In the business world, stagnation is never good. Customers want — and expect — improvement. If your product remains static without any changes or upgrades, chances are someone will eventually come up with something better, and your customers will make the switch from you to that better option. Remember, it’s not just about creating a great product; it’s about constantly improving a great product. The best products progress, evolve, and improve to meet ever-changing consumer preferences and demands.
Product Upgrade Guidelines
With that being said, product upgrades certainly aren’t always easy for a business to execute. So when you’re updating your product, be sure to keep the following tips in mind.
Always update based on consumer feedback
Arbitrary updates are never a good idea. All product updates should be based on consumer feedback. That is why it is absolutely essential to cultivate and maintain open channels of communication with consumers. If you can’t communicate with your target customer base, you will never know what customers are thinking.
Prioritize
Once you’ve determined which improvements or enhancements your customers are looking for, you need to prioritize their requests. Of course, this is easier said than done. You can’t expect all of your customers to unanimously agree on an update — while some customers might demand a specific feature and enhancement, others might simply not see the necessity. So, how should you go about prioritizing customers’ conflicting wants and needs? In general, it is a good idea to pay attention to return on investment (ROI). For example, before you drop $3,000 on a new feature for your widget, you need to realistically analyze how many new customers such an improvement would help you attract or keep. The greater the number of customers you can retain or attract, the greater the ROI and the higher priority the update.
Streamline upgrade production
Once you’ve identified a change or enhancement that needs to made and have developed an upgrade plan, you need to work to ensure the entire process is streamlined. This means making sure that all parties involved — engineering teams, designers, tech people, etc. — are all on the same page. Effective communication and project management is the key to smooth and timely upgrades.
Work to facilitate a smooth rollout
Make sure customers can easily upgrade your product to the newest version. Also, keep in mind that while you might be tempted to make an elaborate announcement, typically a low-key rollout is your best option for a product upgrade.
Pivot International is a product design, development, and manufacturing firm with extensive experience in the medtech industry. If you are interested in engineering a new product or updating an existing product, contact us at 1-877-206-5001 or request your free consultation today.
