New Products Technology - Can You Make Money?

Challenge to develop and introduce new products and services are the basis for innovative companies. Why the big ideas that many have never pass the market test? Why customers fail to be realized according to your plan? Fail or succeed fully exploit the new product is rare among innovative companies. The reasons for failure are often rooted in the fundamental error. Here is a structured approach to product development and introduction, which is the foundation of the prosperity of our future work.
Conventional Wisdom
It is normal for companies that rely on a steady supply of new products developed internally to implement a process for developing and launching products to market. In "requirements capture" some formal business process would produce the ideal product details. In practice, this is an ideal product is never delivered in its entirety. This is perhaps because the overall market can not be satisfied with a product. Or, perhaps the time constraints and budget led to a number of features that will be deferred to a second release.
Then, when it launched the product is not complete, the spread is moderate relative to expectations. This new product is almost (but not quite) good enough to more potential customers. You must solve this problem by adopting a different process.
The successful development and introduction
In developing your product, you must ensure that you stay true to the concept of your product. Make sure those involved in the development process (including the alliance) to understand the vision of your product. 3-5, there will be an important parameter that you identified in your requirements capture phase. This, in general, including fees, forms, performance and service performance. Establish measures for the article and make sure that any critical examination of the checkpoints of progress. There is no point to the launch party and find that your product is more expensive than to the target customers are willing to pay.
Reviews of good quality, regularly throughout the development phase, will identify deviations from the requirements of the time is simple, relatively, to address them.
Go-To-Market Plan
Entrepreneur of the latest products, in addition estimate the cost in some cases, do not start planning the launch phase until construction is nearing completion and the first trial is underway.
Done correctly, take the product (or service) market will impact the form and function. With this in mind, my experience is that the best results obtained during launch or in terms of Go-To-Market developed before the design begins - before the finished product specifications.
By documenting the plan Go-To-Market, examine all elements of marketing mix (Product, Price, Place / route on the market, promote, People and Process) to ensure that all efforts have been purchased in their role in a later phase of the program. The main points to consider are:
Target Customers
Build real knowledge on the exact needs of your target customers and satisfy them fully. This means identifying the real people who will get the real value of new products or services. And characterize the full requirement.
Market research, at this stage, must be narrowly defined. It's easy to be polluted your results; (! People are underestimating sell pagers cell phones during the first 5 years) or by technology visionaries are in desperate need of a product or those who have an interest in certain technologies or older models of the old value.
Compelling reasons to buy
Building an honest proposal for your product includes the price, benefits and messaging market. Target customers will compare this with the sacrifices you are asking in terms of cost, the risk of interference, etc. Make sure that trade is marginal in supporting your customers. Make sure you understand the problem that your audience will solve with your product.
Problem solving should be good enough to ensure that all alternatives are more mature, laid-off products.
All products
Determine the product (or service) as a whole. Make sure you consider all the add-ons that your target customers would consider it important (eg, an MP3 player is useless without the means to download music from the CD or the Internet). Then make a commercial offer your product that includes all the elements.
Partners and Allies
Choose the right alliances to help you take your product to market. Make sure the couple is compatible in every way (the same company-wide, the same values, for example) and create a trusting environment where you can share the right information.
Distribution
The selection of a suitable distribution partners can be treacherous. Common pitfalls include finding themselves forced to agree to exclusive distribution with partners who have not reached the market to help you achieve your full potential.
It is important that you select channel partners have or can acquire the skills appropriate to your product. Further complications arise when a network of channels, including on international markets. You will need professional advice on the distribution agreement to ensure they cover confidentiality and, of course, paid by the customer happy. It is important to spell-out service and warranty support.
In an ideal world, you will sell your idea for a once great company that will sell your products in volume to the final consumer. Unfortunately, this is not always possible (or desirable). You must solve the problem are:

    How do you build a sales channel that has the resources and the sale of a business does not require you to sell any product - one by one?
Price
If you have a complete value proposition is established then it should be easy. However, it is important that you keep in touch with reality. Each market study should be very stringent to ensure that you collect opinions based on a real willingness to pay. Understand how your customers will pay for your product or service. Create price and payment terms according to the originator - there is no need to launch a niche product that £ 10,000 could never afford.
Competition
Understand your competitors. This will include a technology or service that aims to replace. Could be your biggest competitor is a non-consumption - such as those in large organizations have purchased a home printer to replace the long march to the shared printer.
It may be that your competitor is in fact a totally different value models - you might have to move a product or service on the contrary (eg, digital cameras and related products has led to widespread death of intensive services street photography).
Next target audience
In your plan, identify customers and partners that facilitate entry into adjacent niches. Be sure to plan ahead so you are clearly defined strategy. Carefully painted into a corner - make sure your plans take you to your desired market position. If you initially specialized in niche markets and did not move quickly enough to cope with other traditional markets, it is easy to build a reputation as a company with a very limited market coverage . I know a company that became known simply as "the company providing the prison" when their products can easily be sold to a myriad of other applications.
Beginning the process of
For complex products and services, structured testing process is very important to make sure everything you do in lab tests to provide working solutions to real customer. You must think in terms of proven business processes necessary to sell, build, deliver, configure and support your product. It is important that you monitor the performance at an early stage.
Earn money from new products and services
If you choose to ignore the facts that you collect along the way - whether fact or facts about your customers about your products - then you will not benefit from new products. If you have the courage to write a well thought out plan, to review progress against the objective of the plan at all stages, and to correct any deviation from it - then you will make money from new products and services.
Thanks
The above text is largely based on personal experience - organized around the concepts covered by Moore in "Crossing the Chasm." The book I wish I had read when first published. A complete reading list is available from the authors upon request.
Paul is a partner in the results Fileman-Zone. Results-Zone specializes in helping companies achieve excellence in governance, business processes and thus performance. Paul is a licensed buyer and marketing specialist for B2B capital goods, software systems and the proposed complex services.