Product Development Academic Notes

Courses : Business Environment Lecturer : Richman Alexander Semester : 4thSemester, 2022/2023 Session Product Development Product development is a process carried out by companies to create, design, and introduce new products or improve existing products to the market. The main objective of product development is to meet customer needs and wants, increase competitive advantage, and achieve business growth. The product development process involves a series of steps which include: 1. Market Research and Analysis: The initial stage of product development is conducting indepth market research to understand market needs, preferences, and trends. This information can be obtained through market research, customer surveys, competitor analysis and analysis of industry trends. The aim of this step is to identify market opportunities and gather insights that will assist in the development of relevant products. 2. Product Concept Planning: After understanding the market needs, the next step is to plan the product concept. This involves defining product features and functions, targeting market segmentation, product positioning in the market, as well as setting business goals related to product development. At this stage, the product concept is also evaluated in terms of technical, financial and market feasibility. 3. Product Design and Development: After the product concept is planned, the next stage is product design and development in more detail. This involves prototyping, testing, material selection, packaging design, and determining product specifications. This process also involves collaboration between design, engineering and production teams to produce products that meet established requirements and standards. 4. Testing and Evaluation: After the product has been developed, a trial and evaluation stage is carried out to test the performance, quality and functionality of the product. Trials can involve field tests, consumer tests, or laboratory tests, depending on the type of product being developed. The results of these trials and evaluations help in improving the product, making repairs, or making necessary adjustments before the product is launched on the market. 30 5. Product Launch: Once the product has successfully passed trials and evaluations, the next step is launching the product to the market. This involves developing a marketing strategy, defining distribution channels, training the sales team, and executing promotional activities. Effective product launch is a key factor in achieving product success in the market. 6. Product Monitoring and Update: Once the product is launched, the product development process does not end here. Companies need to continuously monitor product performance, receive feedback from customers, and make product updates or improvements according to market needs. This can involve developing new versions of products, upgrading features, or adjusting prices to maintain competitiveness and customer satisfaction. Product development is an important process for companies to present products that are innovative, relevant and meet customer needs. By carrying out effective product development, companies can achieve competitive advantage, increase market share, and achieve sustainable growth. After the product is launched into the market, the company needs to continue product development efforts with the following steps: 1. Product Performance Evaluation: Companies need to continuously monitor the performance of products that have been launched. This involves sales analysis, customer feedback, and evaluation of market data to understand how the product is performing. This evaluation helps in identifying product strengths and weaknesses, as well as opportunities for improvements or enhancements that can be made. 2. Product Repair and Update: Based on the product performance evaluation results, the company can make product repairs or updates. This can involve quality improvements, feature or design adjustments, reliability improvements, or customer service improvements. Regular improvements and updates help ensure products remain relevant, competitive and meet evolving customer needs. 3. Product Innovation: Product development also involves innovation. Companies need to constantly look for opportunities to create new products or enhance existing products with new features or technologies. Product innovation helps companies differentiate themselves from competitors, create added value for customers, and expand market share. 4. Advanced Research and Development: Companies must continuously conduct research and development (R&D) to develop new products and improve existing technologies. 31 Through R&D, companies can explore market trends, explore new technologies, identify unmet market opportunities, and develop innovative products. 5. Responsive to Market Changes: The market is constantly changing, and companies must be responsive to these changes. This can involve monitoring market trends, keeping up with technology developments, and identifying changes in customer needs or preferences. By being responsive to market changes, companies can anticipate changes and make product adjustments necessary to stay competitive. Product development is a continuous process, in which companies must continuously adapt to changing market and customer needs. By continuously evaluating, improving, innovating, researching, and being responsive to market changes, companies can maintain competitiveness, meet customer needs, and achieve sustainable business growth. In conclusion, product development is a process that involves creating, designing, and introducing new products or improving existing products to the market. This process includes market research, product concept planning, product design and development, trial and evaluation, product launch, and product monitoring and updating. Effective product development enables companies to meet customer needs and wants, increase competitive advantage, and achieve sustainable business growth. In addition, continuous product development through performance evaluation, improvement, innovation, research and responsiveness to market changes helps the company to stay relevant, competitive and meet the ever-evolving customer demands. By focusing on developing good products, companies can build a strong product portfolio, improve brand image and improve customer satisfaction. It is important for companies to continuously update and improve their products to stay relevant in a competitive market. 32