steps involved to bring a simple product idea to life and take it to the market, i.e. to the intended consumers. If you are an innovator with a solid new product idea, wanting to materialize your brilliant product concept, then here are 8 steps that you need to heed and follow.
Step 1: New Product Concept
This step usually consists of rough sketches of your new product idea. If you have not put your product idea or thought, on the papers yet, then you should immediately do so. Doodle rough sketches of your concept. Along with sketches, it will be very helpful to furnish some information about your product. Write down what your product is, what features it will have, how the consumers will use it and so on. If you have knowledge of computer, then prepare the rough sketches and note down the info about your product in a good computer application.
Step 2: Extensive Research
After drawing rough sketches and writing down info about your intended product, you might now have a good overall idea about the new product. Now perform a market research: is there any demand for your new product? Whether any similar product or products exist in the market? If similar products exist, how is your new product going to be better? What region will be profitable? You need to answer such questions in order to create and launch a successful new product.
Step 3: New Product Design Development
After gathering valuable info from an extensive market research, you can proceed to develop feasible product designs for your new product. New product design can be complicated; you need to answer several questions in order to create a viable product design for your new product:
- What are the functions of my products?
- Will it withstand rough use?
- Will it be re-usable?
- Can the product be developed at a reasonable price?
- For mass manufacturing, will the manufacturing process be easy? Does the product contain multiple parts?
- What will be the quality of the product?
- From which materials can the new product be made?
All these questions and more need to be answered while creating new product designs for your product.
Step 4: New Product Prototype Development
When you get a viable product design, you can then proceed to create prototypes based on the design. A prototype is the first tangible form of your new product idea. You can see it, touch it and actually feel it. A product prototype can be as simple or as complex as you want. With a product prototype, you can actually get a complete picture of your new product. It also helps attract potential stakeholders, and eventually, the capital that is needed for mass manufacturing. Product prototype development in the past was expensive; however, with the advent of new technologies, for instance, Dassault Systèmes’ 3DEXPERIENCE platform, New product prototype development is now cost-effective.
Step 5: Testing & Feedback
This is a very important step. Once you have a solid product prototype, you can perform various tests on it. Test it to see whether it works the way it is intended to work. You can also test its sturdiness. After testing the prototype, give it to a group of potential consumers and see how the consumers react. The group of potential consumers will also give valuable feedback, which you can implement before developing and launching the final product. If certain tests fail, or if there are certain features that need to be added, you can go back to Step 3 and Step 4. Thereafter, you again need to perform Step 5. You need to keep on doing this until you achieve a well-accepted product prototype.
Step 6: Mass Manufacturing
Once you have a well-accepted product prototype, which has passed tests and has all the features that the potential consumers had suggested, you can proceed to mass manufacturing. For mass manufacturing, you can go to an already established manufacturer, or you can set up your own production facility; it all depends on the capital you have.
Step 7: Quality Test, Packaging, and Branding
The final product needs to pass through various quality tests. The final product should be flawless in terms of quality, design, and functionality. While the final product is going through quality tests, you need to come up with suitable packaging for the product. You cannot simply give a bare product to the consumers. You need to have a proper package for your product. Along with the packaging, you also need to develop a brand name of your product. You need to come up with unique, enticing logos for your product. Further, you also need to develop certain promotional items for your new product. Advertising and publicity are also necessary in order to let the consumers know about your new product.
Step 8: Launch
Finally, it is time to launch the product in the market. By now, you will already have enough stock of your product. Arrange for the proper channels for your product distribution. You will also need to arrange or set up proper outlets where you can sell your product.
Well, that is it. These are the steps that you need to heed and follow to bring a new product of your own into the market. Mind well, these steps may look simple, but they are not. It requires considerable time, effort and resource. While you can do these all on your own, there are certain product design and product development companies that can help you out. For instance, GID Company can help you materialize your idea, and also help take your new product to the potential consumers.
GID Company is a product design and product development company based in California, USA. They have numerous years of experience in new product design and product development. Whether it is new electromechanical products, medical device products, products with electronics, products with imbedded software, or any other types of products, GID Company can design, develop, and deliver it to the market.
GID Company is also offering a free 15-minute telephone conference with one of the product design and development veterans, Jim Grimes. You can call Jim at 714-323-1052 between 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM PST.
