Principles of New Product Development and the Importance of Branding - Essay Example

Branding of Product and New Product Development The market is filled with millions of products and thousands of products entering the market every day. It is difficult for the customers to decide which product is better or which one is worth for the money they spent. Most of the products entering the market would be mere modifications of the existing ones. Only few new products enter the market with unique characteristics. This paper explains my concepts about brand and new product development. I want my product stand out among the millions of different products available in the market and for that purpose powerful product branding is the only way. I know very well that even if my product has better qualities compared to the competing products in the market, it need not move well in the market in the absence of powerful branding. In other words, it is not the product, but the brand catches the attention of the consumers. I know that most of the big business groups seek the help of celebrities from sports and films in order to develop their brand rather than the product. One the brand is developed properly, the product will move well even if it may not have the required quality. New product developers must keep this point in their mind while they go for a new product development. I would like my product to be the market leader than a market follower in order to ensure success. Copying of other’s ideas may be successful for temporary gains whereas innovative ideas will always sustain in the market. I know that the idea of a new product development is not an easy task when considering the complexities involved at various stages of the product development. At the same time, these complexities are worth when comparing the possible success with the difficulties. While developing a new product, I know, I am devising a solution that addresses the customer’s unmet needs. In order to develop a new product, I must decide upon the strategic orientation of my business first. I must realize that I cannot deliver everything to the people and hence I should decide what I am capable of delivering to the public and based on that I must decide upon the concept of new product. Generating idea for the new product development is the difficult part. The main things which should be kept in mind while developing a new product can be summarized as follows; Realization of Opportunity, Evaluation of Opportunity, Development of Ideas, Selection of the Idea, and Development of the technology of the Idea selected. Marketing determines the success and failures of the new product developed. Proper advertisement activities must be accompanied with the introduction of the new product into the market in order to capture the market. Even good products may fail in the market in the absence of efficient advertising and marketing activities. In short, new product development is a complex task which needs lots of in depth analysis and researches till the new product enters and establishes in the market. Name of author: Development of a new product Competition is heavy in the current market and the economic conditions are not so good. Customers are more cautious in selecting their products because of shortage of money in their pockets. So an entrepreneur must remember that there are no shortcuts at present to excel in the market. It is difficult for an entrepreneur to introduce a product in the market without developing the brand. Today’s customers give more emphasize to the brands rather than the product. For example, most of the Sony Corporation, Japan has a reputed brand name all over the world and hence most of the customers may not think twice while buying a product if it comes from the Sony family. On the other hand most of the Chinese products, even if they are better than that of the Sony’s products, may not move well in the market because of the poorly developed brands. This paper emphasizes the importance of brand in helping a product move well in the market. If the messages and the themes attached with the new product fail to reach the consumers, all the efforts to save the product will be failed. In order to make the consumers aware of the product and its features, brand development is important. Advertising is the best way of conveying brand awareness to the customers. It is foolishness to think that a product without supporting advertisements may move well in the market. Advertisements through print, audio/video, internet media can help in conveying the brand characteristics to the customers. Brand development is important not only for the existing products, but for the new products as well. Once the idea for the development of a new product received from some sources or researches, the entrepreneur should conduct a SWOT (strength, weakness, opportunities and threat) analysis. Based on this analysis, the entrepreneur can screen the ideas he generated. Target market, growth prospects, competitions etc should be evaluated. After screening process is over, the concept development and testing are the next steps. During this period, the product features, designs, manufacturing processes, possible customer reactions to the product and possible difficulties in developing the product, testing etc should be done. Fixing of possible selling price of the product based on the competition and market feedbacks, evaluation of probable sales prospects and profitability etc should be done in the next stage. Once all these steps were completed, a physical prototype of the product should be made to test the product. Thereafter produce a small volume of the product to test it in the real market environment to analyse the customer responses to the product. All the technical details about the product manufacturing can be fixed during this trial run period. Commercialization of the product is the last step of launching a new product in the market. Commercialization of the product should be accompanied by immense advertisements in order to develop the brand. To conclude, brand is more important than the product. Brand development should be done along or even before the actual product development. Read More