SOURCES OF NEW PRODUCT IDEAS

MANGA SOWJANYA KODEY (06) Amity Global Business School

 How do companies find ideas for new products? Suppose you want to come up with a new product idea. Where do you begin?

 The challenge in product innovation is to create products that answer unmet needs, especially
where a new product addresses a latent need of which even the market was unaware. Unfortunately, most new products tend to be of the former type, and, to make things worse, prone to competition. Why does this happen so often?

THREE SOURCES
1) Surveying competitors Cannot result in a differentiated product. 2)Market knowledge and research, surprisingly, been proven to not be conducive to product offerings that distinguish one company from the competition. 3) New technologies.

To understand why, lets look at the following example:

Let's imagine you came up with a really funny joke and told it to a couple of your friends. Each of them would probably tell it to a couple of his or her friends and so on.

However, it would take some time before a significant portion of your city's population would hear it, not to mention your country or state.
If we tried to describe the connection between the portion of the population that has heard your joke and the time that has passed since you first told it, it would be less.

Products such as gadgets, raw materials, creative services and day-today necessities, are the lifeblood of a business.

Employees
Seek new product ideas - employees and business associates. Employees - expand the company's product offerings. Full-time employees to devote a percentage of their working hours to internal projects of their own design. Eg: Google , Big Bazar

Google Such "creativity time" served as the genesis of several Google innovations, including Google Person Finder, which has been used to help people locate loved ones in the wake of a natural disaster.

Customers
low-tech and low-guidance "new product suggestion box high-tech and focused a splashy multimedia campaign encouraging your company's customers and fans to submit a video about their idea for the chance to win a prize. Ex: Kurkure , Maggi , Blackberry , Vodafone

Everyday Surroundings
Open your eyes to your everyday surroundings for a source of inspiration for your next new product idea. Take notes about little problems and frustrations you encounter in the course of day-to-day tasks like working in the office, running errands and caring for your family.

Ask yourself whether you could solve one of those little problems with a new product. The problem doesn't have to be a world-scale one in order for a product solution to be a success--it just has to be a fairly common problem.

Existing Products
Get a new perspective on existing products--and potentially walk away with a new product idea or two by examining them while pondering the question of how they could be different or better. Eg: If your company produces a successful product line, brainstorm ways in which that line could be expanded with a deluxe offering (perhaps a larger size or a "premium" flavor) or a novel approach (such as an exotic flavor or an easier form of preparation).

SO..

Inside and outside the organisation.

Sources of ideas/ innovation Techniques of obtaining ideas Customers/ market sources In-depth interviews Comments of dissatisfied consumers Market Research Market Intelligence

 Customers suggestions-

Market Research
Market Intelligence Consumer group discussion Identifying unsatisfied market needsMarket Research

 Staff generated ideas

Culture of innovation Organization & management Rewards Co-development with customers Distributors and other intermediaries Regular interaction & communications Complaints

Customer Service Reports

Interviews MIS

 Suppliers/vendors suggestions
Interviews Informal suggestions Me-too innovations;

Competitors

Similar organisations value propositions Joint product development Co-development Strategic alliances Joint ventures Government reports and publications Publications

 Universities, academic research

Publications Interviews Research funding Sponsored research Partnerships Foreign sources Ideas suggested by foreign products Exhibitions

trade shows

THANK YOU