The development stages of a new product
Before a product can embark on its journey through the four product life cycle stages, it has to be developed. New product development is typically a huge part of any manufacturing process. Most organizations realize that all products have a limited lifespan, and so new products need to be developed to replace them and keep the company in business. Just as the product life cycle has various stages, new product development is also broken down into a number of specific phases.
Developing a new product involves a number of stages which typically center around the following key areas:
The original idea: Every product has to start with an original idea. In some cases, this might be fairly simple, basing the new product on something similar that already exists. In other cases, it may be something revolutionary and unique, which may mean the idea generation part of the process is much more involved.
Market Research: An organization may have plenty of ideas for a new product, but once it has selected the best of them, the next step is to start researching the market. This enables them to see if theres likely to be a demand for this type of product, and also what specific features need to be developed in order to best meet the needs of prospective customers.
Design and Development of the Product: The next stage is the design and development of the product. Prototypes may be modified through various design and manufacturing stages in order to come up with a finished product that consumers will want to buy.
Product Trials (Testing): Before most products are launched and the manufacturer spends a large amount of money on production and promotion, most companies will test their new product with a small group of actual consumers. This helps to make sure that they have a viable product that will be profitable, and that there are no changes that need to be made before its launched.
Analysis: Looking at the feedback from consumer testing enables the manufacturer to make any necessary changes to the product, and also decide how they are going to launch it to the market. With information from real consumers, they will be able to make a number of strategic decisions that will be crucial to the products success, including what price to sell at and how the product will be marketed.
Launch of the Product (Introduction): Finally, when a product has made it all the way through the new product development stage, the only thing left to do is launch it to the market. Once this is done, good product life cycle management will ensure the manufacturer makes the most of all their effort and investment.
Thousands of new products go on sale every year, and manufacturers invest a lot of time, effort and money in trying to make sure that any new products they launch will be a success. Creating a profitable product isnt just about getting each of the stages of new product development right, its also about managing the product once its been launched and then throughout its lifetime.
