Having a product idea and developing that idea into a winning product are two different things. If you have an idea, it can’t assure you an end product that makes your business succeed. You’ll have to work it through to get there. Product development is the first and most important stage of the product life cycle, as this is where you either make it or break it. It involves everything from taking a product from an idea to finishing on the shelves for sale.

Although product development has always been a 6 or 7 step chronological process depending on how you go through it, the new product development process involves more or less the same steps but in a rather chaotic manner, as you tend to go to-and-fro between the steps multiple times. But once you’re done with all of them, you’ll have a product to launch that can surely assure you success. Our experts for Product Development in Germany have compiled an all-inclusive product development guide to help you develop a winning product that takes your business to new heights. So, let’s get into the details without further ado!

Step 1: Ideation & Conceptualization

As the notion goes, every product starts with an idea; the first step of product development involves conceptualizing that idea. Most often, conceptualization takes a lot of time as you juggle different ideas, user inputs, expert advice, and market feedback. Once you’re done with identifying the core functionality of the product, the user needs it meets, and what array of potential customers you’re going to target, you can successfully move on to the next step.

Step 2: Market Research

Market research is all about identifying the size and aspects of demand for a product. This step of product development will decide the fate of your product going ahead. Market Analysis helps you figure out what’s going on in your industry, what customers are saying about the existing products and services, and what changes you need to make to fulfill those demands. You should also base some part of your market research on forecasting the future of your industry and figure out if your product will stay relevant in the future as well.

Step 3: Business Plan

One of the most important factors to consider when developing a product is its financial viability. Although a full business plan for a product is not required, you must consider all the economic variables involved in its development and marketing. It will assist you in examining the investments made during product development before determining the factors for the appropriate sales process and related expenditures once the product is launched. The break-even analysis will also assist you in determining when your product will begin to pay for the investments made.

Step 4: Prototyping

Prototyping is the process of creating a digital mock-up of a physical or digital product. The name derives from the prototype you create for your product, and it is also known as Beta. When you get to this stage of product development, your product begins to take shape. It is your product’s final version, and you can use it to validate your product hypothesis, present it to investors, and even market it.

Step 5: Crowdfunding

Crowdfunding is about much more than just funding; you can use it to gather market feedback before launching your product into the market for sale. You can place your product in a real-world market environment and allow it to interact with potential customers for final feedback. Even if the product isn’t finished, you can use this as an opportunity to fine-tune your sales pitch. As a result of purchase orders, you will be able to raise additional funds when you launch a finished product in the future.

Step 6: Design & Production

Once your prototype is complete and you’ve finished the crowdfunding process, you can move on to the final design and production. The more detailed the product specifications you write, the more sales you can expect. If your product is physical, you may need to contract with an outside organization for production at this stage. You must have excellent project management skills to ensure that your product is exactly as you finalized it. However, you must also be prepared for the unexpected, as this is the point at which you are most likely to get the exact opposite of what you expected.

Step 7: Marketing & Commercialization

Marketing and sales generation are two of the most crucial tasks in product development. A product cannot be launched without a comprehensive marketing strategy. In this step, you’ll decide how you’ll reach your target audience and how much you’ll charge to launch your product. Everything from the conversion funnel to sales and marketing tactics and product delivery will be decided during this phase of product development, and once completed, you’ll be able to generate substantial revenue for a long time!