New product development is the process of bringing an original product idea to market.

Although it differs by
industry, it can essentially be broken down into six stages: ideation, research, planning, prototyping, sourcing,
and costing.

1. Ideation (the formation of ideas or concepts)

Many aspiring entrepreneurs get stuck on ideation, often because they’re waiting for a stroke of genius to reveal the
perfect product they should sell. While building something fundamentally "new" can be creatively fulfilling, many of the
best ideas are the result of iterating upon on an existing product.

The SCAMPER model is a useful tool for quickly coming up with product ideas by asking questions about existing
products. Each letter stands for a prompt:

 Substitute (e.g. faux fur for fur)

 Combine (e.g. a phone case and a battery pack)

 Adapt (e.g. a bra with front clasps for nursing)

 Modify (e.g. an electric toothbrush with a sleeker design)

 Put to another use (e.g. memory-foam dog beds)

 Eliminate (e.g. get rid of the middleman to sell sunglasses and pass the savings on to consumers)

 Reverse/Rearrange (e.g. a duffle bag that doesn’t wrinkle your suits)

By asking these questions, you can come up with novel ways to transform existing ideas or even adapt them for a new
target audience or problem.

2. Research (noun: the systematic investigation into and study of materials and sources in order to establish facts
and reach new conclusions)
With your product idea in mind, you may feel inclined to leapfrog ahead to production, but that can become a misstep if
you fail to validate your idea first.

Product validation ensures you’re creating a product people will pay for and that you won’t waste time, money, and
effort on an idea that won't sell. There are several ways you can validate your product ideas, including:

 Talking about your idea with family and friends

 Sending out an online survey to get feedback

 Starting a crowdfunding campaign

 Asking for feedback on forums like Reddit

 Researching online demand using Google Trends

 Launching a “coming soon” page to gauge interest via email opt-ins or pre-orders

However you decide to go about validating your idea, it is important to get feedback from a substantial and unbiased
audience as to whether they would buy your product. Be wary of overvaluing feedback from people who “definitely
would buy” if you were to create your theoretical product—until money changes hands, you can’t count someone as a
customer.

Product validation ensures you’re creating a product people will pay for.
Validation research will also inevitably involve competitive analysis. If your idea or niche has the potential to take off,
there are likely competitors already operating in that space.

Visiting your competitors’ website and signing up for their email list will allow you to understand how they attract
customers and make sales. Asking your own potential customers what they like or dislike about your competitors will
also be important in defining your own competitive advantage.

The information compiled from doing product validation and market research will allow you to gauge the demand for
your product and also the level of competition that exists before you start planning.

Note: What is a competitive analysis?

Competitive analysis is a type of market research. It’s the process of evaluating and understanding the strengths and
weaknesses of competitors in your market. It involves gathering and analyzing data on competitors’ products, pricing,
marketing strategies, distribution channels, and customer base.

Doing a competitive analysis helps you find potential advantages and barriers within your target market or products. It
allows brands to monitor how direct and indirect competitors handle marketing, pricing, and distribution.

Competitor analysis example: what does one look like?

There’s no single way to do a competitive analysis. How it looks will vary depending on what you’re trying to learn about
your competitors.

You might do a competitor analysis on a specific part of your competitors’ operations—like their website—or you might
do a complete analysis of their entire marketing and sales team. The goal is to help you understand your competitors’
actions and how your business should respond.

There’s more than one way to structure a competitive analysis. Here are some types of information often included:

For a broad competitive analysis, you might look at your competitors’:

 Target customers
 Unique value add or what sets their products apart
 Sales pitch
 Price points for products
 Shipping Policy
 Funding
High-level information can help you understand the fundamental differences between your competitors. For a more
specific analysis, try looking at your competitors’:
 Website features (design, content)
 Customer experience (checkout flow, customer support)
 Marketing content (product descriptions, blog posts)
 Social media (post frequency, engagement rates)
 Promotions (sales, discounts)
 Communications (abandoned cart emails, newsletters)
 Reviews (customer feedback, complaints)
What’s included in a competitive analysis is up to you. Use your research to answer specific questions that will help your
business take action for future growth.

3. Planning (the process of thinking regarding the activities required to achieve a desired goal. Planning is based on
foresight, the fundamental capacity for mental time travel. The evolution of forethought, the capacity to think ahead, is
considered to have been a prime mover in human evolution.)

Since product development can quickly become complicated, it’s important to take the time to plan before you begin to
build your prototype.
When you eventually approach manufacturers or start looking for materials, if you don’t have a concrete idea of your
product's design and how it will function, it’s easy to get lost in the subsequent steps.

The best place to begin planning is with a hand-drawn sketch of what your product will look like. The sketch should be as
detailed as possible, with labels explaining the various features and functions.

You don't need a professional quality drawing since you won’t be submitting it to a manufacturer at this stage. However,
if you are not confident that you can produce a legible diagram that will make sense of your product, it is easy to find
illustrators for hire on Dribbble, UpWork, or Minty.

Try to use your diagram to create a list of the different components or materials you will need in order to bring the
product to life. The list does not need to be inclusive of all potential components, but it should allow you to begin
planning what you will need in order to create the product.

For example, a drawing of a purse design could be accompanied by this list:

 Zippers (large and small)
 Silver clasps
 Leather straps
 Protection pouch
 Embossed label
 Interior wallet
Along with the components, you should also begin to consider the retail price or category your product will fall into. Will
the product be an everyday item or for special occasions? Will it use premium materials or be environmentally friendly?
These are all questions to consider in the planning phase since they will help guide you through not only your product
development process but also your brand positioning and marketing strategy.
The packaging, labels, and overall quality of your materials should be considered as well before you continue to the
sourcing and costing stages. These will have an effect on how you market your product to your target customer, so it’s
important to take these aspects of your product into consideration during the planning phase too.

4. Prototyping (Prototyping is an experimental process where design teams implement ideas into tangible forms from
paper to digital. Teams build prototypes of varying degrees of fidelity to capture design concepts and test on users. With
prototypes, you can refine and validate your designs so your brand can release the right products.)

The goal of the prototyping phase during product development is to create a finished product to use as a sample for
mass production.

It’s unlikely you will get to your finished product in a single attempt—prototyping usually involves experimenting with
several versions of your product, slowly eliminating options and making improvements until you feel satisfied with a final
sample.
 Several prototypes for the Angle Razor by Morrama.

Prototyping also differs significantly depending on the type of product you are developing. The least expensive and
simplest cases are products you can prototype yourself, such as food recipes and some cosmetic products. This do-it-
yourself prototyping can also extend to fashion, pottery, design and other verticals, if you are lucky enough to be trained
in these disciplines.

However, more often than not, entrepreneurs will work with a third party to prototype their product. In the fashion and
apparel industry, this usually involves working with a local seamstress (for clothing and accessories), cobbler (for shoes)
or pattern maker (for clothing). These services can usually be found online by Googling local services in the industry.

Most large cities also have art, design or fashion schools where students are trained in these techniques. Administrators
from these university or college programs can usually grant you access to their internal job board where you can create
a request for prototyping help.

For objects like toys, household accessories, electronics, and many other hard-exterior objects, you may require a 3D
rendering in order to make a prototype. Artists or engineers who are trained in computer-aided design and drafting
(CAD) software can be contracted to do this, using UpWork or Freelancer. There are also user-friendly online tools such
as SketchUp, Tinkercad and Vectary, for founders who want to learn how to create 3D models for themselves.

A 3D rendering for the Trifecto Infinity pen.

To get a 3D design turned into a physical model, makers used to have to get molds made for each part. Molds are
typically expensive and involve set-up fees for things like tools and dies that are used to cut and shape pieces of plastic
and other hard materials.

Luckily, with the innovation of 3D printing, designs can be turned into physical samples at a much lower cost with a
quicker turnaround time.

Chris Little, the founder of Wintersmiths, prototyped his line of barware using Quickparts and explains that he was able
to do so on a budget and within a few days' time. Alex Commons of Bulat Kitchen recommends 3D Hubs, which he used
to prototype a knife, paying around $30 per 3D-printed model.
 A 3D-printed Bulat Kitchen knife design by 3D Hubs.

5. Sourcing (the act of getting something, especially products or materials, from a particular place)

Once you have a product prototype you’re satisfied with, it's time to start gathering the materials and securing the
partners needed for production. This is also referred to as building your supply chain: the vendors, activities, and
resources needed to create a product and get it into a customer's hands.

While this phase will mainly involve finding manufacturers or suppliers, you may also factor storage, shipping, and
warehousing into your choice.

In Shoe Dog, a memoir by Nike founder Phil Knight, the importance of diversifying your supply chain is a theme
emphasized throughout the story. Finding multiple suppliers for the different materials you will need, as well as different
potential manufacturers, will allow you to compare costs. It also has an added benefit of creating a backup option if one
of your suppliers or manufacturers doesn’t work out. Sourcing several options is an important part of safeguarding your
business for the long term.

During product development, each journey to a finished product is different.

When looking for suppliers, there are plenty of resources both online and in person. While it may seem old fashioned,
many business owners choose to attend trade shows dedicated to sourcing. Trade shows like Magic in Las Vegas provide
the opportunity to meet hundreds of vendors at once—to see, touch, and discuss materials and build a personal
relationship with suppliers, which can be valuable when it comes time to negotiate prices.

During the sourcing phase, you will inevitably come across the decision of whether to produce your product locally or
overseas. It is a good idea to compare the two options, as they each have their own advantages and disadvantages.

The most commonly used sourcing platform for overseas production is Alibaba. Alibaba is marketplace for Chinese
suppliers and factories, where you can browse listings for finished goods or raw materials. A popular way of using
Alibaba to find a manufacturer is to look for listings with similar products to your own and then contact the factory to
see if they can produce your specific design.

6. Costing (the way the entrepreneur calculates or works out how much each individual product (goods or service) costs
to produce or sell)

After research, planning, prototyping, and sourcing is done, you should have a clearer picture of what it will cost to
produce your product. Costing is the process of taking all of the information gathered thus far and adding up what your
cost of goods sold (COGS) will be, so you can determine a retail price and gross margin.

Begin by creating a spreadsheet with each additional cost broken out as a separate line item. This should include all of
your raw materials, factory setup costs, manufacturing costs, and shipping costs. It is important to factor in shipping,
import fees, and any duties you will need to pay in order to get your final product into the customer's hands, as these
fees can have a significant impact on your COGS, depending on where you are producing the product.
 A product costing example. You can view it in full or copy and
adapt this spreadsheet to create your own.

If you were able to secure multiple quotes for different materials or manufacturers during the sourcing phase, you can
include different columns for each line item that compare the cost. Another option is to create a second version of the
spreadsheet, so you can compare local production versus overseas production.

Once you have your total COGS calculated, you can come up with a retail price for your product and subtract the COGS
from that price to get your potential gross margin, or profit, on each unit sold.

Product development in popular industries

The product development process will naturally vary by industry, so let's take a brief look at what you might have to
consider across three of the largest and most well-established industries: fashion and apparel; beauty and cosmetics;
and food and beverage.

These three industries have relatively straightforward paths to product development thanks to the many well-
documented case studies that can be used for inspiration.

Fashion and apparel

In the fashion industry, product development usually begins the old-school way: with a hand-drawn sketch or the digital
equivalent made using a program like Procreate.

A sketch is then developed into a sample using a pattern maker or seamstress. During the prototyping phase, a size set is
created, which means a range of samples with different measurements for each size you want to sell. Once the size set is
finalized, it is put into production.

Rather than make the product, some fashion and apparel businesses choose print on demand to produce their clothing
in the beginning. Print-on-demand allows you to upload designs to a third-party app that connects your store with a
warehouse and screen-printing facility. When an order is placed online, your design is printed on an existing stock of t-
shirts, sweaters and various other items on offer, creating a finished product without the need to design the entire
garment.

Other factors to consider:

 Hang tags. The branded tags that hang from a garment and usually contain information like price, size, etc.

 Labels. The fabric tags sewed or stamped into a garment that usually contain information about fabric contents
and care instructions.

 Wash tests. Putting your product through wash tests to understand whether it holds up over time and how it
should be cared for.

Beauty and cosmetics

The beauty and cosmetics industry includes a wide range of products that is constantly expanding, due to wellness and
self-care trends. From makeup to bath products to skincare, many beauty brands are focusing on all-natural ingredients
and sustainability, which makes it easier to prototype a product on your own using everyday ingredients.

White labeling is also popular in the beauty and cosmetics industry, which is the process of finding an existing product or
manufacturer, then packaging and branding the products they already produce. Whichever route you decide to take,
mass manufacturing for cosmetics is usually done by working with a lab and a chemist to make sure quality stays
consistent at scale.

Other factors to consider:

 Labels and warnings. Identify all materials used in the product and any potential reactions.
 Laws and regulations. Research FDA regulations and how they pertain to your product and packaging, both
where they are produced and where you intend to sell them.
 Shelf life. Conduct tests and add necessary expiration dates to products.
Food and beverage

Food and beverage products are among the easiest to start developing at a low cost and from the comfort of your own
home. Creating a new energy bar can be as simple as buying ingredients and tweaking the recipe in your own kitchen,
like Lara Merriken did when she started Lärabar.

In order to move from recipe to packaged goods you can sell in stores or online, you will need to find a commercial
kitchen that is licensed to produce food and has passed a health and safety inspection.

These kitchens are usually set up with large ovens and cooking equipment to accommodate large batches, but if you are
considering mass production and packaging, a co-packer or co-manufacturer might be a better option. These are
manufacturing facilities that specialize in processing raw materials and producing food and beverage products at scale.

Other factors to consider:

 Labels and warnings. You will need to display ingredient lists and nutritional information.
 Laws and regulations. Many countries have regulations around dietary information, allergen warnings, and
health claims that you will need to comply with.
 Expiry dates. You will need to understand your product lifetime and how you will produce, package, and stock
the product to accommodate this.
What will you bring to the market?

During product development, each journey to a finished product is different and every industry has its own unique set of
quirks involved in creating something new. If you find yourself struggling to figure it all out, remember that every
product that came before yours had to overcome the same challenges.

By following these steps as you undergo your own product development process, you can break down the overwhelming
task of bringing a new product to market into more digestible phases.

No matter what you’re developing, by putting in all the necessary preparation—through researching, planning,
prototyping, sourcing, and costing—you can set yourself up for a successful final product.

What makes a product successful?

Successful products are the beating heart of every successful business or brand (along with resourceful and talented
employees of course).

It’s hard to argue that without great products that excite customers by solving problems or adding value to their lives,
it’d be pretty hard for any business to stay afloat.

‍
Source

That’s why it’s so important to make sure your products perform as well as possible. Today's world is getting more and
more competitive and if you’re not aware of what it takes to make your products successful, you’re going to fall behind
your more astute competitors.

That’s a death sentence for any business, no matter what industry you’re in.

Unfortunately, with the world advancing at the pace it is, it can be difficult to identify exactly what it is that makes some
products successful.

To help your business on its journey towards making sure you have peak-performing products, take a look at the 5 most
important factors to a successful product we’ve listed below.

5 Important Elements to a Successful Product

Successful products are the beating heart of any great business or brand.

Often, many entrepreneurs wind up figuring out how to make their products successful as they go. While this can
sometimes bear fruit, identifying the most important factors of a successful product can help you better target and make
use of them specifically.

1. A comprehensive product launch plan

Success without preparation or planning is an incredibly rare thing. The more carefully you put into planning the launch
of your product, the better it will do.

A comprehensive and effective product launch can make or break a product, no matter how great the product is. That’s
why it’s essential to make sure your product launch plan is as detailed as possible. You can rely on services or platforms
that help you decide and plan your product launch like Teammate.
Source

It’s important to remember that a product launch plan should be developed well ahead of your release. A launch plan
should never be an afterthought and thinking of it as such can severely hamper your attempt to make your product a
success.

Without a manifesto to act as your north star, you may wind up wasting money that could have been more effectively
used elsewhere. A great product launch can inform your customers about the product you’ve developed to solve their
needs, make sure you beat out your competitors, and achieve your revenue targets.

Later this can be used to create pitch decks that you can use to generate investor excitement if you need to raise capital
as well.

Remember, the sooner you begin planning your product launch the better and more comprehensive your launch will be.
The more you know about how you want your product to turn out, the more you can make sure it does.

2. Having a quality, of value product

The hallmark of a great product is that the consumers that use it, find it to be of significant value. You need to make
sure that your product fills a void in your customers' lives and adds to it.

It’s also important to make sure that your product is not a vanity one. Paying attention to user needs, consumer trends
and ongoing business developments can help you keep an eye on events that may impact your customer's needs.

Incorporating a clear and effective proposition can help your brand quickly and easily convey just how valuable your
product is. This can help drive the benefits of your product home and create clear messaging for your marketing and
advertising.

Whether you’ve got services or apps that increase productivity, add convenience, or fill a unique gap, your product must
be of unique value. Additionally, your product should be capable of appealing to a wide enough volume of consumers
that can purchase your product to the extent that you can make a profit.

3. Using customer feedback to adapt your product

Your customers are an essential part of what makes your business tick.

They’re the lifeblood of your business, so it’s important to take their opinions into account, especially if you’re creating
products that you think will be of value in their daily lives.
Focusing on listening to feedback from your customers can have a major impact on everything from improving customer
engagement, improving your understanding of your customers, and refining and improving your products. Detailed
enough feedback from your customers can even help you learn how to increase product adoption.

That’s something that’s vital when it comes to increasing the sales of your products and ensuring your sales and
conversions are as effective as possible

It’s your customers after all, who ultimately determine the success of your products and your business. Engaging with
your customers using questionnaires, feedback forums, and reviews can go a long way toward turning your product into
a success.

4. Comprehensive messaging and marketing

The importance of marketing in today's fast-paced and constantly developing world can't be understated.

If you don't have a brand and product messaging that targets a specific audience and tries to meet them where they
are, your product's chances of being successful are slim to none.

As far as messaging goes, your messaging should resonate with the people who see it and make them feel that you’re
offering a simple, easy-to-use solution to a phenomenon that’s affecting them. Your messaging should be engaging, and
enticing and make them understand just why they should choose your products.

If you can’t explain this to your customers succinctly, your products may struggle to take off. Be sure to highlight the
best parts of the product you have to offer and emphasize what may matter to that specific target audience, in a tone
and language they understand and enjoy.

Incorporating video in your advertising campaigns, for example, can be an incredibly effective way of doing just that.

It’s important to use marketing channels that are effective and used frequently by your target market. In today's world
that can range from incorporating pay-per-click advertising, to running social media campaigns or setting up an email
marketing campaign to target specific users you feel may benefit from your products.

Remember to specifically take into account mobile internet users. As of May 2022, almost 59% of all web traffic took
place through mobile devices.

If you fail to concentrate on getting your mobile marketing correct, your product sales are definitely going to take a hit.

5. Well-developed and satisfying customer experience

Regardless of what product you’re trying to sell, your customer's experience and satisfaction are vital to growing your
sales and building long-term customer loyalty.

Just take a look at this infographic that shows the impact of customer experience in today's world.
When a customer uses or tries your product, their experiences should be frictionless, easy-to-use, and provide them
with plenty of moments that allow them to recognize the value your products have.

Simple, clean designs can help keep customers engaged and the smoother the process of viewing and purchasing is, the
more likely they are to keep interacting with your business. Provide as many features as possible to help customers with
their activities while using your product as well as while using whatever platform you’ve set up to deal with your sales.

Setting up things like various payment options, easy-to-navigate web pages, and in-depth product details can all have an
impressive effect on boosting your product sales.

Paying attention to customer feedback either during the Beta testing phase of your product release or even afterward
can help you iron out any kinks your product may have. It’s a great way to ensure your customers are as satisfied as
possible.

This leaves them in a position where they are primed for future marketing campaigns or have even begun fostering the
ever-important customer loyalty.

How to measure product success?

Measuring product success is crucial for any business to ensure they are on the right track and delivering value to their
customers. Here are some key steps and metrics to help you measure product success:

1. Customer Satisfaction: This is arguably the most crucial metric. High customer satisfaction indicates that your product
meets users' needs and expectations, leading to loyalty, positive reviews, and word-of-mouth referrals.

2. Adoption and Usage: Monitoring how many users actively adopt and use your product helps gauge its relevance.
Metrics like Daily Active Users (DAU) or Monthly Active Users (MAU) reveal how well your product is being adopted.

3. Retention Rate: A high retention rate shows that customers find consistent value in your product, reducing churn. It's
a strong indicator of long-term success.

4. Revenue and Profitability: Ultimately, a successful product should positively impact your company's bottom line.
Monitor how much revenue your product generates and assess its profitability.

5. Net Promoter Score (NPS): NPS measures customer loyalty and satisfaction. A high NPS indicates that users are not
only satisfied but also likely to recommend your product to others.

Final Thoughts

Successful products are much more than the products themselves.

They’re influenced by a variety of factors that occur simultaneously and are all part of a holistic attempt by your brand to
add value to your customers' lives.

By identifying a need a customer experiences, your product acts as what should be a simple solution. Ensuring that they
know this and that they feel it’s in their own interest to use it, is what actually makes a product successful.

Today's markets can be cutthroat, quick, and incredibly fast-paced. Successful products are products where the people
behind them have taken a holistic approach to how they can get the most out of their products.

If you want to keep up, and not be left behind, you need to match and even outdo your competitors by making sure your
products are seen as the brilliant and innovative solutions you’ve designed them to be.