3 Keys to Winning Product Innovation
Creating a winning new product innovation is no simple feat and can be downright challenging. It takes clarity of your target audience, understanding of their needs, deep insight, and great ideas. Once you have distilled the work to a few lead ideas, check them against these three key criteria before diving deeper into development, execution, or launch:
· A reason to exist
Your new product needs to solve a clear need or pain point for your target audience. A true, real, and meaningful problem with your product being a solution that fits and works for that pain point. You know you have this nailed when you share the idea with someone in your target and they instantly get it, want it and want to learn more.
· A reason to be used
Your new product also needs to have utility. That utility can be practical, tactical, or emotional. Strong utility will give them a reason to buy. When you share your idea with your target, they can easily articulate back to you how it fits in their lives – when, where and how they will use it. Specifically, they are willing to make room for this in their lives – amongst the many, many options they have available.
· A reason to be loved
Lastly, your new product idea needs a “spark”. On at least one tangent, it needs to be unique, differentiated or craveable. Polarizing to the general population is ok. Spot on, dead center for your target is crucial. A neutral or slightly positive reaction from your target marks significant risk. You know you have a winning idea when your target wants to tell others about it as the truest sign of affinity is someone’s willingness to put their own reputation on the line by sharing it with someone else.
At Mission Field, we love developing new product ideas grounded in deep consumer understanding. Our “Energize” offerings include front-end innovation sprints (8 week) all the way to deep dives with full innovation development, pipeline, and strategy (5-6 month) that we can customize for your needs.