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Releasing a new product is a great way to grow your business, increase your market share and boost your profitability. However, product development isn’t always an easy process. With so many things to consider – and numerous pitfalls to avoid – you’ll want to ensure you have a solid strategy in place. To get started, take a look at these five things to do before launching your new product:
1. Conduct Market Research
You might think you have a great idea for a new product, but does your target audience agree? Without detailed knowledge of the market, you increase the risk of loss following a product launch. Conversely, carrying out in-depth market research now allows you to take a customer-centric approach throughout the entire product development phase. By keeping your target audience at the forefront of your mind, you can ensure every aspect of your new product appeals to them.
2. Find the Right Partner
When you’re producing a new business design, there are endless things to consider. From building a prototype and finding the right manufacturing facilities, to designing packaging and planning a launch, you’ll need to rely on input from a variety of professionals along the way. That’s why finding the right partner is so important. With a mix of expertise, experience, and resources, you can access any support you need when you have the right product development partner.
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3. Test the Product
Testing should be a core element throughout the development phase, as it allows you to identify potential issues early on and eradicate them from your product design. Regular testing can prevent waste and ensures your product goes through multiple refinements before it makes it to the market. As well as safety testing and quality testing, by the material masters and other knowledgable engineers, using real-life members of your target audience as testers helps you to gain insight into what they think of your new product and what changes need to be made.
4. Define Your USP
As a brand, you should have a unique selling proposition (USP) that sets you apart from your competitors. However, each product in your range needs to have a USP too. If you’re releasing an updated version of an existing product, for example, what new features or design elements are present to encourage customers to upgrade? When your products have a clear USP, you can use this to market them and entice members of your target audience to make a purchase.
5. Being Planning Your Next Product
Product development isn’t a one-off activity. In fact, you should have multiple products and/or versions in the development phase at any one time. Before releasing your next product, you should already have future versions in the development phase, so that they’re ready to launch within a specified timeframe.
Honing Your Product Development
As a manufacturer or retailer, your commercial success relies on the quality and design of your products. Due to this, it’s vital to create goods that solve problems, spark interest, and offer genuine value. By doing so, you can capture a larger share of the market, differentiate your brand from competitors, and facilitate record sales.