Strategies for product design & development

Looking for Branding strategies ? We’ve already gone on a length about the importance of functionality and practicality. But let’s not get carried away with thinking that performance is all that matters. The look and feel of a consumer product are just as central to good design as functionality. This is just as true for software and digital products as it is for hardware and tangible goods. A good designer must have a sense of aesthetics. This is one of the areas where industrial designers show their value.

No matter how amazing your product is, most businesses fail if there isn’t a good marketing plan in place to propel that product forward. A successful marketing campaign is able to narrow down who your customer is, what they want to hear, what they need to hear, and show them where to get it. Targeting the right consumers in the way that best suits their profiles is not only advisable but necessary. For example, if your target customer is aged 70 or older, social media advertising may not be the best area to emphasize your focus. Study the marketing plans of competitors and evaluate what’s working and what isn’t from the point of view of a consumer. A well thought out marketing plan and serious strategy can make all the difference in how well your product is received once you head to market. The biggest mistake an entrepreneur can make is putting all of their efforts into the actual product and omitting the importance of the marketing plan behind said product. If an element of your product is difficult to market clearly, it’s an indication you need to simplify something, somewhere. Read extra info on Product design and development.

Take the time to map out an overall brand strategy before thinking about design, look, feel, voice or any specific elements. As an entrepreneur eager to turn your idea into dollars, it’s tempting to jump right into “the fun part” of branding – designing a logo or signage, picking colors, creating a website, etc. But that’s a mistake if you haven’t done the legwork of defining your brand strategy – i.e. what you stand for (mission, core values), your point(s) of differentiation and market positioning, and your target customers. Answering these questions will help you create a blueprint from which all of the individual brand identity elements will flow much more easily.

Start-Up tip of the day : Surround yourself with the right people: Networking is a means to an end—you need to establish who is worth your time and who isn’t. Don’t underestimate the value of someone useful, and similarly, don’t underestimate the destructive potential of someone who isn’t. Be dedicated to work: Launching a startup is not like having a regular 9 to 5 job—if you want to avoid failure, you have to be prepared to fit your life around work. It may seem like working for yourself will mean better hours, but to be successful, you’ll most likely be going way over the standard 40 hour work week. On the bright side, whatever results from your hard work is entirely your own. Source: https://www.petermanfirm.com/.