Some people get into business thinking that they want to play it safe so that their profits are guaranteed. However, others may prefer to develop their own unique products so that their company has a greater chance of success. Is new product development really worth the trouble? The answer to that is a resounding “Yes!”
The Value of Creating Your Own New Product
Do not doubt that creating a unique product yourself brings with it a lot of benefits like:
Pride of Ownership – you can be confident about telling others about your new product because you made it yourself.
Additional Knowledge Of Your Industry – developing a unique product entails doing some research and development. This means you will examine products of would-be competitors to see how they are made. Some may call this “deconstruction” or “reverse engineering”. No matter what you call it, you will gain a more comprehensive knowledge of your line of business so that you can make your own product.
Profits! – yes, every businessman who gets into product development has this in his mind. Face it, without profits it would be dreary to go into product research and development. Profit is your reward for your time, energy and effort.
Pass On a Legacy – Life is indeed short, so those who are able to develop their own product will want to pass this on to the next generation. This may mean giving knowledge about the product to your heirs or to colleagues in your industry so that they can replicate its production even when you are no longer around.
The Role of the Research Lab in New Product Development
If you are going to produce something that has never seen life before then you will want to invest in your own research and development team. Yes, this means hiring an R&D team like Avomeen and investing in the appropriate equipment. It means that your team will be concerned with meeting your product specifications, testing various versions of your product, and checking for flaws that may derail business progress.
How to Keep Trade Secrets a Secret
You will also need your R&D team to impose security safeguards to protect trade secrets. This means that you will ask the team to refrain from discussing work-related information with anyone (and that includes their spouses and children too). You may have to ask the team to sign a security agreement so that you can take action if trade secrets get leaked, especially to competitors.
Tips to Guarantee Success of New Products
- Prepare your company to welcome the new product – this means checking all aspects of your business so that your people will know about the new product. Even inner departments like Finance and Accounting, and Human Resources, will need to be briefed about it. You don’t have to divulge the nitty-gritty, just make sure everyone is up to speed about accommodating the new product in daily business operations.
- Test the product prototype with focus groups – This will allow you to gain evidence that the prototype meets the needs of, and appeals to, your preferred focus groups. Your focus groups should demonstrate a probable response to your new product. You should solicit suggestions as well on how the prototype could be improved upon.
- Prepare to market the new product – Your Marketing Department will be responsible for this. They need to know enough about the product and how the key markets might respond to its launch. You need to emphasize business goals so that Marketing employees can make room for it in the company business marketing schedule. Marketing may have to work hand-in-glove with Finance and Accounting regarding the pricing of the new product, with emphasis on the Suggested Retail Price (SRP), so that company investment can be recouped through sales.
- Launch then assess – This means you will introduce your product at retail vendors, or to your target markets, at the SRP determined by your people. What sales strategy will you be using? Will you be running a network marketing scheme? Or will it be just retail? Once you have launched the product, be ready to check the response and adjust accordingly.
New products are produced by companies all the time – but this time this is your own product you will release into the market. Done the right way, product development can bring you many benefits, especially profits. Monitor product development starting at the research and development phase up to the time that you will release it to key markets. Remember to seek feedback from customers about it so that you can adjust where necessary. This will help you to guarantee business success and means a steady demand for your great, new product.
