Once again we bring to you a topic of great importance and supremely applicable to microenterprise reality. The Design Of Your Products can be the key to big business and to the success of your organization in the sector where it operates. Try to apply what we will present here and you will surely achieve good results.
Let's start by defining what a Product is: products are goods like goods or objects but they can also be services, which will fulfill a social function by supplying a market need (consumers). Shoes, laundry, books etc. They are products.
The products are classified as Mass Consumption when their use is general or common, such as clothing or personal hygiene products, etc.
Specialized Consumer products are those that due to their cost and limited use for certain needs, are not purchased by everyone. An electron microscope, a gold credit card etc.
Industrial Products are products for other products, that is, they are the inputs or raw materials to produce other products. They are also called Intermediates. Polyethylene to make garbage bags is one example of these.
An important detail of the mode of production of micro-enterprises is that many of them are Poly-producers. In other words, they manufacture more than one product. In other words, they do not completely specialize in a single good, but instead use their machinery to create other products with the same raw material. For example, shoe shops can manufacture loafers, boots, women's shoes and children's shoes.
Now, since we know how to classify products, we can continue defining what Traditional Products are. These are the ones that are made as a replica or copy of an original and for this the same technology is used or a close adaptation to it. This case is very common in dressmaking, since the pressure of fashion feels very strong here. It is quite frequent that a small company copies the models of the big fashion houses and that with its rudimentary endowment of machinery it adapts to the production of the good according to the new fashion.
Certain products are protected as exclusivities of a firm and that is why not all are available to everyone, but even so, the Follower Leader Model is the one that predominates for micro-enterprises. Hence the importance of Production Flexibility in a micro-company. In other words, its machinery and labor can be adaptable to new requirements, or to various products.
Producing goods and services is not easy, but when the product, its promotion, its quality and innovation are complemented, success will come very soon.
On the other hand, Product Innovation refers to all those improvements that are significant in the product and that generally require new technology or processes.
In simpler terms, we can say that if, for example, any company is dedicated to the printing of writings for which it uses a printing press, but then it is done to a bookbinder, it will be able to offer bound books in different sizes and shapes as needed. And if the printing press is changed to a color one, it can offer children's stories, etc.
We finally reached our goal. The design of new products. But it was necessary to know all of the above so as not to get confused and better understand the concepts.
In short, the latter refers to the creation of new products for the market, which must meet the condition of being useful and supplying or satisfying a consumer's need to make them our customers.
There is a very important factor in the development of new products that you need to take into account. You should not expect the process to be cheap, let alone free. The creation of new models is generally expensive, of course, once the finished product is marketed and its positioning is achieved, the initial investment will be recovered.
In several cases the design of new products requires new technologies at all levels. Machinery, tool, raw material, skilled labor etc. Much of this new technology needs to be engineered by the entrepreneur, so measure your chances before getting into a project that is beyond your capabilities, or seek help from whoever knows what to do.
The design of a product implies part of the capital investment, a heavy investment in time to be able to think, research, test solutions, etc. This process in some cases can be very long, as in others not so long, in short it also depends on the magnitude of the project. We also assume that you have already found the necessary information from your potential clients and that for greater security you have carried out a market study to ensure that the need that you plan to cover does indeed exist.
To design a product it is recommended that you follow the following methodological steps so that you make the most of your resources (time, money, information, etc.).
Generate Alternatives: Brainstorming is a good technique to be able to later choose or combine solutions.
Pre-select Ideas: This is a top-notch filter where utopian or unfeasible alternatives are discarded.
Pre-design: This is the preparation of the first plans and guides on how to prepare the product or how to provide the service.
Test on Plans: Without having gone beyond the elaboration of the guides, plans and plans, critically test the ideas developed. This will save you time and money.
Redesign: If necessary, the structure is redesigned in the parts where solvable faults were found.
Development of the Prototype, Model or Model: In the case of goods, it is very pedagogical to be able to have a virtual image of what you plan to do, of course, in services it may also be possible and you can also draw valuable lessons, but more than anything This serves to specify the external financing mechanisms of the project.
Market Test: Don't rush, first test the product in a small test market, and collect as much information as possible, positive and negative, this will give you a better idea of how much more to produce to cover the market you are targeting or whether Definitely and despite all your efforts, you must redesign your product because it did not meet what the consumer demanded.
Definitive Design: If you have reached this step, it is certain that not only do you know your product very well but you also know your market very well, launch the product in higher volumes on the market, it will not be necessary to make any more changes in the short term; but you must monitor the life of your product.
Do not be left alone in the design of your products, but do not delegate everything either. Call the creatives of your company, the plant staff to see if they see it feasible to produce that good, talk to consumers and ask the sellers for their opinion, it is also recommended that you find out about the legal regulations that cover your product. Good luck.
