What is Product Development? How to Develop a New Product for Your Business?

In today's retail e-commerce market, you can see the same products sold on different platforms everywhere and Temu is providing consumers with irresistible prices for generic products. For private-label businesses and small entrepreneurs, a low-price strategy on regular products no longer works. The only way to stand out in the market is to create product differentiation. And developing new products is a perfect way to make your business sustainable!

So, are you tired of selling products that are commonly seen on the market? Have you ever considered bringing a new product to the market but don’t know where to start?

Keep reading, this article will take you through the new product development process and how SourcinBox can help you bring your product ideas into reality.

 

What is Product Development?

 

Product development, also called new product development(NPD), refers to the process of creating and bringing a new product to the market. It involves various stages including idea generation, market research, planning, prototyping, testing, manufacturing, and commercialization. 

From the business perspective, product development aims to cultivate, maintain, and increase the company's market share by satisfying consumer demands. Not every product will appeal to every customer or group, so defining the target market of the product is a critical step that must be taken early in the product development process. Business owners should conduct thorough market research at all stages of the development process, including before product conception, during product design, and after product launch.

 

What’s The Process of New Product Development?

 

It can be challenging to turn a product concept into reality and bring it to the market. Thankfully, there's a basic process of new product development that can guide you in the right direction and move forward step by step. Now let's explore the stages of the new product development process.

 

1. Generate an Idea

 

Generating an entirely new product idea can be difficult for most entrepreneurs. So, the good idea is to start by improving and iterating on existing products, addressing a gap in the market, or solving an existing customer problem in a new way. You may come up with innovative ideas by identifying customer needs, pain points, market trends, and gaps in existing products. 

It is a great idea to incorporate sustainability practices into your products because consumers are more attracted to brands with sustainable practices and products.

 

2. Conduct Market Research

 

After you have generated several product ideas that you think are addressing new customer needs, pain points, or gaps in your target market, the next crucial step is to validate and flesh out your ideas by conducting thorough market research and competitor analysis. And there are some common ways you could follow to test and validate your ideas.

 • Research market demand and trends using Google Trends.
 • Gather feedback from communities or forums like Reddit.
 • Gather feedback from your audience by posting an online survey.
 • Validate your ideas by conducting competitor analysis.
 • Validate your ideas by marketing tests on social media.
 • Test your ideas by starting a crowdfunding campaign.

 

You can get initial feedback during this stage and identify the lack of your product ideas. And you will also understand your competitive advantages over your potential competitors. It is important to both accept positive and negative feedback, which will help you refine your concept and research direction before moving to the next step.

 

3. Develop a Plan

 

Once your final product idea is determined, it is necessary to list all your detailed plans on paper to guide the whole process of product development. The first thing you should do is draw down your product design with detailed features, functions, materials, add-ons, colors, sizes, etc. 

Preliminary drawings can be just sketches. You can go to Fiverr to hire freelance designers to help you create professional product drawings, which will be used for prototyping.

In addition, your plan should also include store setup, viable marketing strategies, and pricing strategies to get customers to buy your products once they are produced.

 

4. Create a Prototype

 

Prototyping is crucial in the process of product development. It involves creating a preliminary version or model of the product to test and validate its design, functionality, and user experience. Usually, a prototype is the first sample of the product to be manufactured, so you’ll have to work with 3rd-party partners who are able to use CAD software or have 3D printing technology. If you are developing cosmetics, fashion clothing, or jewelry, then you should find professional agencies or manufacturers to help you with prototyping.

 

5. Testing and Validation

 

You may have to create multiple prototypes to test its quality, materials, functionality, apparel, and other core aspects to ensure your product fulfills customer expectations. It is recommended to share the details of the prototypes with your target audience and gather feedback from them so that you can make necessary adjustments based on the results. 

 

6. Find a Manufacturing Partner

 

When your final prototype is ready, finding a reliable manufacturer for production will be the first challenge. Working with local manufacturers nearby is a good choice, but the materials and technology may be limited and the cost is usually higher than an overseas choice. 

However, if you look for manufacturers in China for cheaper manufacturing costs, you'll face problems such as little control over the product, communication barriers, high risks, etc. Thus, SourcinBox is exploring ways to help you solve these problems. Check how SourcinBox can be your manufacturing partner. 

When working with an overseas manufacturer, you should make sure that it can provide fast international shipping and sufficient product stocks. For insurance, you can also take your local supplier as a backup in case the international orders are delayed.

 

7. Launch Your Product

 

After putting your product into mass production, you can create your online store and launch the product to create awareness and drive sales by implementing the marketing strategies you have planned.

As a developer of a new product, you should also take steps to protect your legal assets. Registering patents, trademarks, and other protections can ensure that your product ideas are innovative and do not infringe on other manufacturers' products or copyrights.

 

How Can SourcinBox Help You with Product Development?

 

You might wonder how SourcinBox, a dropshipping supplier, could help entrepreneurs with product development. Actually, we have been providing supply chain solutions for 6 years and have built close partnerships with high-quality manufacturers in China to serve e-commerce retail businesses of different sizes. 

As more and more entrepreneurs seek new products and differentiation, it is time for us to bring more personalized and professional services to entrepreneurs in need. Now let’s take a closer look at the servicesthat SourcinBox can cover to bring your product ideas to life.

 

1. Find The Right Manufacturer

 

Finding manufacturers to produce your products will be easier with our experienced team. You just need to send us your product drawing or mockup, and requirements. We will screen out the most suitable manufacturer for your product based on factors such as quality, manufacturing process, price, production capacity, minimum order quantity, etc.

We help you establish partnerships directly with the manufacturer, negotiate the best prices, resolve communication issues, and monitor the entire manufacturing process of your products to ensure that both the quality and aesthetics meet your requirements.

 

2. Source Product Materials

 

We help source the necessary materials for your product with a combination of your requirements and the manufacturer's suggestions. Different raw materials may come from multiple suppliers to make sure that they are all sourced with the best quality and prices. The only thing you need to do is review the quotes we send you and decide the final materials to be used in the manufacturing.

 

3. Create Product Prototypes/ Samples

 

Before mass production, we will make a prototype, which is the earliest sample for your product with the materials and process you expected. This step is highly important to evaluate and test the product design, functionality, and quality. You can require further adjustments to the product based on the prototype. We will conduct sample production and send you for testing until the final product meets all your expectations.

Although you have little control over the product during this process, we will provide you with as detailed product information and test reports as possible, or directly ship the samples to you for testing.

 

4. Track Product Manufacturing/ Production

 

Our team will Keep in close touch with the manufacturer to ensure that all improvements made during sampling are implemented into mass production, and conduct random inspections to ensure quality. All your business information including product designs, prototypes, and trademarks will be kept confidential. Of course, we will inform you of any progress of production so that you can arrange sales in advance

 

5. Add Custom Packaging and Brand Kitting

 

We offer comprehensive private label services to help reflect your brand identity throughout the journey from product production to when it reaches the end consumers. You can choose to add custom packaging, stickers, marketing inserts, or any other brand materials and we will kit all the items together for shipment.

 

6. Handle Order Fulfillment and Distribution

 

You can enjoy our premium fulfillment service to ship products directly to your end customers, just like dropshipping, you can connect your store with SourcinBox and automatically fulfill your orders. All your products manufactured will be stored and managed in our warehouse for free. Or you can also let us pack and ship the products to a warehouse you designated.

 

Bring Your Innovations to Life Today!

 

If you are looking for unique products for your business, why not add some innovative ideas to existing products and bring your new products to market? Things can be easier with the help of manufacturing partners like SourcinBox. Just provide us with your product drawings, prototypes, and requirements, and we will combine the best quality materials and manufacturing processes to bring your product from concept to reality!

Contact our experts now and get a quote for free!