One of the biggest reasons products aren’t successful is because of a lack of research into product development and the industry market. This needs to be considered when integrating new products into your current product lineup as well. On top of making sure you do your market research, you’ll need to make sure the development and launch of your new product isn’t going to affect sales of your current product. Here are a few things you can do to ensure a smooth integration of your new products.
Research
If you want to make sure your new products are as successful as your current products, you need to do your research. Is the market ready for your new product? Survey your customers to make sure there’s a need for your new product before you go to the expense of developing and launching it. Your research will tell you what your customers need and want as well as what price you can charge and what channels are the best distribution methods. If all these things don’t fit with your current product line up, then you might want to reconsider the new product.
Capacity
Do you have the ability to produce and distribute your new products without taking anything away from your existing products? If not, then you’ll need to come up with a plan to hire more staff or increase your outsourcing, so sales of your new product don’t happen at the expense of losing sales on your current product. That will result in angry customers and a steady decline in business.
Distribution
Take a look at your existing production and distribution schedule. Will your new product interfere with it? A common supply chain problem is not staying efficient. Adding another product to the same supply chain is going to cause some disruption, and you need to plan for that. Consider hiring more staff or outsourcing. If the new product is going to be on a totally separate supply chain then you also need to figure out how you’re going to manage that.
Training
Your employees are not only going to need training regarding the details of the new product, but also about how it will be distributed and promoted. It’s important to communicate your big picture vision of how your new product fits with your current products so your employees know what’s going on. Timing is critical when it comes to training. It will need to be planned so employees are sufficiently prepared for the launch of the product, and they’re not learning about it as it’s being rolled out.
Planning around the timing of the development and distribution of your new product will go a long way to ensuring a smooth integration with your current product line up. If this seems overwhelming, we can help. At Pivot International we offer project management services that have helped launch a diverse array of award-winning products into the marketplace. Our project managers have strategies for integrating new products into existing businesses and can guide your new product development effort to success. Contact us today to learn more.
