Avoid making the mistake of not putting the consumer at the forefront of all early development and marketing decisions. The product in this scenario had underperformed because too much focus had been put on the developer’s passion for the product at the expense of proper market research.
Experience of authors.
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Conduct preliminary market assessments, do market research, concept testing, determine the value of the product to the consumer.
Authors' research experience. More high productivity companies (55.2%)use these best practices than do low productivity companies (34.6%).
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Designing appropriate screening and evaluation “gates” to help prioritise projects and select winners for advancement. Preliminary up-front homework may include such activities as broad screening based on key market and technical capabilities and a broad financial assessment. At a second stage this may include refining product concepts and specifications ensuring stronger customer input and assessment, improved technical evaluation, and financial analysis.
Survey. Manager implications drawn from results of study.
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Place the most emphasis on price, followed by quality, reliability, performance, delivery lead time, and conformance issues when considering competitive strategies.
Survey of UK companies showed these were the most important competitive criteria.
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Through understanding consumer needs more closely, firms can develop sustainable competitive advantage
Case study using sensory analysis and focus groups to obtain voice of the customer input.
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Regarding sensory and marketing analysis: Individually, neither research technique could provide the complete answer for successful new product development. The integrated market-oriented approach recognizes the demands of end-users and their own sense of quality.
Source: Bogue, J. & Delahunty, C. (1999). & Dekker, M. & Linnemann, A.R. (1998).. In: Bogue, J., & Ritson, C. (2006)