Introduction
The product planning and development process is an idea for a product that can meet a need, deliver a service, or solve a problem. It starts with a known consumer need or with a basic product idea recognized through market research or other sources. The stages can vary depending on the specifics of the market and business. There are eight major steps in the new product development processes.
1. Idea generation
The new product development process starts with idea generation. It refers to the systematic search for a new product. Idea generation is a step of the creative problem-solving process that involves the entrepreneur generating and detailing ideas.
Usually, the process of developing a new product involves identifying a specific audience and determining which needs the product should address. The idea stage is the process of creating a solution to a particular problem. At the end of this step, the entrepreneur will have a list of innovative ideas. However, when an entrepreneur applies many ideas to a particular problem, it requires evaluating each one carefully before implementation.
2. Idea screening
The succeeding step in the new product development process is idea screening. This step is also called screening, and the key point is to set some criteria for new ideas and pick out beneficial ones. In other words, all ideas generated are screened to spot beneficial ones and drop poor ones as soon as possible. The purpose of this stage was to create a large number of ideas, and succeeding stages are to reduce that number. During this product planning process, entrepreneurs need to prove that the idea has a market to sell to.
3. Concept development and testing
After crossing two steps of the new product development process, you need to build a concept and confirm that there is a place in the market for the newly invented product. In this step, the entrepreneur needs to develop new attractive ideas into a product concept. Evaluate the costs of manufacturing, designing, distribution, and others that are required for leading product concepts and testing.
Concept development and testing steps are required to identify the human and capital resources as per the entrepreneur’s need and the essential features that must exist for a functioning product. In addition, begin to break out a potential marketing plan and larger business strategy, including revenues and market share for this product.
4. Marketing strategy development
In the marketing strategy development phase, a promising idea has been established and validated; now, it is time to create an initial marketing plan for the new product, which will be based on the product concept for its market introduction.
5. Business analysis
In this stage, once it finalizes the marketing strategy and product concept, the organization starts assessing the business appeal of the projected new product.
6. Product development
Product development involves the real manufacture and design of the product. It begins with the manufacture of a sample that eases the market testing. Grounded on the results of the tests, the business owner decides on whether to undertake large-scale production or not.
7. Commercialisation
Encouraging results in the product development stage pave the way for large-scale manufacture and commercialization. Here, the organization launches its promotion campaign for the new product. The market research conducted during the formation stage affects the location and timing of the product launch.
