New Product Development:
7 Best Practices to Keep in Mind

The first step in any product development process is determining all the variables that will play into the product’s success in the marketplace through a discovery method. The discovery method is breaking down the product into project sub-categories that include but aren’t limited to:

• Where is the product market niche?
• Does the market niche provide you with any commercialization options?
• Who and where are your product competitors?
• Does your product competition have any weaknesses or strengths worth noting?
• If this is a new invention, are there any similar products already patented?

You always want to understand any overall risk your company may be exposed to by taking the new product through the development process. Once you go through product discovery and determine your product is worth taking to market, it makes all the difference in the world to know the answers to the questions above. That’s because these questions come up every time you’re dealing with potential investors, licensees, or business partners.

Every new product idea gets to a point where a company will have to determine if they want to move forward by implementing the invention development process. When a company implements product development processes, they are moving towards commercialization through the developer’s business or through licensing the intellectual property to a different company. It takes a lot to develop and market a product, so a company needs to be sure they have the resources, commitment, and skillsets needed to chance the risk, which can result in great rewards.

There are three considerations you need to take into account when deciding what screening or strategy you want to implement for the new product development commercialization process.

• You always want to tweak your goals, so they reflect the value of the new product.
• You want to make sure a company has every resource they need to make the new product successful.
• You want to know what your company risk or reward is for the new product development process and if your company can absorb the impact.

All of the above revolves around you learning more about the licensing needs of the new product. The three considerations above also integrate determining the best commercialization process method to help ensure the product’s market success.

In simplified terms, this means step three requires that you create the business plan that’s needed for the new product launch. The term business plan is a loose term in this instance because you don’t need a Fortune 500 corporate business plan. What you need is a business plan that includes the new product’s market variables that impact development.

This is the step where you create a sales funnel that establishes the variables you need for sales growth with their costs once you launch the new product. Many business plans will note the break-even point, so they know when the product becomes financially lucrative for their company. The business plan is of vital importance in helping determine the factors needed to help ensure future product success.

Some companies get stuck in product development, short-term strategies. Short-term strategies in creating a new product development platform can indeed be rewarding to a company. However, companies need to be thinking about sustainable growth for lucrative long-term returns.

That’s why part of creating a new product development platform needs to include a path forward that offers consistent execution, marketing leadership, and competitive advantage. The marketplace for new development best practices needs to include the product’s ability to grow brand influence and customer loyalty. Best marketplace practices for product innovation and new processes almost always includes a firm foundation that can launch you into market domination.

Most of the time, your product prototyping implements your best practices in innovation and new product development listed on your process map. Product prototyping is usually done through a digital mock-up of a digital or physical product. In the digital world, this is called a beta test stage where you have one final version of the product to validate its usage hypothesis, let investors peruse, and use for any marketing purposes you need.

You almost always want to outsource a physical prototype because it needs to be very detailed and viable specifications, so the product development resonates with innovation and need in the marketplace. Part of this step is letting others test your prototype so any reactions, results, opinions, or functions can be part of the product’s future development process.

Any new product needs to include design development in its product manufacturing process map or development plans. You want to have cost-effective suppliers researched and ready to go so you can optimize the product’s design for any manufacturing needs. Part of this step includes preparing all your documentation, which includes your master plan.

The master plan allows you to fully understand the requirements of the product’s project process as well as the market research that needs to finalize so you can create an accurate production timeline. You do have to have a built-in process that can address the unexpected or has some buffers already integrated into the plan for delays Outside investments won’t be very interested in project products that don’t reveal the market potential or the value statement the business opportunity presents.

The last step may be the most important one because it’s the one that provides the tools that launch a successful product and a product that launches in a time frame that was planned for and works best. Branding and marketing can never be overvalued because they can make a difference in a new innovative product being successful or uninteresting. This step is also the one that’s continual for product development and never really ends.

Your marketing and distribution or placement plan include your pricing strategy as well as your target market, the financial methods or model you’re using, and what your conversion sales funnel looks like. It’s your sales tactics that define how effectively your product gets to the end-user in the marketplace.

The Last Step is the Most Important
One for Effective New Product Development

Product development best practices have more to do with realizing the process is a work-in-progress that you need to keep learning as the market changes month to month and year to year.

When you’re in the early stages of product launch, you are most at risk of negative feedback, lack of sales, marketing messages that aren’t working, and more. That’s why you must practice being agile and flexible with your development process strategy and plan.

If you want to talk to us about your product development, don’t wait any longer and schedule a consultation now!