When we talk about the development of a new product that a firm wants to bring into their portfolio, there are a few crucial stages that are followed. When we see all these new and highly innovative things on the shelf, they have all been through this process of product development which is very important to understand.
If you are someone who runs a small business and you want to create your product, these are the 7 steps that you will need to follow and make sure that you implement as without these your product might fail within the market. You can look into design product development at Procept for designing help and more information.
- Idea generation
The first step within the process of product development is the step of idea generation. Most big firms tend to put up incentives for employees to generate new product ideas which they can add to their portfolio. However, when we talk about idea generation, the idea should be such that not only does it cater to the ongoing problems within the world but it should be according to the audience, culture, and environment they live within
- Idea Screening
In the first step of idea generation, the firm gets many different ideas together through the process of brainstorming. In this next step, we need to narrow down these ideas and bring them down to a few viable ideas that are not just doable but fit well with the vision of the firm, which can generate funds for the firm and will appeal to the audience. We believe that the best way is to create a checklist that has all the points that you would want in an idea, and they evaluate the ideas according to it. Through that, you can narrow down the ideas that seem viable to you.
- Concept development and testing
A product concept is similar to a product idea however it is a much more extensive version of it. This means that when we talk about product concept it inculcates the idea of how the product would appear within the market, would it appeal to the audience or not, will it be possible for the firm to create that product as well as whether or not the product fits well with the firm and their vision and mission. Once the concept of the product has been developed, it needs to be tested, which also comes under this stage. The target audience is exposed to the idea and their opinion is taken on whether or not they appreciate the concept.
- Business and market strategy development
In the step, you determine three things about the product concept. Firstly, you determine the target market, the product positioning, and the market share and the profit goals for the next few years. Then in the second part, you determine the planned price, distribution, and marketing budget for the product within a year and lastly, you develop the long-term goals and strategies.
- Product development
This is whether the product concept is turned into an actual product. This part calls for a large investment from the firm and shows whether or not the product concepts can be developed into a working product.
- Test marketing
When the product passes all tests of workability then you come onto test marketing. In this you introduce the product into a few commercial settings, offer the product to a selected audience, and more, just to find out what they think about the product. In the end, you can then c=make changes to your marketing mix accordingly.
- Commercialization
In the last stage, you introduce the product within the market, and then bear the costs and expenses of marketing and other additional costs that come alongside it.