The 5 Product Design Steps the Most Successful Companies Employ

Many companies make physical products. If you don’t own a company or operate one, you probably never consider how these products make their way onto the store shelf. You just pick them up, put them in your shopping cart, and keep going.

The most successful companies create the products their customers most desire. They must identify those products before they manufacture them.

Let’s say you’re a business owner for a moment. Your company makes physical products, but you need some new ones that you feel sure your customers will buy. You’ll need things like end-to-end supply chain planning that will get you success within your niche, but you must have a creative process for crafting your new products as well.

We’ll outline some ways you can come up with new product ideas and get them onto store shelves right now.  

Use Social Media for Customer Connections

Just about every company uses social media now. Since many people utilize it, you can reach out and learn what your customers want.

You can ask them about their pain points. Social media surveys can reveal information that you should then use during your product design sessions.  

Engage Customers Via Your Website

You can also engage customers or would-be customers who visit your website. You can ask them if they’ll take a brief survey about what new products they most want.

Some customers won’t give you a minute of their time without the proper incentive, though. You can offer each individual a discount on their next purchase if they answer a few questions. You might also say they can win something when they give you feedback.

Conduct Focus Groups

You can try conducting focus groups and asking potential customers what they want. You can tell them some product ideas you have and see whether they respond favorably.

You can pay the focus group members, or you might give them gift cards or free products. Make sure you only use individuals who make up your target audience or niche. Using people who would never buy your products won’t help you.

Workshop Your New Products

Once you have some new product prototypes available, you can show those off in focus groups to see the customer responses. If your products still need work, you can make changes before you make them available for public consumption.

Try a Small-Scale Rollout

If you feel sure you have your new products ready, you can try a small-scale rollout and monitor the public’s reaction. If your product flies off store shelves, you can do a larger rollout. If you find the response underwhelming, you can make some tweaks before you do the larger launch.

Product design is not an exact science. You must keep working on your product line till you produce items that the public overwhelmingly likes. You can’t please everyone, but having several items that get positive responses can start your company’s gradual climb toward prominence, and eventually, dominance.