New product development is an exciting venture and lies at the core of every new business. The development project phase is meant to help an organization grow by creating new products or services that can help solve real customer problems. Before you begin, ensure your team performs in-depth market research, particularly within five crucial areas.
To make your new product development project efficient, you first need to address the market dynamics and assess how your product will fit into the mix:
- Meeting changing consumer needs
- Launching a product in a new market
- Creating and maintaining a competitive edge over other players
- Creating a product to help solve an existing customer problem
- Adapting to frequent technological advancements
Take a step back and gain knowledge on internal and external factors that may affect the outcome of your new product. This is especially the case for new brand owners that are just entering the game.
Here are the five most important factors you should look into:
1. Customer needs
Perform thorough market research on the broad spectrum of your customer base and establish what needs they have that your product can help solve. Customer needs are also ever-changing. Therefore, a good idea is to project how your product can meet future needs in the long run.
2. Target market
For any new product development project, particularly if you are entering new market areas, you need to evaluate your target market. Consider which market niche your potential customers belong to and adapt your product to match it:
General market: Focused on economic spending, prefers value brands
Middle-class market: Economically conscious, still values exclusivity
High-end market: Top-notch products, price is less important
Naturally, this part of the process will come in handy to later establish your product’s price point, both in terms of how much you are willing to spend on producing it and how much you are willing to sell it for.
Demographics, such as age, gender, and market region, are just as significant. Remember to make your research specific, to achieve the best possible outcome when you develop and later launch your product.
Read more: 5 things you should know before designing your new labels
3. Competition
Your research and analysis should also focus on your competitors’ products within the range you are targeting, to understand more about their strengths and weaknesses. Consequently, this will help you learn more about your customers' pain points and preferences. With this information in mind, you’ll be able to place your new product in an advantageous position.
4. Market Trends
Have you explored emerging trends and technological developments? They can significantly impact how your product is received on the market. Before you start developing your new product, investigate some of the current trends within:
Conforming to new market trends and technologies will help you develop your new product accordingly and stay ahead.
Read more: Do you have a sustainable plan for your packaging and labelling?
5. Government Policies
Last but certainly not least, remember to stay updated and conform to current government rules and guidelines. In practice, this involves knowing what you can and cannot apply to your new product regarding:
- Stipulated packaging
- Warnings
- Size
- Materials
Importance of shelf appeal and timing
When your new product enters the market, it should be able to attract customers’ attention at the right place and time. Your product design should connect with your target audience and make the product noticeable amongst competitors on the store shelves.
Which season you wish to launch your product is also crucial for achieving intended sales results for your specific product. Therefore, remember to think through shelf appeal and the ideal timing for a launch when developing your new product.
Read more: Packaging and labelling: Avoiding tension and blame-shifting after product launch
At Skanem Africa, we know how valuable the development phase is and know what it takes to optimize it. If you are just getting started with a new product development project and need assistance, feel free to contact us.
