Product Development

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Tips & Advice to help you make your decision on Product Development

Product development can be a difficult task that requires a great amount of time. Business.com can offer you assistance as you learn more about products and their development. Companies often have a hard time remaining objective about the products they are creating. It is easy to lose focus and neglect flaws. This is why development becomes an essential part of the process. Testing the product and obtaining feedback can help you create a better product. This will result in more revenue and growth.

Product development can take many forms. There are programs and software products you can purchase to help with this process. In addition, you can hire outside firms or individuals to conduct the testing and development. You can also focus on development on your own through focus groups and surveys. It takes a great deal of effort and time to make a product that is successful. The development can take weeks or months. In addition, further testing can take years. This step cannot be overlooked because customers can judge a product very harshly and destroy the reputation of a business. Business.com encourages you to visit the links on the left to learn more about this type of development.

Developing New Products and Services

If your sales force is still stellar but customers are dwindling and new competitors keep cropping up, it's a sure sign you need to bring something new to the table. Follow these steps to introduce new products and/or services, and turn your interesting ideas into a better bottom line:

Generate new concepts.
Protect what you develop.
Promote it for maximum profit.

Turn good into better

Going a few steps beyond expectations is a sure way to please buyers. Reinvent existing products by listening to your customers. What tweaks to your current offerings do they suggest? Tune in to employees, too. The best ideas often come from front-line personnel.
Try: Turn weaknesses into strengths by conducting a "best practices assessment." Talk to a Small Business Development Center for targeted guidance.

Invent the next wheel

Consider using elements of existing products to create something totally different, or try to forecast your industry's future.
Try: For a software nudge with brainstorming, try IdeaCue. Hire a trend forecaster or keep up with journals like the Trend Research Institute's. Once you have ideas in place, use GreenBook.org to find focus groups, and follow guidelines for productive focus groups.

Protect your ideas

If you don't officially call it your own, you can't profit from it.
Try: Familiarize yourself with intellectual property basics online at the Franklin Pierce Law Center or FreeAdvice. Determine what type of patent you need, then apply for a patent. Ensure your efforts are legal by choosing a specialized lawyer in your area through AttorneyPages.com.

Make marketing a priority

Customers won't have a clue if you don't fill them in. Tell them how your new product works and why they can't live without it.
Try: Easy Contact by Deluxe helps get your marketing off on the right foot by offering economical e-newsletter campaigns. And be sure to follow the basic Principles of Marketing to help get the word out.

Take what's not working off the menu to make room - and time - for something new.
Don't dismiss any idea too quickly. What seems quirky at first (a laptop computer? a fuel alternative?) can become a must-have overnight.
Stay away from prototype or invention development companies, which tend to be rip-offs, and stick with established product development firms.
Choose development companies that state their fees up-front.
Investigate new distribution methods if your product is radically different from your old offerings.