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47Chapter 3: Seeing Your Product through Your Customers’ Eyes

Figure 3-4: IDEA EVALUATION, LAUNCH
Give special RESEARCH,
attention to
TESTING
the middle
step in the

product
development

sequence.

As you pursue a new product idea, push yourself by asking these questions:

ߜ What current product can we significantly update or enhance?

ߜ What altogether new idea will satisfy the known wants and needs of our
customers and prospective customers?

ߜ What market trend can we ride via a new product?

Many new products are developed to address some hot new market trend.
Before you consider riding a market trend, though, be sure you aren’t entering
too late. Take a second to review Figure 3-3, the product life cycle. If you enter
when a product is already in the saturation phase, you have to offer pricing
and other incentives to win business from the line-up of competitors already
in the field. If you do decide to offer a product responsive to a market trend,
have a marketing plan that allows you to get in and get out fast, so that you’ve
realized success and moved on before the product idea reaches its end.

Here are questions to ask during the research stage of product development:

ߜ Is it unique? Is it already being produced or offered by another business,
and, if so, how will your product be different — and better?

ߜ Does it deliver customer value? If this is an upgrade of an existing prod-
uct, how is it different in a way that will matter to your customer?

ߜ Does it have market potential? Will it appeal to a growing market? What
is its customer profile? What do potential customers say about it?

ߜ Is it feasible? What will it cost to produce or deliver, and how much can
you charge for it?

ߜ Is it credible? Does it fit with your company image? Is it consistent with
what people already believe about you or does it require a leap of faith?

ߜ Is it legal and safe? Does it conform to all laws? Does it infringe on any
patents? Does it have safety concerns?