Phase 1: Idea Generation
The idea for a new product comes from various sources. It could come from customer feedback or a competitor’s best-selling product. But, the most relevant and long-lasting products come from real-life pain points. These are products that actually solve problems for the target market.
Phase Two: Screening
Not every product design idea that is pitched in a firm sees the light of day. In fact, most organizations have a rigorous screening process to weed out not-so-viable product ideas. During the screening process, the company looks at a product idea through many filters: price, profitability, competition, longevity, etc.
Phase Three: Concept Development
For the products that survive screening, the next phase is concept development. In this phase, a ‘Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats’ (SWOT) analysis is done on the product idea to assess its value. Then, the market is segmented and the target market for the product is identified so that it might have a relevant pitch.
Phase Four: Product Development
This is the phase in which the actual product is developed. First, a prototype is developed and the product is tested with a pilot. If the pilot or soft launch is successful, the product is produced at scale.
Phase Five: Commercialization and Rollout
The launch and commercialization is an activity that requires careful planning and execution. At this stage, the marketing team creates end-to-end promotional campaigns with several customer touch points and runs across channels.