The stages or process or steps involved in a new-product development are depicted in the image given below. Click on it to get a zoomed preview.
The eight stages or process or steps involved in the development of a new product are listed and also hyper-linked as follows:
1. Idea generation.
2. Idea screening.
3. Concept testing.
4. Business analysis.
5. Product development.
6. Test marketing.
7. Commercialization.
8. Review of market performance.
Now let's discuss each stage in the process of a new-product development.
1. Idea generation
The first step in new-product development is idea generation.
New ideas can be generated by:
1. Conducting marketing research to find out the consumers' needs and wants.
2. Inviting suggestions from consumers.
3. Inviting suggestions from employees.
4. Brainstorming suggestions for new-product ideas.
5. Searching in different markets viz., national and international markets for new-product ideas.
6. Getting feedback from agents or dealers about services offered by competitors.
7. Studying the new products of the competitors.
2. Idea screening
Most companies have a "Idea Committee." This committee studies all the ideas very carefully. They select the good ideas and reject the bad ideas.
Before selecting or rejecting an idea, the following questions are considered or asked:
1. Is it necessary to introduce a new product?
2. Can the existing plant and machinery produce the new product?
3. Can the existing marketing network sell the new product?
4. When can the new product break even?
If the answers to these questions are positive, then the idea of a new-product development is selected else it is rejected. This step is necessary to avoid product failure.
3. Concept testing
Concept testing is done after idea screening. It is different from test marketing.
In this stage of concept testing, the company finds out:
1. Whether the consumers understand the product idea or not?
2.