Understand your product's potential - Innovate Product Design

When you are developing a product you are developing something you can sell for a profit, something you can make a business from (assuming you are a for-profit business!). We define the goal of a product based on Josh Kaufman’s definition, in three parts:

A product customers want to buy

At a price you are willing to sell it for

In enough volume, you can make a business

You could find out whether your product meets these three criteria by developing and launching it, but this can be an expensive way to find out. In this article, we look at ways you can gain valuable insight into the potential of your product from an early stage.

A product customers want to buy

Consider who your customer is by creating a Customer Persona. Who do you imagine would buy your product? What are their needs?

Understand how your product relates to them with a Value Proposition Canvas. This tool, created by Strategyzer, helps you focus on product features which map to the needs of your customer.

Summarize your product in 7 words. Now you have an understanding of the key elements of your product, see if you can summarise it in 7 words. If you can’t summarise your product well in 7 words, your customers might struggle to understand it.

At a price you are willing to sell it for

Complete a basic Competitor Analysis of similar products including their features, reviews and prices. Based on this, decide your Product Price and create an initial Cost Structure to see whether the price looks feasible.

In enough volume, you can make a business

Consider the profit you would need in order to make a business worthwhile. Make a spreadsheet to determine the number of sales you would need to achieve in order to reach this profit.

Research the potential Market Size and the Market Share you could require to achieve these sales and see whether this seems feasible.