How To Create Products Customers Love - Report Example

DIО Rероrt: Nеw Рrоduсt Dеvеlорmеnt рrороsаl Name Institution Executive summary Ballicom International is a reputable firm that has been in operation since 1993, offering specialized IT services to both the United Kingdom and the entire European population. The company intends to usher in a robust product that will ensure a near permanent solution to the virus fiasco that has rocked the world for a long time (Maddock, Uriarte, & Brown, 2011). The management of the company understands the challenge of new product development, which involves the company bringing a fresh product that has never existed in to the market. The product may be tangible or intangible, and for the product to succeed in the market it should be of a greater value than the product that is already existing in the market. In this regard, the management is thinking of coming up with an idea that will combine both the hardware and software aspect of computing to ensure reliability and robustness in the impact of the product to the consumer. To create a new product the company needs to come up with a new idea about a product, a new design of the existing products in the market, and also analyze the market for that product that a company intends to come up, with in order to identify the needs in the market. When the company identifies the needs in the market the company is able to discover the various gaps in the market and will be able to generate a significant idea which may be of a high value to consumers and also the company at large. Having identified the problem of viruses in computing, the company has narrowed its scope in coming up with a product that may save consumers the cost of buying antiviruses and possible loss of data and information through virus infection. The management of Ballicom International resorted to eight stages for the process of new product generation. The management agreed that the first step is for the firm to generate a new product idea which has never existed before. To generate a new product idea the company carried out intensive research in the market to identify the needs of the consumer. In this case, the new product idea was to be an improvement of the already existing products in the company. The firm felt it is possible to generate the new idea by comparing the various firms in the industry and how they perform and in this case generate a new idea. It was also noteworthy for the firm to study its weakness, its strengths, the opportunities available in the market and threats in the industry. This gave the company an opportunity to survey all the available options and come up with the best idea possible. To screen the market in order to find an opportunity, according to the company, was the most crucial step in new product development. The company also had its stakeholders doing intensive reading of various articles, and listening to media in order to identify an opportunity in the market. Secondly, the company screened the idea in order to get the relevancy of the idea. The problem of viruses is supremely real and affects all weighty and minor companies in existence. Viruses have been a real menace, and to make matters worse, new strains are continuously invading the world. This poses a potential threat that, if not controlled may lead to disastrous effects. Screening the idea is extremely vital for the company so that it can find out if it will be beneficial for it to trade in the new idea (Cooper, Edgett, & Brady, Lean, Rapid and Profitable New Product Development, 2009). Evidently, solving the problem of computer viruses permanently will bring relief to the entire working force in the world. Looking at the various segments, the company identified the new product based on its benefits these segments if it is implemented. The company should then forecast on the growth of the existing segments in order to try and estimate the future of these segments after the new product is introduced. The company also saw the need to screen the various firms in the industry to find out the competition in the market for the new product. At present, no company has thought of this specific idea, and hence, this was a viable idea. The company had a look at the market trends in the industry in order to know if it is relevant to establish the new product. This was a successful endeavor as the survey indicated that all the consumers would be delighted at the launch of the new product. The company can then have to look at the technicality of the product to know if it is possible to establish the new product. Finally, the company should need to analyze the profits or loses that it could incur if it produces the new product and sells it at the targeted price in the market. The company can then develop the idea and test the idea in the market. In developing the idea in order to test it, the company should put in mind that consumers will determine the success of the new product in the market. Therefore, the company should identify the market segment that it will target in establishing the new product (Schneider & Hall, The NEW Launch Plan: 152 Tips, Tactics and Trends from the Most Memorable New Products, 2010). The company should then identify the best features that it should introduce in the product in order to make it an attractive item for consumers. The company can analyze the benefits that the product will provide in order to find the relevance of the new product. The company can also try and forecast the reactions of the target group on the introduction of the new product in the market. The company can also study the costs for producing the new product after which it can identify the most effective way of production. For the company to be successful in this step it should consider inquiring from a few consumers to find out what they think about the new product (Cagan, 2008). The company can then conduct an analysis of the product. Here, the company can determine the selling price of the new product. The selling price should be realistic in that it should not be too cheap or exceedingly expensive (Cooper, Winning at New Products: Creating Value Through Innovation, 2011). The company should choose a selling price that is attractive to consumers and at the same time profitable to it. For instance, the company should determine its lowest selling price to cover the costs of production. In this case, the company can identify its break-even point in establishing the new product price in order to make sure that it earns some realistic profit. The company can then estimate the total quantity that will be needed by consumers in the target market in order to prevent underproduction or overproduction. Fifth, the company can test the product in the market to see if the consumers can consume it. To test the product the company can select a target group and focus on the selected group for the entire testing period (Hodock, 2007). The company can introduce the product to the focus group for them to test the new product and give their views about the new product. The ideas of the focus group are indispensable in that the company will be able to identify the likes and dislikes of consumers in the new product. The company can then focus on these ideas to make other products making sure they work away the dislikes and reinforce the likes of the consumer. The company should then give the improved products to the focus group to test them. This will help the company to get approval to produce the new product. The company can then implement the new product technically after which it commercializes the product. In implementing the new product technically the company should look for the best suppliers of raw materials who are reliable. The company should also identify the distributors of the new product in order to assure the consumers of continuous supply of the new product. It should review its programs and departments in order to fit the new product in to the schedules of the company (Maddock, Uriarte, & Brown, 2011). In commercializing the new product the company can identify the appropriate advertising channel for the product; the company can come up with the critical path analysis for the new product in order to be successful in commercializing (Cooper, Winning at New Products: Creating Value Through Innovation, 2011). The final step is for the company to use various tools in order to allocate a perfect price for the new product. In allocating the new price, the company should consider the impact that the new product has in the target market (Cagan, 2008). The company should also analyze the value in use and value in exchange of the new product both internally and externally. The company can also forecast on the expected in the industry and allocate a competitive and friendly price for the commodity. Since the company is to target different segments in the market, the company can allocate different prices for the different segments. The company should put in mind the costs of production when determining the price (Kahn, 2012). Generally the price should be realistic in order for it to earn the company normal profits and not above normal profits. Applying the above steps will enable a firm to be successful in introducing the new product in the market. Market opportunity Based on statistical data accrued from the past, in the generation today computers have become of immense importance to society. Though a little expensive many people have acquired and used the computers due to the importance that they attach to the computers. Computers have made life easier as they do work faster and are used for as many purposes some of which are listed below (Maddock, Uriarte, & Brown, 2011). They usher in quite a number of automated functionality that reduces human effort significantly, thus making life easy for people in all spheres of life. It is also worth noting that it is because of computers that a company like Ballicom International exists. If anything, the company aims at making computer services even much better through launching new products and services. The computers are essential for the storage of data. Large amounts of data can be stored in the computer for future reference. The computer has also been used to keep efficient records for the organizations. For this reason, many organizations have abandoned the use of manual files and now use the computers which are accurate and occupy less space (Cooper, Edgett, & Brady, Lean, Rapid and Profitable New Product Development, 2009). The organizations can now have access to any information that they have stored within the shortest time possible. The computers have helped the organizations to save time and money that would otherwise be used for paying for storage of files and documents written on paper. The computer has also been used as an efficient tool for communication (Cooper, Edgett, & Brady, Lean, Rapid and Profitable New Product Development, 2009). For instance people use emails that are sending through the computer to pass valuable messages to one another. For organizations, the computer has been a valuable source of advertising their new products to the target markets. For instance organizations have used the internet, which is accessed through the computer to advertise their products to their target groups especially the youth. Workers in various firms now own computers, which have made their work more efficient and fast. This is because, through the computers, they are able to get access to required information faster and on time. For example, the computer has made writing of documents easier. Through the computer, a business person can edit the written work in a short time, and the grammatical mistakes can be corrected (Hodock, 2007). This has helped improve the accuracy of business documents and made them better. Computers have also helped in the interaction of the various business persons with other business people, with members of their departments and also with their customers. Through the computers, they can share ideas and exchange ideas of value to companies. The companies can also be able to identify the various needs of their target groups and thus improve the performance of the business. The business can advertise job opportunities through the internet and is able to get a pool of experienced applicants for the job (Maddock, Uriarte, & Brown, 2011). The computer has also helped improve the productivity of the workers in an organization. Finally, use of computers has improved the image of various companies and managers as they are viewed as more efficient because they use computers (Reinertsen, 2009). Generally computers have contributed to improving the performance of many firms and have helped to boost production and profits. However, the use of computers has been substantially challenged by computer viruses. These programs enter the computer and may destroy stored data, and some may cause damage to the data and some virus may also make copies of data that is available without the owner’s knowledge. For many companies, it is essential for them to share data within the organizations various departments. In the process of sharing the available data, they end up transferring viruses from one computer to another (Reinertsen, 2009). In fact, the spread of viruses currently has become crucial because the viruses are now spread through emails, which is the most common method of communication for many people. Another threat to computers is that of worms which may make the computer to stop functioning effectively. It even exposes the computer to attacks by other viruses and people can be able to hack into data available in computers that are infected by worms. Computer virus attacks to people’s computers have caused considerable harm to individuals and organizations at large. For instance, some organizations have ended up losing particularly pertinent information regarding projects in their organizations which has led to loss and even caused misunderstanding between individuals (Reinertsen, 2009). To counter the effects of these viruses, many organizations have taken safety measures to salvage their organizations from the looming dangers. They have tried to purchase anti-virus software and installed them in their computers in order to detect and destroy viruses. However, the anti-virus software needs to be updated regularly in order to be effective. Some organizations have installed scanners in their computers which scan documents regularly to detect any virus that may attack the computers this has helped reduce virus transfer when exchanging and sharing files in the organizations (Schneider & Hall, The NEW Launch Plan: 152 Tips, Tactics and Trends from the Most Memorable New Products, 2010). Some organizations have taught their employees to be careful especially when online in order to avoid accepting attacks from the viruses without their knowledge in just a click. Also, before opening any new documents, people scan them in order to avoid virus attacks. Finally, organizations have stored copies of their data in other sources such as flash disk in order to be able to retrieve information just in case viruses destroy the information available in the computers (Schneider & Yocum, New Product Launch: 10 Proven Strategies, 2004). The above steps have succeeded in trying to lessen the effects of computer viruses. However, the process of installing anti-virus programs, purchasing of scanning software, constant updating of these programs, and the process of having to lose and retrieve data from back up storage has proved tiresome and sometimes expensive to very many organizations (Reinertsen, 2009). Potential product proposal Basing on the problems associated with viruses, that is, the effects of viruses and the steps to prevent these viruses a market opportunity arises (Schneider & Yocum, New Product Launch: 10 Proven Strategies, 2004). A computer manufacturing company should try to come up with a new product, for instance a virus proof computer or software that will make the computers proof to attacks from viruses immediately it is installed into the computers. The engineers in the computer the computer industry should consult one another about the common features of computer viruses and try to come up with an idea on what can make the computers to be virus proof and try it on a few samples of computers (Reinertsen, 2009). The company should then choose a target group for this new product idea and get their ideas about it. Through the ideas of the sampled consumers, the computer company will be able to know if the product is worth investing in and thus come up with the product. The company should also put in consideration the cost of making the virus proof computers and compare it with the available resources in the company (Reinertsen, 2009). If the company is in a position to meet these needs then it can go ahead and make a few samples of the products. The company should then test the first few samples in the selected group and find out their views about the products. If the group makes suggestions on any improvements to be made on the new product the company should consider revising the product and incorporating the improvements that the consumers suggested. The company should also try to do away with what the customers dislike about the new product (Maddock, Uriarte, & Brown, 2011). After doing these improvements on the product, the company can then return the product to the selected consumers for them to approve the product. If the product is approved by the consumers, the company can set up the price for the product. The company should consider the cost of production when they allocate the price of the new virus proof computer (Merle Crawford & Benedetto, 2010). Though the price may be a little bit higher than the price of the initial computers or software, the consumers will be satisfied with the new product as they will have found a solution to the problem of computer viruses once and for all. The company should, however, make the price of the new product cheaper in the beginning to attract customers (Cooper, Winning at New Products: Creating Value Through Innovation, 2011). Later, when the market for the new product has grown, the company can consider revising the price of the new product in order for it to earn attractive and realistic profits. Risks benefit analysis The production and introduction of the new product into the market may, however, be risky(Cagan, 2008). Some consumers may prefer to use the older process of buying anti-virus software, installing it in to computers and continuously updating it. This may be as a result of the price of the new product. However, as the market for the new product expands and as consumers become aware of the need to use this new product many of them will opt for it (Cooper, Edgett, & Brady, Lean, Rapid and Profitable New Product Development, 2009). This will eventually lead to greater economies of scale which will lead to reduced cost of production of the new product and thus a reduced price of the new product (Reinertsen, 2009). The benefits that will be accrued from the new product will be increased customer satisfaction, the company will attract more customers for its product, the product will be unique, the product will lead to increased sell of both the product and the product idea this will eventually lead to increased revenue, which will contribute to increased profits in the company (Cagan, 2008). Therefore, the benefits accrued to the introduction of the new product by the company are greater than the risks, and for that reason the company should consider coming up with the new product. References Cagan, M. (2008). Inspired: How To Create Products Customers Love. New York: SVPG Press. Cooper, R. G. (2011). Winning at New Products: Creating Value Through Innovation. New York: Basic Books. Cooper, R. G., Edgett, S. J., & Brady, L. (2009). Lean, Rapid and Profitable New Product Development. Ontario: BookSurge. Hodock, C. L. (2007). Why Smart Companies Do Dumb Things: Avoiding Eight Common Mistakes in New Product Development. London: Prometheus Books. Kahn, K. B. (2012). The PDMA Handbook of New Product Development (3rd ed.). New Jersey: Wiley. Maddock, G. M., Uriarte, L. C., & (Author), P. B. (2011). Brand New: Solving the Innovation Paradox -- How Great Brands Invent and Launch New Products, Services, and Business Models. New York: Wiley. Merle Crawford, C., & Benedetto, A. D. (2010). New Products Management . New York: McGraw-Hill/Irwin. Reinertsen, D. G. (2009). The Principles of Product Development Flow: Second Generation Lean Product Development. Chicago: Celeritas Publishing. Schneider, J., & Hall, J. (2010). The NEW Launch Plan: 152 Tips, Tactics and Trends from the Most Memorable New Products. London: BNP Publisher. Schneider, J., & Yocum, J. (2004). New Product Launch: 10 Proven Strategies. London: Stagnito Communications. Read More