You have a great idea for a new product. You want to mass produce it and sell it to the world. But, how do you really know if your product idea is worth pursuing?
By following a few simple steps, you will quickly be able to ascertain if your product is worth pursuing, and importantly, if it is ready to start pursuing.
Step One: Research, Research, Research
Research is a vital first step in realising your product.
Without completing adequate research before you begin you will inevitably run into problems.
There are three areas you will need to carry out research in before you dive into mass production.
- Idea Validation: At this stage you should be putting together a draft version of your product to test if it will do what you want it to do; to see if your concept works.
- Market Research: You must understand what other products are out there with the same purpose as your proposed one; find out if your product will fill a gap in the market or does it improve on something already out there.
- Cost Research: You must establish if you can produce your product and sell it and make a profit. Will your target demographic be able to pay the price you need to sell the product at and still make a profit? Establish what price similar products are selling for.
If you cannot demonstrate that you have taken your product through the research steps above, then you may not be ready to start pursuing your product just yet. You may have to go back to the beginning and conduct more research into your product.
For more information on Idea Validation, Market Research and Cost Research, read our blog - How to Validate a Product Idea.
Step Two: Prototyping
Mentioned above in idea validation, prototyping is key to understanding if your product works, and finding out what others think about it.
Getting people to test your product to see what they think is very important. Collect their feedback; listen to what they say and if they have problems using the product, use their comments to improve the product wherever possible. This step is very important to understand if your product is worth pursuing.
Once you have a prototype you should have a good idea of the manufacturing costs involved. This will give you a good idea of the amount of the units you will be able to have made initially.
Find out more about why prototyping is important by reading our blog - Why is prototyping important?
Step Three: Are you Committed?
Ask yourself, do you believe in the product you are making? You will likely have to put a lot of hours in and be dedicated to your product while initially creating and bringing it to market, for this reason alone you will have to really believe in it and what you are trying to achieve.
There are many more things to consider before you plunge head first into manufacturing your product, such as financial investment and how you will sell it. However, the steps above should either reassure you that your product is indeed worth pursuing, or prompt you to conduct more research or slightly re-think the design.
At MRT Castings, we can help you at the very beginning of your journey, even if you do not yet have a design. Get in touch to speak to our experienced team today.
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