Stages of a Proposed Product before Commercialization
A product needs to go through four phases before commercialization. The phases include idea generation, idea validation, concept development, and product development (Adams, 2019). Idea generation involves sourcing product ideas from customers, journals, competitors, suppliers, newspapers, and employees. The generated ideas have to go through screening in the next phase to filter out the viable ones. It is essential to seek ideas from customers, employees, and suppliers during this phase to avoid costly, unforeseeable events. Therefore, SWOT analysis of the product market to shortlist ideas worth pursuing is essential.
The next phase is concept development, which includes creating a product picture from the user’s perspective and conducting competitor analysis (Singh, 2022). It also involves enlisting the major product features, creating a value proposition chart and pricing model, and presenting them to the selected customers (concept testing) (Singh, 2022). Notably, end-users get a clear picture of the product’s potential through a clean and presentable form, such as a value proposition chart. The fourth phase (product development) entails the actual design and manufacturing. It starts with creating a product prototype that will facilitate market testing. The product creators also decide whether to undertake large-scale production or not before commercialization.
Sources of Ideas for the New Product
The first source for ideas is brainstorming by paying attention to trends in the local community (Grewal & Levy, 2020). The next source of ideas for the product will include consulting online consumer trend publications, getting inspiration from industry leaders, perusing B2B wholesale marketplaces, and learning from competitors. Possible new product ideas sourced from companies that manufacture air quality appliances, such as company salespersons, top management, employed scientists in companies, etc., will be a good place to begin. For example, companies already in the business, such as Alen, Austin Air Systems, Blueair, Coway, Philips, Sharp Corporation, and Dason, could provide useful insights.
Filtering the ideas will entail consideration of product categories without heavy competition, particularly the most common and popular products. The next step entails evaluating the selected product categories, considering new markets, new ways to use the product, and adding new features. The final step will focus on selecting a smaller subset of a larger category with fewer potential customers because it makes way for less competition and a more targeted audience. For instance, an air quality appliance (humidifier) that promises to increase the humidity of a room, addressing dry air issues that can inflame and irritate airwaves, would be an ideal product sub-category.
References
Adams, D. (2019). Five Phases of the New Product Development Process. Web.
Grewal, D., & Levy, M. (2020). M: Marketing (7th ed). McGraw -Hill.
Singh, S. (2022). What are the Seven Stages in the New Product Development Process? Web.