Companies and consultants providing product development and management services.
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Boston MA, Feb.27-Mar.1, 2012 High-Tech Senior Product Manager
Outstanding Management Consultant Solving your IT and Business Issues
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Online Product Development
If You Love Something Let It Go - 5 Great Tips on Product Development for Start-UpsBy Simon Slade, Founder and Director SaleHoo.com You've had the break through idea and have sorted out your business plan. If your business involves a new product or service there will probably be a section in your business plan marked “Product Development.” This is the phase where you've got a prototype or a beta service and you want to refine it, make it a little more slick and add a couple more features. But beware.
Mollycoddling, obsessive reworking and poor timing can turn promising new business start-ups into projects that drag on and somehow never quite get off the ground. But choosing the right time to let go and launch your new product or service is easier said than done.
According startup guru Jerry Kaplan, launching a product can be compared to having children. Just how much do you protect your child before you let it out into the world? It's possible to become too precious with the thing you've spent so much time and energy (and money) on.
If you're targeting a niche market it would definitely pay to launch sooner rather than later. There is a staggering precedent for those products that are first to market. In marketing terms it's called the law of leadership and often leads to the brand name becoming the generic term. Xerox and Coca Cola are classic examples and have even become verbs!
Releasing early is an advantage that online businesses have that most brick-and-mortar businesses don't. A physical product launch is a product launch. Yes, there are focus groups but once you hit the ground and go public, it's hard to get it back. On the web, if the product has a solid enough core then it can stand by itself.
Ideally, the product development should continue after you've launched. Working with your community of users / customers, and letting them set the tone for the discussion means that they can help develop your product if you listen to them.
Release Early If Possible
Releasing early is better than releasing late. Being the first to market is an incredible advantage to have if you can capitalize on it. This doesn't mean releasing a product that isn't up to scratch as far as programming goes. It needs to be solid and it needs to be adaptable.
Try:
Reading the book The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing, OR checking out the Wikipedia entry for the chapter headings if you're short on time!
Commercialize Quickly
Getting the product out early also means monetizing and commercializing more quickly. The problem with a lot of startups is that they focus on development and then pitch to Venture Capitalists or other investors. If you can make a product profitable earlier then a lot of the strain of developing can be reduced.
Try:
Thinking about alternative forms of capital. If you can work from your savings or another fund it means that you don't have to rely so much on outside sources.
Listen to and Trust your Users
The pressure of developing can be reduced even further if you trust your users. At the end of the day these are the most important people to your start-up. They are the ones using it so it makes sense that they will have the best idea on how to improve it. That said, be flexible but don't be flakey. Trying to meet every single demand is impossible, caving in to every request will leave you floundering without direction.
Try:
Setting up a users / members forum and trusting the wisdom of the crowds, especially if they are your customers. This article on crowdsourcing is excellent.
Know your industry
Having an absolutely rock solid knowledge of your industry is vital. To take on board opinions from external sources it helps if you know the background and the best practice.
Try:
Gaining experience in the industry that you are going to launch in. Personal problems are always the easiest to solve because you understand them. You can do this by volunteering or doing old fashioned research, read a book, read trade magazines, or industry blogs. Use Google Blog Search to find relevant information.
Don't overextend
As the noise around you increases returning to the original problem, and your original business plan becomes more important. Don't overextend yourself. And even as new ideas come rolling in it's important to implement them on a time scale that was realistic and use your members to gauge which features they want first.
Try:
Sticking with what you know in the beginning, there will always be time to diversify or expand later.
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Boston MA, Feb.27-Mar.1, 2012 High-Tech Senior Product Manager
Outstanding Management Consultant Solving your IT and Business Issues
Acorn Product Development Inc.
Company provides mechanical design service for clients developing new products; services include product design, engineering analysis, documentation, testing, worldwide supplier resources, manufacturing, and project management with specialties in the fiel
Adriant, the language of the senses (France)
Service company, specializing in sensory evaluation and analysis.
Employee-owned product-design consultancy combining the diversity of knowledge and outlook needed to innovate profitably.
Full-service product design and development firm located outside of Boston, Massachusetts; offers design research, industrial design, human factors, graphic design, environmental design & mechanical engineering services; designed toys, housewares, electro
Los Angeles, California brand & product development services consultancy providing product design, engineering & graphic design to international manufacturing & services companies.
http://www.ashcraftdesign.com/
Axis Group International Inc. (Canada)
Toronto, Ontario company providing creative analysis, design strategies & new product development services.
Bedford, New Hampshire worldwide producer of distance programs & events servicing national and international clients: continuing medical education, corporate education & training, meetings & events, product launch & virtual presence.
Brad Bissell Industrial Design
Bradford D. Bissell, industrial design consultant based in San Jose, California.
Product design and engineering consultancy for the consumer and medical markets, using CAD technology.
Award-winning full-service product design & development firm located in Boston.
Catalyst Management Consulting
Management consulting services: project risk management, capturing and specifying requirements, new product development, strategic planning and alignment, assessments, workshops, project office and proposal capture.
Catherine Kitcho - Books, Seminars & Consulting
Silicon Valley consultant, author, instructor & publisher focusing on hi-tech strategic marketing & the product launch phase.
Product design & development corporation (Chicago, Milwaukee, Los Angeles) providing market research, industrial design, engineering, project management, vendor sourcing & rapid prototyping services.
Sales channel development consultancy specializing in hi-tech and information technology (IT).
http://www.channelstrategies.com/
Product design firm located in Pleasanton, California; provides creative product design solutions across a broad range of markets: consumer electronics, medical devices, business and office products, educational toys and industrial equipment; designs, eng
Comprehensive Engineering Solutions, Inc
Temple, Texas full-service engineering, product design & analysis firm.
Michigan-based full-service product development firm with an historical specialization in automotive & international capabilities.
Consumer Product Testing Company, Inc.
Fairfield, New Jersey full-service contract laboratory for analytical, microbiology, toxicology, clinical evaluations & sunscreen testing.
A marketing consulting firm specializing in technology for product launching. Based in New York.
http://members.aol.com/dpinkowitz/
Philadelphia-based consultancy founded in 1991; defines, refines, prototypes and evaluates new products for consumer, commercial and medical industries.
Swedish-based international consumer products company that designs, manufactures and markets complete solutions, concepts and products for the table.
Engineering consulting firm providing mechanical design and product development services for manufacturing and research and development.
An international consulting organization working in partnership with clients to develop new products, new forms of communications and new types of environments. Offices in Boston, London, Columbus, Osaka, Paris, Ann Arbor and San Francisco.
Waltham, Massachusetts engineering company with development laboratories, small shops, high bay fabrication facilities, engineering services; handles small & large projects from concept to design to manufacturing.
http://www.foster-miller.com/index.htm
Gem Group, The: Global Experiential Marketing
Team of marketing specialists united under one group, committed to building clients' brands.
South Bend, Indiana marketing concept development studio specializing in toy invention & design, consumer product concepts, characters, names & related marketable ideas.
Industrial design consultancy with specific expertise in the design and implementation of multimedia devices, kiosks and instrumentation, with particular regard to proof of concept, technology integration and prototyping. Located in Rosyth Europarc, Scotl
entrepreneurial product development firm specializing in the design & engineering of medical & consumer products; a division of Refac.
http://www.humanfactors-id.com/
Creates products, services & environments for companies pioneering new ways to provide value for their customers. Drawing on 20 years of experience in the field of innovation & design, IDEO defines & develops new futures for industry leaders & start-ups
Plano, Texas product design firm providing product & user research, industrial design, engineering & prototyping.
Virtual consulting group: technical, business, management and marketing consultants; new product development, new service development, marketing planning, marketing research, marketing consulting, creative problem solving.
Insight Product Development L.L.C.
Product-development consulting firm offering user research, design, engineering & prototyping with offices in Chicago & Boston.
Integen is a full service product development firm with a team of industrial designers, human-factors specialists,customer managers, mechanical and electrical engineers that offers a proven product development process.
Global branding consultancy specializing in brand strategy, corporate identity, name development and nomenclature systems, package and product design, environmental design, brand research and trademark law.
Janssen Ellison Company - Business Expansion Strategists
Tehachapi, California consultants in franchising and business expansion, including strategic alliances, joint ventures, licensing and distributorships; services range from assessments to complete program development to conflict resolution.
Minneapolis, Minnesota product design & development consultants using visualization, design & prototyping technologies.
Palo Alto, California product design & development consultancy using design methods to inform business strategy & strategy to provide a context for design.
http://www.jumpassociates.com/
Design firm providing industrial design, graphic design and exhibit design services including packaging, product development, retail interiors, models and prototypes. Based in Ridgewood, New Jersey.
Founded in 1984, Lunar has offices in Palo Alto & San Francisco, California. In addition to industrial design, design strategy & engineering services, Lunar provides product branding, corporate identity, imaging & animation services to companies in the U
Product development company focusing on the design and manufacture of Multi-Screen Flat Panel Display Systems; founded in 1980 by Jerry Moscovitch; employs Industrial Design, Mechanical Engineering, Computer Animation and Project Management professionals;
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania product design & development consultancy that specializes in technology, helping clients develop hardware & software products.
St. Louis, Missouri product design & development company integrating design research, ergonomic & product visualization.
Mont Vernon, New Hampshire product design & development services such as molded plastic parts, sheet metal chassis & enclosures, circuit boards & graphics, to commercial & consumer markets.
http://www.mv.com/ipusers/mvd/mvdesign.html
National Software Testing Laboratories
Provider of testing services on a contract basis to hardware manufacturers, software developers and publishers, corporations and government agencies worldwide.
New Product Development and Machine Design Engineering. Education in the risks associated with the invention process and assistance in reducing them.
Bellingham, Washington marketing communications consultant specializing in hi-tech, product launches, trade shows & web services.
Product Development Consulting, Inc.
Provides services in all areas of research, development and marketing related to the process of developing products and services.
Product Development Group, Inc.
New Jersey firm providing product development services, from concept to detailed production design, for medical products, consumer products, infant products and toys; employs Pro/E CAD technology.
Acton, Massachusetts full-service product design firm providing services to manufacturers of medical equipment and biotech instruments, including human factors, industrial design, mechanical engineering, rapid prototyping, manufacturing liaison & modelmak
http://www.productinsight.com/
Thousand Oaks, California product design & development company.
Robert C. Vincek Design Associates
Full-service packaging and product development group. Services include conceptual design and development, engineering, graphics and labeling, operations management, manufacturing assessment, cost reduction, troubleshooting, process validation, project pl
Sales & Marketing Strategies Limited (UK)
Westhumble, UK marketing & sales consultancy.
http://www.sms-direct.com/productlaunch.htm
Palo Alto, California product design & development firm creating solutions for the mobile electronics, consumer electronics, medical, sporting goods & furniture industries.
Stratos Product Development, LLC
Seattle, Washington product development company providing product development, industrial design/human factors, mechanical engineering, automation/mechanism design, electrical engineering, software engineering & program management services.
Sundberg-Ferar Product Development
Industrial design consultancy specializing in product design and engineering, strategic market development, interaction design, user investigation, and models and prototypes. Offices in Detroit, Minneapolis, Chicago and Atlanta.
Consultancy and research firm focused on the integration of an analysis of the consumer marketplace with brand insight.
http://www.throughtheloop.com/company/company.html
Jena, Germany based product development & brand design company offering analysis, conception, prototyping, ecommerce & Internet services.
Brookline, Massachusetts full-service ergonomics & human factors engineering design company specializing in usability consulting, design, development & testing services for software development organizations; user interface design, usability, web design.
Timonium, Maryland marketing consultancy providing long-range strategic planning, new product & service launch, packaging, distribution channels, positioning & research services.
http://www.weissmarketing.com/
Company offering marketing services and products including, interactive planning software programs, online information, books and consulting services from Z Group.
Tips & Advice to help you make your decision on Product Management Consultants
Sometimes a company comes up with a great idea for a new product. It may be something totally unrelated to what they currently produce, leaving them at a bit of a loss as to how they should go about developing and promoting it. The idea could possibly die without the proper team handling its development. That is where product management consultants come into the picture.
These firms specialize in helping other companies bring their ideas to fruition. They have the experience, the training and the skills to take your idea and develop it to its fullest potential. Once the product is developed, they can assist with all the aspects of bringing the product to market. The services they ... more
Sometimes a company comes up with a great idea for a new product. It may be something totally unrelated to what they currently produce, leaving them at a bit of a loss as to how they should go about developing and promoting it. The idea could possibly die without the proper team handling its development. That is where product management consultants come into the picture.
These firms specialize in helping other companies bring their ideas to fruition. They have the experience, the training and the skills to take your idea and develop it to its fullest potential. Once the product is developed, they can assist with all the aspects of bringing the product to market. The services they provide are more than what many companies afford to do in house or have the skill and talent to do themselves. This makes product management consultants very necessary.
Rather than let our company's new product idea die on the drawing board, you can take the smart step and seek out a firm that will help you see the project through to completion. Business.com can help you find reputable firms to work with. Scroll through the resources shown at the left to see what is available.