One of the biggest challenges of running a business for entrepreneurs can be coming up with new products and services to keep the customer interested and push growth forward.
Although we can’t all be insanely productive inventors like Geoff Hirson, it is possible for most of us to pull it out of the bag and come up with new ideas when we need to, but it is not always easy. That is why I’ve put together a list containing some of the best ways to come up with new product ideas right now…
1. Be inspired by your old ideas
It might sound odd, but looking to your old business ideas for inspiration can be a good way to come up with new product ideas. If you’re the creative type, chances are you’ve had hundreds of ideas over the years, most of which you have never acted on because they weren’t quite right for the time or they needed a little work. Maybe now is the time and maybe it’s possible to do the work? It’s worth thinking about at the very least.
2. Have a collective brain dump
Get together with a few of your employees and just start shooting out any old idea you can think of. This may sound like a sure-fire way to come up with a whole bunch of stupid ideas, but actually, creative group brainstorming sessions can be very productive., Your idea, on its own, might not be great, but the people you’re brainstorming with may chime in with one simple change that makes it great; it happens all the time. Even if you don’t come up with a solid product idea, chances are you will come up with some new ideas that show you the way forward.
3. Add something to an existing product
Remember when phones didn’t have a camera? If you’re old enough you will, and you’ll also know that when the camera came it was revolutionary. Sometimes coming up with a great new product can be as simple as making an addition to an existing product. Take a good look at all of the products and/or services you offer and think about whether there’s anything you could do to make it even better. If you can improve your product, you can boost your sales and it will be far easier than coming up with a brand new product altogether.
4. See what the competition is doing
You should never copy your competition; that will lead to a bland brand identity with no unique selling point, but you should absolutely look at the kind of song things they are doing and see if you can improve upon them. They’re in your industry, doing the same kind of research, so having a look into their products could be very fruitful if you play it right and develop your own unique thing based on the ideas generated by them.
Generating new product ideas can be tough, but it is totally doable and the strategies above will help.