The design phase of a new product launch is the very first thing you’ll encounter, and it’s an obviously important consideration. You want to make sure you create the best design possible, and that’s going to take a lot of preparation. It will also require a lot of thinking ‘outside the box’ if you want to sprint ahead of the competition. We can’t tell you everything you need to know – you need to figure that out for yourself. However, we can certainly get the ball rolling.
Design Facilitation & Consultation
The first thing you’re going to want to do is to work together to build the perfect design. While you can certainly do this in-house, why would you limit your creative possibilities like that?! There are all sorts of companies out there that deal with facilitation and consultation. You might just stumble upon businesses that can make your idea even better than you had envisioned. They might be developing technologies using lasers that can enhance your design, for example. The possibilities are plentiful, but you need to go out and find them.
Customer Feedback
This is something that should be done as a routine, but it’s regularly overlooked as a crucial part of the design process. You need to be obtaining feedback from your loyal customers about your previous products. What did they like? What didn’t they like? Send out surveys, pose questions on social media and simply ask them in person. There’s no better way to source the information you need.
QA Testing
If your product is going to make a big splash, you want it to be the right one. QA testers will ensure that the product isn’t shipped to market with a host of faults and issues. You’re only in the design phase, so you might not be able to carry this out extensively right now. Still, getting those testers onboard will help you to identify issues throughout the design process – all the way to market.
Brand Appeal
We’re going to look to a passage from FastCompany’s article about emotional connections for this topic. There, they talk about Calvin Klein and the incredible connection the brand has made with its customers. They make the point that in CK’s case, the look of the product was very similar to that of the brand. Eventually, the product’s necessity to be shown wasn’t even that important anymore. Customers had naturally developed a relationship between the two, sparking brand loyalty. Always keep your brand’s identity in mind when developing a new product.
Patent Applications
If you’re developing something brand new that has never been seen before, you might need to apply for a patent. You never just know if a competitor will come up with the same idea and rush it to market before you do. You’ll be fighting a losing battle if you haven’t applied for a patent. It’ll will result in a waste of time and money on your part, all for the sake of a simple application. Keep in mind that confidentiality agreements are important for employees such as QA testers, too. You don’t want anyone spilling the details before they’re allowed to!
Get out there and nail the design phase. It won’t be long until your product is demolishing the market in sales!
