To develop a new product, one of many proposals consists of eight steps. The stages are idea generation, idea screening, concept development and testing, marketing strategy development, product development, test marketing and commercialization.
Explanation:
The generation of ideas for new products could lead to hundreds of them. This process is creative and should not be restricted. The idea screening, however, will filter all of these ideas, and select those more appropriate with the business line, capacities, resources and current technology, as well as opportunities in the market.
A product concept is later created, as detailed as possible. This is made in three stages: the definition of the product itself, the definition of the value for the customer, and the definition of the product comparing it to existing products so costumers can understand it. Then, these concepts are tested with real customers, either physically or conceptually, so an evaluation of their reaction can be obtained (perceived value).
Between the concept and the development of the product, prototypes can be created. This is not a sequential process, and the process can be moved back and forwards between evaluation and prototyping. Sometimes, it will not go as far as prototypes, or once as a prototype, the concept will be rejected. If approved by customers and the organization, then the next phases begin.
A marketing strategy is developed, indicating price, segment (customers to be sold), actions to be taken in the years to come to make sure the product stays ahead of competition and imitation, expected profits and even product improvement stages. Product feasibility is evaluated here.
These inputs are later used as part of the business analysis stage, where sales and projected profits are used to make decisions on the concept. Basically, is an answer to the question of how much money is the product going to generate.
This is when Research and Development is involved, and an actual product is developed. This could take from days to years, and the biggest resource consumption is made during this phase. Rough prototypes are refined, in order to get a final product, ofter evaluated by customers in the process.
Test Marketing is the following stage: since there is an actual product, marketers now can involve customers and actually test it, getting valuable information regarding perception, expected usage, new uses, questions, and potential failures. Also, the marketing strategy is tested. It can be decided not to sell the product.
Commercialization is the final stage of the process, and this is when the product is actually sold in stores, and customers can use it directly. Several marketing tactics are used such as heavy promotion and even specific locations.
Considering this, several reasons can be identified as fails for new products:
Lack of filtering for incorrect ideas.Selection of ideas out of capability or resources, even existing technology.Incorrect concept definition, that presented to customers, appear to be correct. Inconsistencies between concept and prototypes.Misleading prototypes.Incorrect feasibility evaluation (too optimistic, too pessimistic).Excessive development time (product lost its advantage, competition may go ahead).Decide to launch a product even sales forecasts are not good, just for the sake of corporate image.Bad commercialization decisions, such as launching location, or strategy (luxury goods can not be exposed to excessive discounts).
As improvement recommendations, it should be considered:
New ideas should be fomented among all employees and customers. Sometimes innovation relies on the least expected places. However, the idea-selection process should be flexible - hard enough, so good ideas are not blocked, and not so good ideas are not developed. The development of a product should be as fast as possible, however, this involves big amounts of resources. This is why the innovation process should be applied internally, and find new ways of research and development: cheaper, faster, innovative, amazing to the customer.
