Product Development and Business

New product development is pivotal and vital for the success of any business and organization. By developing and unveiling new products, a company is able to generate new prospects and reach markets. One particular important aspect that is deemed important in achieving successful product development is attaining innovative feedback and participation from consumers and markets, as they provide a concrete basis (Zemlickiene and Maditinos, 2012).

Despite the fact that new product development encompasses a great deal of risk, it is deemed to be one of the most imperative strategies in any market or industry that is filled with competition. Numerous companies have been able to generate competitiveness and attained considerable profits and returns through the process of new product development. The influence that new product development has on consumer espousal and innovative behavior cannot be stressed or underlined enough.

The unveiling of new products and services in the marketplace signifies a significant and imperative source of enhancing and amassing the size of a company and the profits that are generated. It is key to point out that companies that frequently innovate new products appeal to consumer innovators in addition to other parties in the social real to espouse the innovation.

What is more, consumer innovative behavior elucidates the extent to which the parties included in a social system are eager or can fast adopt or buy a new product that has been developed (Zemlickiene and Maditinos, 2012). The purpose of this paper is to discuss the processes and elements encompassed in new product development, outlining their importance and also the difficulties faced in the process.

New Product Development Process The table below provides a systematic elucidation of the new product development process from the point of conception up until the product gets to the market. In particular, the table delineates the steps and main steps that ought to be completed, the significance of these steps and the challenges that are presented in these particular steps.

Steps and Main Task to be Completed Importance of these Steps Challenges Presented in these Steps Idea Generation: The main task in this step is the methodical search for new product conceptions. This step motivates employees' resourcefulness to nourish the channel that cultivates the design and development of new products. Creative capabilities of organizations are imperative to their capability to innovate and survive in the contemporary competitive setting (Adiele, 2012). Some of the challenges presented in this step includes figuring out whether the ideas should be sourced internally or externally.

Another challenge is attaining the right idea that befits the markets and consumers (Adiele, 2012). Idea Screening: The main task to be completed in this step is the initial evaluation and assessment of new product concept. Some of the tasks include looking at return on investment (ROI), affordability and market potential. The significance of this step is that the selected conceptions and ideas are expected to turn into profitable products.Therefore this step is important in making certain that unfitting ideas, for whatever reason, are excluded as soon as possible.

The main challenge that is faced in this particular phase is determining which ideas are good to spot and which ones should be dropped. Concept Development and Testing: Once the product idea gets to this phase, it implies that it has been successful through screening. The tasks encompassed here include testing the consumer base to perceive their response and how they visualize it. This includes assessing whether the consumers can understand the product concept and whether they want or need the prospective product (Adiele, 2012).

The significance of this stage is that it hands the company an opportunity to develop the product idea a step further, taking into consideration the response, but also beginning to think about what its marketing communication will be set to be. The challenge that is faced in this stage is understanding that the internal opinions and insights are not the most significant, but rather those of the consumers are what matters the most.

Marketing Strategy Development: The tasks that are included in this phase are designing and fashioning of a key marketing strategy for a new product on the basis of the product idea that has been generated. The importance of this phase can be perceived on the fact that the company will be able to ascertain the initial level of success that the product can attain with respect to market share and also the target market and consumer base.

The challenges that the company faces in this phase not only encompasses properly positioning the product, but also choosing one particular target market. A product can easily be marketed to different consumers and therefore the challenge of the company is to attain the most suitable and fitting target market (Adiele, 2012). Business Analysis: The tasks that are undertaken in this step encompass a comprehensive marketing strategy, underlining the target market, product placement and positioning and marketing mix analysis.

The main significance of this particular phase encompasses assessing whether the new product being developed will be one that is feasible and profitable. Some of the challenges that are faced in this particular phase encompass: ascertaining whether there is demand for the new product, being able to fully analyze and evaluate the costs and also determining the break-even point. Product Development: This phase comes about once the ratification and approval of the new product is undertaken.

The task that is done is passing on the product to technical and marketing activities. The significance of this phase takes into account the fact that since the prototype has already been generated, the organization will be able to investigate precise design and specifications and any manufacturing techniques, but also brings about something perceptible for consumer testing, for response and advice on particulars. The main challenge that is faced in this particular phase encompasses the fact that the product idea is turned into numerous product prototypes.

The problem is determining which of them can be transformed into a product that is workable (Adiele, 2012). Test Marketing: This particular task is completely dissimilar to consumer testing. The task undertaken is the introduction of the prototypes of the new proposed product taking into account the projected marketing plan as a whole, and not individual constituents.

The importance of this stage of the process is that it is expected to authenticate and certify the whole notion and is employed for additional modifications and enhancements of all components from product to marketing message. Companies face a great deal of challenges in test marketing. Not only is it costly and time-consuming, but the company also runs the risk of handing the competitors and rivals the chance to know about their new products.

Therefore, this becomes a major challenge as the rival companies are able to come up with their own new products that compete with the new product. Commercialization: The tasks that are included in this step comprise of finalization of pricing and marketing plans together with alerting both the teams responsible for sales and distribution. This stage is important as it enables the company to be ready for unveiling the product to the market.

The main challenge experienced in this particular task encompasses determining the fitting initial price of the product and also the initial channels of distribution (Bhuiyan, 2011). Product Launch: This is the final step of the new product development process, where it is unveiled to consumers in the market. The tasks encompassed in this phase are decisions determining when and where to unveil the product to the key consumer group. Therefore, it is imperative to have a comprehensive and thorough detailed launch plan (Agrawal and Bhuiyan, 2014).

This particular phase of product unveiling is imperative and significant in making certain that the product has maximum impact on the consumer market. One of the challenges that can be faced in this phase is failure to launch in terms of having blotches in unveiling the product. Another challenge is attaining an assessment and appraisal of the market performance which is necessitated to access the prosperity of the new product development process (Adiele, 2012).

Summary In summary, actually developing a new product or service is simply a small part of the whole new product development process, which encompasses the entire passage from coming up with the primary idea to unveiling the product to the market. The first step of the process is generating the ideas, where such ideas will be evaluated for their viability. Such ideas may be obtained internally or sourced externally.

The second step is screening of the ideas generated to evaluate them in order to ensure that no unsuitable ideas are selected. The third step of the process is concept development and testing. In this phase, the ultimate idea has been chosen and is unveiled to the consumers to see if they understand the product idea. This is imperative as it hands the business a chance to develop the product concept a step further.

The main challenge is for the business to understand that the consumers' opinion of the concept is what matters the most. The marketing strategy development is the next phase and it encompasses designing the core marketing strategy for the new product. This is significant as the business becomes able to determine the prospective market share and success level of the new product or service. One of the main challenges here is having a fitting product positioning. The subsequent step is business analysis where the idea's.