal faster." ODI revealed nurses actually prioritized preventing complications (10 of 15 underserved outcomes). Reframing the value proposition -- no product change, no pricing change -- drove double-digit growth in under six months. (p. 101, 115)
- Cordis (messaging gap): Product already satisfied outcomes competitors missed, but those strengths were never communicated. Messaging existing strengths to the right segment moved market share from 1.5% to 5% in six months. (p. 114)
- Cordis (R&D acceleration): Among ~40 pipeline initiatives, outcome data identified "minimize the likelihood of restenosis" as the top unmet need. The stent project was fast-tracked; initiatives not addressing customer needs were killed. Result: first-to-market, $1B revenue. (p. 119)
- Arm & Hammer Animal Nutrition: Realigned value proposition and sales conversations to outcome-based segments. 30%+ YoY revenue growth, no product or pricing change. (p. 101, 116)
- Microsoft Software Assurance: Separate ODI studies for procurement managers (~75 outcomes) and IT professionals (100+ outcomes) revealed distinct unmet needs per stakeholder, preventing the averaged-out priorities a single survey would produce. (p. 124-125)
- Auto manufacturer (partner selection): Scored 100+ potential partners against underserved outcomes, narrowing to 3. (p. 120)
Counterpoints
- Repositioning alone works only when the product already satisfies the underserved outcomes. If it does not, messaging changes will erode credibility -- the fulfillment sequence matters: (1) highlight current strengths, (2) accelerate pipeline, (3) invent for remaining gaps. (p. 102)
- The "ultimate single-platform solution" vision can stall execution if treated as a product plan rather than a competitive-preemption map. One agricultural company delayed acting on the platform vision; a competitor made the acquisitions first, forcing a reactive scramble. (p. 123)
- Feature comparison ("speeds and feeds") remains common despite being unreliable -- two products can share a feature yet satisfy the underlying outcome to vastly different degrees. Teams must resist defaulting to it. (p. 103)
Key Quotes
"The unmet needs of today represent the winning value propositions of the future." (p. 101)
"Without changing its products or its pricing -- simply by focusing its messaging and sales efforts on nurses' unmet outcomes -- Coloplast achieved double-digit growth." (p. 101)
"Comparing feature sets -- 'speeds and feeds' -- of competing products is a waste of time. It is an outdated approach that provides irrelevant information." (p. 103)
"The chance that a development team will develop a product that addresses the most underserved outcomes to target if they don't know precisely what those underserved outcomes are is extremely low." (p. 112)
"Innovation does not necessarily require invention. Innovation is the ability to use technology (existing or new) to address an unmet customer need." (p. 118)
"A prioritized list of underserved outcomes makes the perfect scorecard against which to evaluate firms that will help you get more of a job done and/or get the job done better." (p. 120)
"Hardware and technology-based companies often stunt their growth potential because they resist adding a necessary service component." (p. 122)
Rules of Thumb
- Reposition before you build. Audit existing products against underserved outcomes first. The cheapest innovation is connecting what you have to who needs it.
- Follow the 7-action escalation. Borrow features -> accelerate pipeline -> partner/license -> acquire -> devise features -> add services -> conceptualize the platform. Move left to right; never skip to invention.
- Use outcomes as a kill mechanism. Pipeline initiatives that do not address measured unmet needs get defunded. More ideas without a filter increases waste, not innovation.
- Separate stakeholders, separate studies. Multi-executor products need distinct outcome surveys per role. Averaging across stakeholders produces priorities that serve nobody well.
- Treat the platform vision as an early-warning system. Map the complete job to expose the acquisition trajectory any rational competitor would follow. Inaction bets that competitors are equally blind.
- ODI outputs are marketing assets. Job steps and desired outcomes double as SEO/SEM keywords because customers search in job language, not product language.
Related References
- The Opportunity Algorithm & Opportunity Landscape -- The scoring method that identifies underserved outcomes feeding into these strategy decisions.
- Case Studies — ODI in Practice -- Extended evidence for Cordis, Coloplast, Bosch, and other cases referenced here.
- The Growth Strategy Matrix & Five Strategies -- The broader growth strategy framework that market and product strategy operate within.