Product Development and Consumer Needs

Needs and Wants

• Needs are essential requirements for survival and optimal functioning.
• Wants represent desires or aspirations influenced by personal preferences and societal factors.

Product Development Steps

• Analyzing competitive products helps gauge current demand and devise strategies to surpass competitors.
• Generating product concepts involves creating multiple ideas that meet defined target specifications.
• Selecting a product concept is done through evaluation processes and market research to gather customer feedback.
• Refining product specifications includes defining necessary requirements for product teams to develop features and functionalities.
• Performing economic analysis assesses costs versus benefits, determining project viability or investment opportunities.
• Planning the remaining development project requires outlining activities, resources, expenses, and schedules with milestones for progress tracking.

Key Concepts

• A value proposition is a clear statement conveying the unique value a company offers to customers, driving purchasing decisions.
• Unique Selling Proposition (USP) differentiates a product or service from competitors with a defining feature.
• Innovation is the introduction of new ideas, methods, or devices in a product or service context.
• Branding is a strategic marketing practice that creates distinct names, symbols, or designs for products, serving as a promise to consumers.