The phases of the development of new products constitute the process through which the introduction of a new product to the market is reached, these phases are:
1. Development / production of ideas
Businesses and other organizations are looking for product ideas to help them achieve their goals. This activity is known as idea production.
2. Review of ideas
In the process of reviewing ideas, those that do not agree with the objectives of the organization are rejected and those that represent the greatest potential are selected for their development. The idea review of the product ideas represents an overall assessment of the company's resources; it is about obtaining, through forecasting techniques, a quick projection of the economic benefits. The global capacity of the company to produce and market the product is evaluated. Other aspects of the idea that need to be considered are the nature and needs of consumers, competition and other environmental factors.
3. Business analysis
The analysis of the business provides a compatibility of the product in the market, including its probable profitability. In this analysis, the evaluators ask questions such as:
- Is the market demand strong enough to justify entering the market and will demand continue? How will the introduction and marketing of this product affect the costs and profits of the company? New facilities will be necessary to manufacture the product. Can the existing ones be used? Is the product adapted to the mix of products that the company currently has? Is the required financing available or should other financial resources be used? What changes in the environment and competition can be expected and how will they affect sales, costs and future profits of the product ?.
4. Product development
The main objective of the product development phase is to determine if it is technically feasible to manufacture the product and at low enough costs, which makes it possible to set a reasonable price. However, the development stage is not restricted only to mechanical or manufacturing aspects of the product. During this stage the different components that will constitute the marketing mix must also be developed to test them. Rights, preliminary announcements, packaging labels should be reviewed to determine the legal implications and at this time plans for personal sales and distribution should be developed to ensure the effective integration of all elements into the marketing mix.
5. Market test
It is a limited-scale introduction of a product in selected areas to represent the future market, in order to determine the likely reactions of buyers. The market test is a kind of sample of what will be the launch of the entire marketing mix and it is a stage that should only be carried out after the development stage has been completed and the initial plans related to the other variables of the marketing mix.
6. Marketing
This is the stage in which plans for full capacity manufacturing and marketing must be prepared and budgets prepared for the project. The marketing phase is streamlined when consumers quickly accept the product. The following stages of the product acceptance process are generally followed by consumers when accepting a product:
- Knowledge: The buyer realizes the product. Interest: The buyer is looking for information and is willing to learn more about the product. Evaluation: The buyer examines the advantages of the product and decides whether to test it. Testing: The buyer examines, tests, or tests the product to determine its usefulness. Acceptance: The buyer accepts the product and thereby hopes to meet his need.
