The main stages of developing a new product in marketing. Main stages of product development - novelties

A source: Evgeny Popov
"Marketing in Russia and abroad"

The development of a new product is one of the most important areas marketing activities. At the same time, the schemes for the development of new products published in the economic literature do not contain the most complete elements of modern marketing tools, which reduces their practical and methodological significance.

The purpose of this work is to describe the general methodological foundations for the development of a new product based on the use of modern marketing approaches based on the author's management consulting experience.

General scheme of product development

Currently published schemes for the development of new products, as a rule, include the following stages: idea generation, idea selection, product concept development, marketing strategy development, production capability analysis, actual product development, testing in market conditions and commercial implementation. This sequence of stages is of a fairly general integrated nature, and does not contain a detailed discussion of a number of significant blocks of the enterprise's marketing activities, such as elements of product marketing development, including the shape, color and material of the product, assessment of the market adequacy of the product and its competitiveness, as well as forecasting the sale of goods and development of the commodity policy of the enterprise.

A more detailed study of these blocks of marketing activities is presented in the work, however, the methodological approaches given in this study are fragmented and are convenient when used only for specific blocks of the general scheme for the development of new products. Therefore, the last work does not contain a general integrated scheme for the development of a new product as a whole.

Apparently, the general complete scheme of product development should begin with the launch of a new product in the production program of the enterprise - innovation, which includes the search for ideas for new products, their selection and economic analysis, as well as the development of the product concept (Fig. 1).

Important stages of product development should be the creation of product design, including its shape, color and material; development of appropriate packaging and creation of a modern trademark. Serious importance should be attached to ensuring the quality of the product and assessing its competitiveness.

Evgeny Vasilyevich Popov, Doctor of Phys.-Math. Sciences, Professor of Economics, Head of Department international business and Marketing of the Ural Institute of Economics, Management and Law (Yekaterinburg)

The next steps after providing all the necessary procedures for creating a product should be an assessment of its market adequacy, understood as the compliance of this product with market requirements, as well as an assessment of the product by the company, that is, identifying the conformity of economic parameters of this product production and financial goals of the enterprise.

Search for new product ideas

The main components of the process of finding ideas for new products are the analysis of the sources of ideas and the application of creative methods for obtaining ideas.

There are three main sources of ideas for creating new products.

The second source is company, those. first of all, all employees of the company who are interested in the production of a more modern and, accordingly, more profitable product, and secondly, employees of the research departments of the enterprise, designed to develop new products. The development of new products is only rarely possible without intensive research. Large enterprises have significant advantages in this area. Thus, competition is limited, since the entry of new enterprises into the market is more difficult. In order to survive in these conditions, medium-sized firms can cooperate to conduct joint research.

The third source for generating ideas is independent firms who can also be recruited to come up with ideas for new products. The reports of institutes involved in the study of goods are essential. At exhibitions and fairs, domestic and foreign competitive products can be analyzed, and the analysis of patents and research results in related fields should also be involved.

If the analysis of the sources of ideas does not give the desired results, then you can use creative methods for generating ideas for new products, which include: morphological and problematic methods of analysis, brainstorming and synectic approach.

synectic the approach is to gradually alienate the original problem by building analogies with other areas of life. After multistage analogies, a quick return to the original problem is made.

The generated ideas should be evaluated and the most optimal ones selected for the company's activities. This stage is called idea selection.

Selection of new product ideas

The purpose of idea preselection is to isolate unsuitable solutions as early as possible. It is not products that are evaluated, but ideas in their more or less rudimentary form. Pre-selection may mean testing ideas to see if they fit the firm's requirements, which may include expert opinions, evaluation matrix and multi-criteria evaluation. For this use own specialists enterprises. The evaluation criteria depend on the nature of the enterprise.

Expert review is carried out primarily on such indicators as expected sales volume, production growth, achievable degree of penetration, compliance of the product with the distribution channels used or planned. It is necessary to find out what advantages the product has in relation to competitors, whether there are legal or moral problems. Experts must assess how feasible the idea is from a financial and technical point of view and how it corresponds to the goals and image of the enterprise.

Evaluation matrix is constructed as follows. The most important areas of activity of the enterprise (for example, production, finance, research, marketing) are identified, they are assigned a numerical value that reflects their relative weight and role in the success of the enterprise. The idea receives a series of scores (for example, from 0.1 to 1), each of which expresses how well the idea meets the requirements of a particular department. Multiplying the coefficients by departments and adding the results gives the final assessment of the usefulness of the idea for the enterprise.

At multi-criteria assessment criteria are first approved and weighted according to their role in the selection process. It then assesses how well the ideas fulfill the set conditions using a simple rating scale. The result is calculated by summing the products of the evaluation criteria by their weight coefficients. The scoring of a particular idea allows you to draw any conclusions only in comparison with scores(indexes) of other ideas or if there is an index rating scale.

Economic analysis product ideas

An economic analysis of ideas can be carried out in the following steps.

1) Cost Forecast related to product development, market entry and sales

The forecast is associated with a certain risk, since for analysis it is necessary to know the situation on the market, the time and area of the sale of the product, and the attitude of consumers to the product.

2) Estimation of sales volume(turnover, revenue)

The quality of the forecast depends on how accurately it will be possible to estimate the growth of the market, the achievable market share, the price, which in turn depends on the costs.

3) Profit Forecast

If we know for a certain period of time the income and expenses, or the receipt of funds and payments, then investment calculation methods can be used to forecast profits. In any case, it is necessary to consider several periods, since, as the model shows life cycle product, the first periods may be completely atypical in terms of profit.

4) Accounting for uncertainty

For each situation, it is recommended to develop optimistic, average and pessimistic forecasts. Another possibility to account for uncertainty is to adjust the target values in such a way that they are assigned coefficients expressing their degree of confidence.

Development of the product concept

The development phase of the product concept is closely related to the method of functional cost analysis. The method evaluates the elements of the product only on the basis of costs, without taking into account other criteria. Elements that do not significantly affect the quality of the product must be eliminated or changed.

The product concept is studied in the following areas:

What functions should a certain element of the product perform?

What support functions does it perform?

What costs are associated with it?

Are the functions performed by the product element really necessary?

Can this function be performed by another, cheaper element, and what savings can be obtained?

Product design development

The quality of the product is formed both by the functional features of this product, the development of which is the prerogative of designers and technologists, and by the external design, in the development of which the marketer must take an obligatory part. The most important means used in product development and embodying the appearance of the product: the shape, color and material of the product.

Product shape associated with both basic and additional qualities. Of the additional qualities, the most important is aesthetics product. Physiological theory states that the image that is comfortable to the eye and covered by a small number of movements is the most aesthetic. Forms should consist of simple, consistent, as symmetrical lines and elements as possible.

The perception of form is influenced by the individuality and taste of the perceiver, traditions(familiar forms are perceived better), as well as environment(in an environment appropriate to their function, products produce the best aesthetic effect). There is also a strong influence fashion.

Color is the simplest and cheapest means of product variation. The palette of colors and shades is boundless. There are about 2800 names of colors in the world, and in total there are more than 7.5 million different colors and shades. The choice of color is determined by the material and a number of other factors.

Colors render mental action calm or excite. They express sadness or joy, make the product light or heavy in perception, affect the image of the distance to the object.

Colors can play a role social symbol. For example, black is the official color of government officials and religious figures (black cars, suits, cassocks, etc.). White is the color of newlyweds and artists, etc.

Sometimes there is legal restriction about the color of the product (for example, signal colors or the color of a police car). Certain color combinations are protected from competitors by patents.

When choosing a color, you need to consider the requirements corporate culture , as many firms adhere to a certain combination of colors.

Product material also greatly affects the perception of the product. Some materials evoke sympathy, others, on the contrary, repel.

Designing the appearance of a product should be an ongoing task of the marketing department. The next important element of product development is its packaging.

Packaging and brand development

Creation of packaging- this is a part of product planning, during which the company studies, develops and manufactures its packaging, including the container itself, in which the product is placed, the label and inserts.

Let us single out the key factors in the creation of packages that should be taken into account when making decisions in this direction.

1) Package design should influence the image that the company is looking for for its products. Color, shape, materials - all this affects the perception of consumers about the company and its products. Plainer packaging creates an image of lower quality for generic brands.

2) Standardization packaging increases global recognition. For this reason, Pepsi-Cola and Coca-Cola use the same packaging in all parts of the world.

3) Packaging cost must of course be taken into account. The relative cost of packaging can reach up to 40% of the retail price, depending on the purpose and degree of packaging.

4) Modern materials stimulate demand. A firm can choose from a range of packaging materials: cardboard, plastic, metal, glass, cellophane, etc. Compromises are sometimes necessary. For example, cellophane allows products to be displayed, but it tears very easily; cardboard is relatively cheap but difficult to open. In addition, you need to determine how innovative the packaging should be.

5) The firm must then choose size, color and shape. When choosing sizes, you need to consider the period of storage, convenience, tradition and competition. The place, content and size must also be specified. labels, as well as how it should stand out. The name of the company and the brand of the product should be indicated on it.

6) Multiple packaging combines two or more units of goods. These can be the same products (eg razor blades, sodas) or combinations of different items (eg first aid kit). The purpose of such packaging is to increase consumption, to get consumers to buy a set of things or try new products (for example, new product, packed with well-known and bought old). Separately packed servings of any product can create competitive advantage. However, this can be costly.

7) Finally, the company must ensure that the packaging design is consistent with marketing plan enterprises.

An important part of product planning is branding, a procedure that a firm follows in researching, developing and realizing its goals.

Trademark is a name, mark or symbol that identifies the seller's products and services. By using or creating well-known trademarks, companies can usually gain publicity, distribution, and higher prices.

Brands are important for the following reasons:

Facilitates product identification;

It is guaranteed that a product or service has a certain quality;

Increasing the responsibility of the company for products;

Instead of comparing prices, the buyer compares brands;

The prestige of products grows with the growth of public recognition of the brand;

A distinctive product image is created with market segmentation;

A trademark can be used to launch a new product.

After developing a product brand, a product quality assurance system should be formed.

Ensuring the quality of goods and assessing competitiveness

Formation quality systems goods in the enterprise can be based on three areas of management: quality assurance, quality management and quality improvement.

Quality assurance, in accordance with the ISO-9000 standard, can be defined as a set of planned and systematic activities that create the necessary conditions to carry out each stage of the product life cycle in such a way that the products meet certain quality requirements.

Quality management is the management of technological processes, the identification of various kinds of inconsistencies in products, production or the quality system itself and the elimination of not only the identified inconsistencies, but also the causes of their occurrence.

Quality improvement is a constant managerial activity enterprise, aimed at improving the technical level of products, the quality of its manufacture, improving the elements of production and the quality system of the enterprise itself.

The quality system of an enterprise should also take into account competitiveness assessment manufactured products. The competitiveness of a product is the ability to compete on an equal footing with similar products on the market and bring sufficient profit to its manufacturer. A detailed scheme for assessing the competitiveness of a product is presented in the work.

Assessment of the market adequacy of the product

The economic success of an enterprise directly depends on how its products meet certain needs. Therefore, the conformity of the product to market requirements can be determined based directly on economic indicators. Sales volume, profit, coverage of fixed costs can serve as indicators.

However, in most cases, it is not possible to evaluate a product by economic indicators, for example:

When the decision to innovate is made before there is any evidence of market response;

On the economic indicators influenced by many side factors;

Identification of the market adequacy of the product is important for its improvement and modification.

In such cases, it is important to find out to what extent the goods (product) or manufacturing program meet the requirements of the market and consumers. In what follows, we will call it the marketability of the product.

To assess the market adequacy of a product, various approaches can be applied:

a) field marketing research to find out the activation of the needs and preferences of consumers when buying certain goods;

b) laboratory marketing research that determines the possibility of assessing the emotional impact of the product on consumers;

v) analytical modeling, which provides the identification of an assessment of the subjective quality of the goods;

G) multidimensional computer modeling, which provides comparative assessments of different products according to a variety of characteristics.

Field marketing research of the market adequacy of the product is based on the study of the conformity of the product to the needs of buyers in natural conditions at different stages of specification of needs.

A more versatile and objective assessment of the market adequacy of a product can be carried out with the help of laboratory marketing research that registers the emotional impact of products on consumers.

The most well-known analytical models of the market adequacy of goods are the Rosenberg model and the ideal point model.

The Rosenberg model assumes that consumers evaluate products in terms of suitability to meet their needs. In its original form, the subjective suitability of a product according to this model was evaluated as the sum of subjective assessments of the suitability of a given product to satisfy various motivations. However, the motivations that are important to a product are often difficult to determine. The statements of the interviewees do not give an indication of which characteristics of the product should be changed.

Therefore, in the modified Rosenberg model, the value of individual motives is determined indirectly, through specific product characteristics, as shown in the model formula:

n
W j = å X k . Y jk , (1)
k = 1

where W j - assessment of the market adequacy of the j-th product;
X k - weight coefficient of the k-th characteristic;
Y jk - assessment of the k-th characteristic of the j-th product.

By collecting data on many products in this way, you can get:

General product ratings that can serve as indicators of consumer preferences;

Information about how consumers perceive individual products;

Information about the importance of various characteristics for the overall assessment.

Note that different requirements to goods provide ideal preconditions for market segmentation. The model presented above is based on the assumption that each characteristic is desirable and simultaneously, the higher the score, the better. Criticism of this point led to the creation of so-called ideal point models.

Ideal point model takes into account the introduction of an additional component - the ideal value of the characteristics of the product. The formula expression of the model, in this case, is:

n
W j = å X k (Y jk - Z k) r , (2)
k = 1

where Z k is the ideal value of the k-th characteristic;
r = 1 for a permanent good;
r = 2 for a product of diminishing value (at the last stages of its life cycle);
W j , X k , Y jk - parameters described in relation (1).

The product should be preferred to another if its distance from the ideal point is less. The advantages of the method are obvious, it gives an idea of the ideal product, from the point of view of consumers.

Multivariate models are based on the following assumptions:

There are many goods, each of which can be described through a certain number of attributes;

Each attribute can be represented as an axis passing through the mental space of perception;

These axes form a space whose dimension is equal to the number of attributes;

You can get consumers' judgments about how pronounced this or that attribute is for this or that product;

Based on the judgments of consumers, it is possible to determine the place of the product in the space described above.

With the help of statistical methods it is often possible to reduce the number of axes without much loss of information and to reveal the main factors influencing the perception of a product. The position of the product can then be determined in terms of these central characteristics. Finally, we may be interested in the position of goods in relation to each other, from which we can infer similarity, substitutability and intensity of competition.

The construction of the space of perception of consumers consists in determining the goods that form a specific market. To do this, you can use the services of experts or ask consumers which brands or products they consider when making purchase decisions.

Thus, the reasonable and correct application of advanced marketing methods allows the formation and production of competitive, market-adequate goods that ensure the receipt of appropriate high profits by commodity producers.

Economy

Keywords:

1 -1

Decisive factor strategic development enterprises in the 21st century economists believe development and production of new products that can grab the attention of buyers. Therefore, competing firms strive to provide the consumer, if not with a new, then at least with an updated product. Thus, each manufacturer needs to include the development of new products in the development program. Moreover, the program should take into account the natural care of the goods with consumer market(its "mortality") and provide for the development of a substitute product. It is very important at the same time to anticipate (and even better - to form) the future needs of the buyer. To do this, it is necessary to ensure the intensification of research and development work, laying enough funds for R & D, so that the period between the emergence of the idea of a new product and the sale of its trial batch is minimized as much as possible.

There are eight stages in the development of a new product:

idea generation;
idea evaluation;
verification of the proposed concept;
economic analysis;
development of a new product;
trial marketing;
product refinement;
deployment of commercial production of the product.

Generation of ideas - continuous systematic search for opportunities

to create a new product. The sources of new ideas can be employees, firms, sales channels, competing businesses, the government, and so on. Among the sources of ideas are those that allow you to find out the needs and desires of the consumer himself. This is how ideas for easy-opening cans, roll-on deodorants or window cleaning brushes were born.

The second group of sources of new ideas is applied and fundamental research. Basic research are not intended, of course, for applied purposes, but the process of searching for new knowledge can lead to the idea of a new product.

Chemist Roy Pluckett's search for a new refrigerant led to the production of white flakes of paraffin of a similar substance - chemically stable and resistant to heat. Later, experiments with this substance by the French engineer Marc Gregoire made it possible for the Tefal brand, which is widely known today, to appear.

The purpose of applied research is precisely to use special scientific methods (“brainstorming”, which involves, on the basis of morphological analysis, to open discussions within a small circle of specialists that stimulate the emergence of a range of new ideas; analysis of the manufactured product; specialized consumer surveys; Delphi method ; scenario method and other forecasting methods) to initiate new ideas. To successfully generate new ideas, a firm needs people with a broad vision and the ability to accumulate suggestions not only from specialists in various fields, but also from ordinary customers, even if these ideas are at first glance perceived as unusual.

In this regard, it is appropriate to refer to the experience of Japanese companies, which, by encouraging active employees (especially from the sales department), invite employees to actively put forward new ideas.

Of course, new ideas, including those already patented, can be bought. The advantages of this method include saving time and minimizing risks, the disadvantages are the need for significant investments (know-how is always expensive) and, most importantly, dependence on other people's innovative developments. At the stage of generating ideas, in addition to determining the source, methods for their creation are determined.

Concentrated Search

Danone- a well-known French brand, famous all over the world thanks to unique, tasty and healthy dairy and sour-milk products. In addition to dairy nutrition, the company Danone engaged in several other areas production activities - mineral waters and baby food.

Danone follows its own update pace. While giant corporations such as Unilever, distribute their new products on the markets according to the watering can principle, the French concentrate entirely on specific products. In most cases, new ideas originate in research center. Twice a week, marketing managers and consumer product development specialists gather in the cozy atmosphere of the kitchen and try new products. First of all, they want to know what the customer expects from the dairy dish of the future. In the second stage, the developers test whether they can implement a promising idea. In the laboratories of the center Vitapole more than 3,000 strains of yogurt bacteria are stored today, the principle of action of which has been studied to the smallest detail (Spanish entrepreneur Isaac Carasso (Isaac Carasso), who founded Danone in 1919, already then selling yogurt as a remedy). If researchers get down to business, these strains can be taken as a basis.

In addition, the company does not release a new product to the market without guaranteeing its effectiveness through clinical trials.

Supervisor Danone Ribou trusts employees. He sees himself as more of a generator of impulses and ideas than a strict director. Managers Danone have a high degree of independence. They are focused on the independent development of ideas and their implementation (if possible) in their own department. Endless safety meetings with higher levels are excluded.

Next stage - evaluation of ideas. After the products that are potentially interesting for the company are selected, they are filtered. To do this, they mainly use a standardized filter of requirements for new products, which indicates all the characteristics of the new product that will be most significant for the company. The filtering process consists of comparing new ideas according to specified parameters. The list includes both general, marketing groups of characteristics, and production ones. Within these groups, the product is rated from 1 - an outstanding idea - to 10 points - a very bad idea. Based on the fact that each characteristic of the product will have an unequal impact on the level of success, it is necessary to find out the significance of all characteristics.

At the filtering stage, you need to determine whether it will be possible to obtain a patent for new products. The patent grants the inventor exclusive rights to sell the product for 17 years (for medicines - for 14 years). Working model plans for new products are sent to Federal Service on Intellectual Property, Patents and Trademarks (Rospatent), after filing a patent application, information about a new product becomes publicly available. The owner of a patent can sell the invention or claim royalties from it.

When proof of concept at an early stage of development potential buyer the planned product is provided, its relation to it of a potential consumer/market is measured, and its need to purchase a new product is clarified. This makes it possible to check the enthusiasm of potential buyers expressing their attitude to the novelty without significant costs (an image of the novelty, written information about it or an oral description is presented), until the costly and lengthy development of it has begun.

You need to find answers to the following questions.

Is the proposed idea easy to understand?
Are there clear advantages for this product over existing ones?
Do you trust information about the proposed product?
Are you ready to buy this new product?
Have you ever thought about replacing your existing model with a new one?
Will the novelty be able to meet your real needs?
What can you suggest to improve the characteristics of the novelty?

At the stage of economic analysis of the ideas that remained after filtering, they are expected to be more detailed. It is necessary to analyze demand forecasts, costs, planned investments and possible profits. At this stage, ineffective options should be cut off.

At the stage product development the idea of the product is embodied in a physical form, and the basic marketing strategy is also determined. The product itself is developed, its packaging, brand, its position on the market is determined, the attitude towards the product and its possible use by the consumer are checked in detail. At the same time, the choice of the type of materials and their consumable qualities, the method of production is carried out; the cost of the product, the time of production of a unit of production are established; determines the level of use of the company's production capacity, possible sizes, colors, as well as the period that will be required to move from product development to its commercial production.

When designing a package, the material, size and color options are chosen, the functions of the package are determined (reliability during transportation and storage of goods, advertising component), and estimated costs.

To develop a trademark means, first of all, to give it a name (invent a new one or use an existing one), determine its exclusivity, as well as protect both the found image and brand generally.

Determining the position of a novelty means choosing a market segment, comparing a new product with competing and other offers of the company. To test the attitude to the new product and the possibility of its use, it is required to find out the perceptions of buyers and the degree of their satisfaction with the new product.

There are a number of requirements for the image of a new product. Buyers should perceive it as a carrier of those significant properties that are listed in the description of the idea. The sample must be distinguished by safety, it must work reliably when used under normal conditions; the cost of the novelty cannot be higher than the planned estimated production costs.

To ensure the reliability of the novelty, i.e. the quality that present stage it is extremely important to ensure the competitiveness of a new product, at all stages of experimental work, as well as when releasing a trial batch under the most severe operating conditions, comprehensive tests are carried out finished product.

At the trial marketing stage, which precedes the launch of a novelty into mass production, a new product is tested using market test. This stage must pass the goods of individual consumption. Testing of industrial products is also necessary, but it is not always possible to carry out for a number of reasons, including due to significant costs. Methods for testing the consumer market for new products are already quite well known: a new product is demonstrated at exhibitions and fairs (in 2009, 90 enterprises took part in the Omsk Marka exhibition, and 30 organizations participated in the Innovation of the Year exhibition); a presentation of the novelty at a traveling exhibition; questionnaires for testing individual products are distributed; new industrial products (machine tools, automatic lines, tractors and other agricultural machines) are transferred for free use with the condition that the client submits a log of their tests.

The timing of testing depends on the speed and timing. If the environment turns out to be competitive, then they try to reduce the testing time. If the product is seasonal, then the moment of testing is more important than its speed (it makes no sense to show off a summer sundress in October).

The choice of testing site also involves the definition of cities where the novelty will be presented.

Example

For example, the choice of a place to demonstrate to the general public a unique robot suit developed by French and American scientists that allows paralyzed people to move independently is interesting - the Brazilian Football Championship in 2014. At the opening of the championship, a child with paralyzed legs made the first blow on the ball.

Within the city, the manufacturer also determines the markets where the trial sale of the new product will be carried out. In Omsk, for example, many local producers of meat delicacies and dairy products choose the Triumph supermarket as such a platform, and the Sibkolbasy company presents its new products at the Lenta hypermarket. The purpose of trial sales is to obtain operational commercial information. Therefore, when organizing a trial sale, it is necessary to clearly set the main condition - extremely accurate and specific answers to a number of questions: time, place, duration of sales, what information will be obtained and how the results can be applied.

Trial marketing is used, for example, Levy Strauss and McDonald's. The terms of the verification vary - from two months to two years. They depend on a number of reasons: how much the manufacturer managed to get ahead of competing firms; the degree of complexity of the proposed tests; the rate of secondary purchases of novelties and the relationship of the manufacturer and the level of secrecy. Based on the share of secondary purchases, their frequency, the lack of a product and its marketing, the manufacturer tries to determine the possibility of implementing a new product with the help of a test after the initial enthusiasm subsides. Products constant demand check mostly during the first half of the year.

Before carrying out trial marketing, the firm needs to determine exactly what it needs to find out based on the goals of the manufacturer developing the novelty (customers, sales, purchase rates, dealer enthusiasm levels, strengths and weaknesses distribution and sales in general, the impact of a new product on other products of the company, the reaction of competing companies, the level of effectiveness of the proposed marketing strategy, the position of the novelty in the consumer market).

The firm must also decide how to use the audit results. Some manufacturing companies consider trial marketing as a way to gain customer recognition, to start a wide sale of a new product in all prospective regional markets. Other companies use trial marketing to determine what needs to be changed in a new product and what marketing plans are needed to promote it. And, finally, some manufacturers, after verification, will refuse to produce a new product as not meeting their expectations.

However, the success of test marketing does not always unequivocally determine the future activities of the manufacturer, which sometimes prefers to ignore it altogether, building plans for promoting new products. This may be due to factors such as the significant cost of test marketing; the impossibility of predicting the results of the novelty entering the market of the whole country according to the data of one or two settlements used as trial markets; obtaining information by competing companies; a fairly long period before the full-scale introduction of new items. Consideration should also be given to the impact on test results. external factors(competition, economics) and the opportunity for competing companies that have not tested, taking into account the results of trial marketing organized by the manufacturer of a new product, to catch up with this manufacturer by the time the novelty is ready for large-scale implementation.

The product refining phase is needed to use the data obtained during the test to change the unsuccessful characteristics of the product, which will better adapt the product to the selected manufacturer of the market. Questions are being decided whether the name of the novelty is successful, whether the new product is sufficiently distinguished from the mass of similar ones. Perhaps some transformation of the packaging and changes can be made to appearance goods. At this stage, the most effective mass communication channels for advertising a new product are selected.

With poor test sales results, company leaders must organize additional research and development work, as a result of which the shortcomings of the new product are identified, and the product itself is modernized and improved.

If the test marketing was successful, then the company's management received enough information to make a temporary decision on the advisability of launching the new product. It should be noted that significant costs are expected in the commercial production of a new product: it is necessary to build or rent a production complex; conduct promotions and stimulate sales of new items.

Among the factors to be analyzed at the stage deployment of commercial production, - production capabilities firms, the rate of recognition of a new product by consumers, the rate of its recognition by distribution channels, the intensity of distribution, the promotion of new products, prices, the level of competition, the time to achieve profitability of a new product, the cost of commercial implementation.

Sometimes ineffective previous promotions of the company can provoke resistance from consumers and distribution channels. The firm faced these challenges. Texas Instruments in the commercial personal computer market after it withdrew from the home com and home market.

Reducing the time to develop a new product allows the company to quickly enter the market with a novelty, overtaking competing firms. This will allow the company, having discovered an unoccupied sector of the consumer market, to get a significant economic effect. However, by shortening the development period of a new product, you can get an increase in labor costs. Therefore, before making a final decision, the leaders of the manufacturing company need to take into account all possible factors and carefully control the quality of all stages of the development of new items.

To develop a new product, it is advisable to form target groups of several employees who will (as they move from the idea to the serial production of the novelty) additionally involve individual specialists and various functional departments companies. A prominent specialist with good organizational skills should be involved in the leadership of such a group. It is also recommended to introduce a specialist into the group who is able to critically perceive other people's ideas. In order for the group not to close in on itself, it is recommended (with a shift in time) to instruct it to simultaneously develop several projects. Such a maneuver forces one to seek contacts with other specialists, which makes it possible to broaden the horizons of the members of such a creative group.

Kalinina A. This is how Tefal appeared. URL: http://zoom.cnews.ru/publication/item/11560.
focus strategy. Danone competitive strategy. Based on materials electronic resource Danone. URL: http://www.danone.ru See also: Masterov A. G. Practice strategic management. Volgograd: Litagent "BIBKOM", 2012.
The 2014 FIFA World Cup will be opened by a child in a robot suit // TVNZ. 2014. May 29. URL: http://www.kp.rU/daily/26237.4/3119380/.

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11. New product development

The process of developing a new product from an idea to a finished product includes five main stages: idea development; conceptual study; experimental design, including the creation of a prototype; trial entry to the market (trial marketing); commercialization (Figure 11.1).

At the first stage, an initial evaluation of proposals for the development of new goods and services is carried out in order to select the most effective ones.

Ideas that pass the initial evaluation are conceptualized, where they are refined based on the needs of potential customers. At this stage, the first (working) version of the business plan is drawn up, which describes the main characteristics of the product and the proposed strategy for its sale, taking into account, if possible, the opinions of potential buyers.

Rice. 11.1. New product development process

After the approval of the concept, the development stage begins, at which all schematic design, technological, production, technical and engineering issues are resolved.

The development stage ends with the creation of a prototype for testing design documentation, debugging everything technological process production, testing and presentation to customers to study their opinion on competitiveness.

Before the end of the ROC, all the information necessary to draw up the final version of the marketing plan should be collected.

The stage of a trial entry into the market involves the production of a trial batch, its implementation, the results of which can be used to judge whether the market will accept a new product.

New idea generation methods used in product development:
– targeted discussions;
- "brain attack";
– inventory of “weak spots”.

Creative problem solving methods are:
– method of “brainstorming”;
- the method of "brainstorming in reverse";
- Gordon's method;
– questionnaire method;
– method of imputed connections;
- notebook method;
– heuristic method;
- scientific method.

Creative problem solving methods stimulate creative initiative and allow it to be directed to the development of new, non-standard ideas for solving problems.

The method of "brainstorming" is the spontaneous generation of many ideas by the participants on the problem posed. Participants can be people of different professions, recognized authorities are not allowed to discuss, it is forbidden to criticize or express negative assessments.

The reverse brainstorming method differs from the previous method in that all group members must identify the shortcomings of the proposed ideas and propose ways to eliminate them.

The Gordon method involves presenting the concept to the solution of the problem and the participants expressing their ideas on this issue. Then the facilitator, after clarifying the initial concept, reveals the desired problem, and the participants make specific proposals and state their ideas on how to implement them.

The questionnaire method is based on the compilation of a list of questions in an arbitrary form aimed at identifying opportunities to improve the design, design, use of the product for another purpose, its rearrangement, reduction, etc., in order to develop fundamentally new solutions and search for new ideas in a predetermined area .

The method of imputed connections includes several steps to identify all the elements included in the problem, establish all the relationships between these elements, describe these relationships in a structured way, analyze the relationships in order to establish patterns, and also identify new ideas arising from these patterns.

The notebook method is based on recording in a special notebook, notebook or notebook all known facts related to solving the problem under study and the results of thinking about the problem and possible ways to solve it. Based on the analysis, a list of the best ideas is compiled by the end of the month. In the collaborative method of generating ideas, all participants submit their own notes to the facilitator, who brings all the information together and compiles a common list of ideas, on which there is a general discussion.

The heuristic method is based on the ability to build guesses using logical reasoning, intuition and past experience, and involves identifying all concepts that are relevant to the product under study and developing all possible combinations and ideas based on them.

The scientific method involves the collection of data in the course of observations or experiments and, based on these data, various hypotheses are tested in order to choose the best of all feasible solutions.

At the present economic stage, the creation and production of new products are considered as a decisive factor in the effective operation of the company. New or significantly improved products attract the attention of consumers. Naturally, competing companies will seek to create new or updated products. It follows from this that each manufacturer must have its own program for the development of new products, directed to the future and taking into account the "mortality" of goods, i.e. leaving them from the consumer market after a certain period. Given this, it is imperative to include the development of replacements in the production development plan.

At the same time, it is necessary to be able to anticipate, and, if possible, form new customer needs, strive to minimize the period between the emergence of an idea and a trial sale of a product, intensifying research and development work, without fear of increasing the cost of their implementation per unit of time.

There are the following stages in the development of a new product:

idea generation;
its evaluation;
verification of the proposed concept;
economic analysis;
product development;
trial marketing;
product improvement;
deployment of commercial production.

Idea generation called the constant systematic search for opportunities to create new products. At this stage, the sources of new ideas (employees, distribution channels, competitors, government, etc.) and methods for generating them are identified.

Among the sources of ideas, two groups can be distinguished. Some of the sources are oriented to the market, they make it possible to identify the desires and needs of the consumer himself. So, for example, ideas arose to create easy-to-open cans of beer and soft drinks, window cleaners, roll-on deodorants.

Identifying opportunities based on basic and applied research is another group of idea sources that are oriented towards the laboratory. Fundamental research aimed at the emergence of new knowledge can indirectly lead to the idea of a new product. Applied research is precisely designed to, using special scientific methods to propose new ideas. So penicillin, antifreeze, synthetic fibers appeared.

Methods for generating new ideas include brainstorming (morphological analysis, open discussions of a small group of people that stimulate the emergence of a wide range of ideas), product analysis, customer surveys, forecasting methods (scenario method, Delphi method, etc.). ).

A broad vision helps to successfully generate new ideas; the ability to accumulate ideas of a wide range of both specialists and ordinary consumers without criticizing them, even if the ideas seem too unusual. Japanese firms, for example, widely involve all their employees, and especially from the sales department, in putting forward new ideas, encouraging active ones.

New ideas, including proprietary ones, can be purchased from other companies. This saves time and reduces risk, but involves a significant investment and, most importantly, leads to dependence on innovative developments from other firms.

At the stage ideas evaluation after selecting the goods that are potentially interesting for the company, it is necessary to filter them. Today, many firms use a standardized filter list for new products, which lists all the most significant properties of new products for the company. All ideas put forward are compared according to the specified parameters. The list includes general, marketing, as well as production groups of characteristics. Within the groups, the rating goes from 1 - outstanding, to 10 - very poor. Due to the fact that each product parameter affects the success differently, the significance of all parameters is clarified.

proof of concept is to provide the buyer with the planned product, measure the consumer's attitude towards it and find out the desire to purchase a new product at an early stage of development. It is an inexpensive tool to test the enthusiasm of potential consumers who express their feelings about a new product by looking at its image, reading written information about it, or listening to verbal description before embarking on a costly, lengthy product development.

Is the proposed idea easy to understand?
Do you see clear benefits of this product compared to existing products?
Do you trust information about the new product?
Are you ready to buy something new?
Will you seek to replace the model you have with a new one?
Will the novelty satisfy your real needs?
What would you like to improve in the characteristics of the proposed product?

Stage economic analysis ideas remaining after filtering involves much more detail. Usually forecasts of demand, costs, expected investments and possible profits are analyzed. Economic analysis allows you to abandon inefficient options before the start of costly and time-consuming development.

Stage product development consists in translating the idea of a product into a physical form and determining the basic marketing strategy. They design the product itself, the packaging, the brand is developed, the position of the product is determined, the buyer's attitude towards it is checked.

The product design decision involves the choice of type and consumables, material, production method, the establishment of the cost of the product and the time of production per unit of production, the degree to which the firm's production capacity is used, the possible sizes and colors, and the period required to go from development to commercial production.

Making a packaging decision means choosing the right material, determining the packaging functions (advertising and storage), costs, possible options size and color.

The development of a trademark consists in resolving the issue of a name (choose a new one or use an existing one), exclusivity, protection of the trademark and the found image.

Determining the position of a novelty comes down to choosing a market segment, comparing new products with competing and other offers of the company.

To test attitudes and usage, it is necessary to ascertain the perceptions of consumers and their degree of satisfaction with the product.

The product prototype must meet a number of criteria. First of all, consumers should perceive it as a carrier of all the significant properties set forth in the description of the novelty concept. The prototype must be safe and reliable under normal conditions in normal use, its cost cannot exceed the planned estimated production costs.

Due to the fact that today, more than ever, its reliability is important for the competitiveness of a product, during all stages of experimental work and during the release of the pilot batch, comprehensive testing of consumables, components, and finished products is required under extremely difficult operating conditions.

Stage trial marketing is mandatory for consumer goods, which are subjected to a "market test" before they are put into mass production. In certain markets, trial sales of new products are carried out (for example, the Triumph supermarket often offers new products from local firms that produce meat delicacies). A trial sale should provide prompt commercial information, so the main condition for organizing a trial sale is accurate answers to the questions, where, when, for how long, what information to obtain, how to apply the results. Trial marketing is used by famous companies like McDonald's, Procter & Gamble, Levi Strauss.

Testing is also required for industrial products, although it is not always carried out due to significant costs and a number of other circumstances.

Market testing methods for new manufacturing products include:

demonstration at fairs and exhibitions;
transfer for free use with the submission by the consumer of the test log (tractor, machine tool, automatic equipment);
product presentation at traveling exhibitions;
application of some tests for individual products.

The timing of testing depends on the speed and timing.

In a highly competitive environment, firms tend to test faster. If the production is seasonal, then the speed is less important compared to the moment (it is hardly worth checking the summer fashion in November).

The choice of testing site involves determining the cities where the new product will be presented. Typically, firms enter the market in two or three cities (the cost is from a quarter of a million US dollars). When choosing a city, they are guided by how the city represents national market in general, what is the degree of cooperation retail, what is the level of competition, whether the company is able to control and measure the marketing program.

Reviews generally last from two months to two years, depending on how far the company outperforms the competition, how complex the tests are, the rate of secondary purchases of products, and the firm's attitude to secrecy. The check allows you to assume how the product will be sold after the decline in initial enthusiasm (they track the share of secondary purchases, their frequency, shortcomings of the product and its marketing). For goods of constant demand, a semi-annual check is usually enough.

Before conducting trial marketing, the company should clearly define what needs to be found out, relating the information received to the manufacturer's goals in developing a new product (sales, consumers, purchase rates, strengths and weaknesses in distribution and marketing, dealer enthusiasm, impact of the novelty on other products of the company, reaction competing firms, the effectiveness of the chosen marketing strategy and the position of the product on the market).

In addition, the company decides how the audit results will be used. For some manufacturers, trial marketing is just a way to get consumer recognition, the first stage of implementing a new product throughout the country. For others, it is necessary to figure out what changes to products and marketing plans are needed.

Another group of firms is forced by the audit to abandon the production of a novelty, since it did not meet their expectations.

However, even with successful trial marketing, there are companies that question its effectiveness, downplay it, or ignore it altogether when planning a new product. This is due to significant research costs, a pause before full-scale implementation, learning from competing firms, the inability to predict results for the entire country based on data from one or two cities that were used as trial markets, and the impact on test results of such external factors, like the economy, competition. It is possible that trial marketing will allow firms that have not conducted trials to catch up with the innovative company by the time the product is ready for sale within the country.

At the stage product improvements The data obtained as a result of the test is used to change those characteristics of the product that turned out to be unsuccessful, trying to adapt the novelty to the selected market. For example, answers are needed to questions like whether the buyer is satisfied with the appearance of the product, whether the packaging is successful, whether the name of the novelty is pleasant, whether the product stands out from the mass of analogues enough, what channels of mass communication will be effective for advertising.

In the event of poor results, which showed trial sales, the company's management should abandon the commercial production and wide distribution of new items, organize additional research and development work aimed at modernizing and improving the product in the light of the identified shortcomings.

Successful trial marketing gives the company's management enough information to make a temporary decision about whether it is worth releasing a new product. In the case of the deployment of commercial production of a new product, the company will face very significant costs - it will require the construction or rental of a production complex, large funds for advertising and promotion of the new product.

Among the factors considered at the stage deployment of commercial production,- the rate of recognition of a novelty by buyers, the rate of its recognition by distribution channels, the intensity of distribution, the company's production capabilities, product promotion, prices, the level of competition, the time to achieve profitability of a novelty, the cost of commercial implementation.

Sometimes ineffective past promotions of the company provoke resistance from buyers and distribution channels (Texas Instrumente's problems in the commercial personal computer market after it left the home computer market).

By reducing the time to develop a new product, the company enters the market faster with a new product, overtaking competitors. It is possible that she will be able to occupy a free sector of the market, having received a significant economic effect if the novelty is in demand. This is especially true for seasonal products. But reducing the time to develop a new product is fraught with an increase in development costs. Therefore, the management of the company needs to carefully weigh all the arguments and counterarguments, make a well-thought-out decision, taking into account all factors, and seek to improve the quality of all stages of development.

Promising for the development of new products is the formation of target groups of several employees, attracting (as you move from the idea to the serial production of goods) specialists and various functional departments of the company. Such a group should be led by a prominent specialist with good organizational skills. The group is recommended to introduce a specialist who is able to critically perceive other people's ideas. In order to prevent the group from withdrawing into itself, it needs to entrust several projects at the same time with a time shift, which will force it to seek communication with other specialists and expand the horizons of the group members.

The main stages of developing a new product in marketing. Main stages of product development - novelties

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