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Product Innovation — Don't Spend Your Whole Life Waiting for THE ONE IDEA
Do you often wonder how others came up with their amazing, innovative business ideas? Would you also like to be self-employed and are you searching almost desperately for THAT ONE BRILLIANT business idea for a product or service? But with every idea you come up with, do you get the feeling that it already exists in some form or another? We can put your mind at ease: There are two possible paths to a successful business idea.
Product Improvement
As you’ve probably already noticed, there are several versions and providers for most things in our everyday lives. For example, there isn’t just one type of car or cell phone. So what did these entrepreneurs—who weren’t the first to bring their idea to market—do? Apparently, they didn’t dismiss the idea “just because it already exists,” but instead took a different path to product innovation: the path of product differentiation and product improvement.
Unlike developing a completely new idea, this approach takes an idea that already exists on the market as a starting point and modifies it. The “proof of concept”—that is, the demonstration that the idea fundamentally resonates with customers—has already been established, which minimizes the risk for the entrepreneur. Since competition is naturally higher than in a completely new market, your idea must differentiate itself from existing ones in order to offer customers added value. Even a “product improvement” needs its own USP (Unique Selling Point) to successfully compete in the market. So how can you create one?
The Voice of the Customer
Generally speaking, it makes sense to adopt the features of the existing offering that customers have rated positively, while also improving the negative aspects and adding any missing ones. How do I know what customers think about the original product or idea, and which features are important to them?
To do this, you should review all the “customer feedback” you can find on the initial product. This can be found on review sites, in articles in trade journals, in test reports, and so on. It’s certainly helpful, too, to be “your own customer”—that is, to understand the idea you’re trying to improve from the customer’s perspective.
The product development - The „ONE idea“?
It is precisely this approach that often leads to completely new ideas—and perhaps even to “THE ONE idea.” After all, problems or unmet needs that arise in one’s immediate surroundings are often the starting point for new business ideas. Once you’ve confirmed through research, customer surveys, etc., that there are enough market participants who would be interested in this product or service as potential customers, you should move forward with implementing your idea. Taking a look at current and long-term trends can also help you develop new business ideas. In particular, combining multiple trends creates opportunities for successful business ideas.
You can find more on this in our blog post “Megatrends.”
Published on June 24, 2021
Author: Daniela Stürmer