MENU
Business.com aims to help business owners make informed decisions to support and grow their companies. We research and recommend products and services suitable for various business types, investing thousands of hours each year in this process.
As a business, we need to generate revenue to sustain our content. We have financial relationships with some companies we cover, earning commissions when readers purchase from our partners or share information about their needs. These relationships do not dictate our advice and recommendations. Our editorial team independently evaluates and recommends products and services based on their research and expertise. Learn more about our process and partners here.
If you want to take a larger share of the market, win clients and have higher margins, you’ll need to develop your own product.
In today’s competitive climate, it is not enough to sell the same products as others in the market and hope to differentiate yourself from the competition with pricing or advertising alone. If you want to be a market leader, you must design products unique to your business.
This not only sets your products apart from the generic ones out there, it also increases your chances of drawing in a loyal customer base that will engage with your business and invest in your products. The better you understand your clients and what they’re looking for, as well as what’s already on the market, the easier it will be to design, produce and sell your own distinctive products.
Product development is not a new concept. Many people have tried to develop their own unique products but ran into roadblocks and lacked the confidence to proceed. The main reason companies opt to develop and sell their own products is due to the limitations that come with product trading. There are many variables out of your control.
Here’s what leads entrepreneurs to develop their own products:
You’ll find there are distinct benefits to creating your own product line. Consider the following:
When you successfully develop and launch your own product, there is no end in sight. Being the sole manufacturer of that product gives you the flexibility to sell your products to anyone without the threat of a crowded playing field.
If you create a product based on feedback from your customers, they will be willing to pay a higher premium, since it matches their specifications. Since no one but you is selling this product, you’ll see higher profit margins.
When you have control over your product, you’ll have the flexibility to make any changes needed to improve customer satisfaction.
Listening to your customers and launching products that cater to them will create loyal customers. [Read more about how your product packaging can win buyers’ hearts]
Without your own product line, your business may experience some obstacles in the marketplace, including:
If you have competition, that means you can only sell a certain number of products. Factories are able to sell the same product to as many customers as they can find. In the eyes of both suppliers and buyers, you’re not a high priority.
When anyone can sell the same product you’re selling, the buyers turn your prices into a race to the bottom.
When you don’t own the product you are selling, you have very little control over any potential additions to it. You receive what the supplier has made rather than something tailored to you and your customers.
What makes you unique when you’re selling something that anyone else can sell? Your brand may wind up forgotten if you cannot provide something distinctive. Developing your own product gives you the chance to take those limitations and turn them into huge opportunities.
Everyone knows the headaches and frustrations that come with developing a product. However, if you understand your customers and your competitors, taking the time to develop and launch your own product holds potential.
First, understand that successful product development depends on the fusion of two types of information: the need and the solution.
The need is determined by a company or individual that knows exactly what the market is missing. They might not understand how to develop or build that missing piece, but they’ve pinpointed what it is. The best way to gather this information is to engage with your customers and listen to their feedback.
The solution comes from a company or individual that knows how to digest the needed information and bring it to life. These are usually engineers, designers, developers or a factory with the capability to understand what the need is and turn it into something physical.
As an entrepreneur, it’s your job to provide a clear description of your vision to the team that can turn it into reality. Remember that they won’t have a perfect understanding of your product, so you must be thorough with your description and reasoning.
There is a myth that the development steps are long and demanding and could leave you broke. However, if you follow the correct steps and maintain transparency between the need and solution parties, the process will be smoother. When you get to the solution steps, you might not be the leader, but you should understand the process.
To become a product creator, we’ve outlined the four basic steps you’ll need to get started.
Step 1: Design and engineer your product
The first step the solution team must carry out is engineering a product as envisioned by the person or people who identified the need for it. This first step provided by the solution information is also the most critical. Incorrect engineering will lead to a dysfunctional product that will receive poor reviews. It’s imperative that the product design, materials and production are high quality.
To eliminate product launch failures, design the most critical part first and test it. Make samples of this part to ensure that the product works as it’s supposed to. If it doesn’t, go back to the drawing board.
Step 2: Establish prototypes
The purpose of a prototype is to verify that the design works the way it’s intended. A prototype opens up many doors because you can start to market the product, take preorders, seek investment or start a Kickstarter campaign to raise funds.
Step 3: Set up tooling
For the purpose of this article, we are assuming that you have built a relationship with your factory that will be building this product. If you’re lucky, your factory can also provide you with the resources to develop this product.
A positive aspect of product trading is that you never need to worry about opening up new tools. However, if you are the sole seller of this product, then opening up a tool is well worth the investment and the short amount of time needed to make the tool.
Remember when negotiating with your supplier that the tool is yours and that the supplier will not be able to use that tool for any other customer.
Step 4: Start production
This is the moment that you have been waiting for. If you’ve followed the steps above correctly, there should be no major issues. Keep in mind that minor issues can always occur with production, but stay calm and handle them as they come up.
>> Learn More: Do You Need Product Liability Insurance?
If you follow these steps, you’ll see a healthy launch that will lead to a long life for the product.
There is a lot of talk about whether to patent your product. If this is your first product, you might be overly excited to patent what you’ve made. However, the best way to keep the market share is not by patenting your product — because those are simple to get around — but by consistently developing and launching new products. This is something that competitors and factories looking to knock off products won’t be able to keep up with because they are still selling products that already exist in the market.
Product trading can be a great way to build experience and see whether this is a profession that you wish to pursue. However, developing your own product is the only way to get to the top of the line. It’s true that many people have failed to develop products efficiently, but you can learn from their mistakes while going forward.
Kimberlee Leonard and Sean Peek contributed to the reporting and writing in this article.