Today I’ll show you “how to go from ideation to a successful product launch.” As you are aware, there is a lot to do between the time you define your new product idea and the time you can finally launch it to the market and introduce it to your customers.

10 Steps that define the order in which you can run your business to develop a successful product.

So, today, I’m going to walk you through ten steps that define the order in which you can run your business to develop a successful product. The reason why I’m laying out the process in this specific order is very important. It prevents you from spending money and time too soon in the process. Money you probably won’t earn back and lack of time that might cause delay in your product launch.

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Step #1: Validating Your Product Idea

The first step is to validate your product idea with your customer base. It is critical to do this first before proceeding with anything else because if your product idea is not correct, you will most likely be unsuccessful when introducing your new product to the market.

Speak with your customers. Speak with the market. Analyze the available technologies. Consider where your market is headed in the future and use that to create your new product idea.

Your new product idea should meet your customers’ needs and solve their problems.

Step #2: Setting up Your Core Project Team

This is a critical step to plan for at the start of your project. It is critical to surround yourself with experts in the areas that you require on your team to successfully define, specify, develop, manufacture, and launch your new product.

Outsource people who are knowledgeable about your product. There are many experts that you will most likely need on your team to help you move from ideation to launch. So, it’s critical to look for those people and set up your project team for success from the start.

Hold weekly project team meetings to keep everyone updated on the project and to share their progress. You can also step in if things are heading in the wrong direction.

Step #3: Defining the Scope of Your New Products

This is also critical to do at the start. If you do not define your scope precisely, you risk your new product development lacking a clear direction. You will never launch on time, and you will incur significant additional costs.

So, at the start of your project, define the scope of your new product. Describe who this new product ID is best suited for. Which problem will you solve for your customers? What would you offer as a final product? Define your commercial goals and the budget required for product development and launch. This step involves creating a document that describes where you and other stakeholders in your business agree.

Step #4: Defining the Product Requirements

You must include the relevant disciplines in this discussion and the creation of these documents.

The following are the disciplines:

• internal stakeholders
• external stakeholders (suppliers or customers).

Define the product requirements at the beginning of the project. You’ll only be able to start working and developing a new product when the requirements are clear. If things are not clear, there will be a lot of questions from your development team. There will be new requirements popping in from sales or from customers that you didn’t think of, which will delay the project.

So, define those product requirements at the start with the right disciplines and team. Invest time in this process. This requirements process pays off in the end.

Step #5: Concept Phase

Write a concept description. Create first product concepts. With these product concepts, you can go into a testing phase with your customers. How is your concept received in the market? What do you need to change?

Step #6: Feasibility Phase

Do a commercial feasibility. Evaluate if your new product concept is commercially viable. Can you sell it at the right price? Can you manufacture or buy it for the right price? Can you sell enough quantities to pay back my investment in time? Are the customers interested? Is this a long-term product, or seasonal?

In this feasibility phase, you’re going to evaluate technical feasibility. So, think about talking to your manufacturer or your supplier. Check if this concept can be manufactured and developed. If there are constraints, then you should take those into account, and adjust your concepts, before moving into the development phase.

You’re also going to do a financial feasibility phase. It’s where you’re going into the details of numbers. Does it make sense to invest money into this product development? When are you going to earn it back?

Step #7: Development Phase

This is where the real creation of the new product takes place. The development team goes to work based on your product requirements. They’re going to write technical requirements, or a statement of work when you purchase a product or a component.

Of course, you’re going to work on all the substances, parts, and materials for your new products. This is where product creation takes place. You’re going to look at packaging, transport, packaging, and labeling. Everything in the development phase is related to the product.

Step #8: Involving Your Marketing Team

You have to involve the experts and the team before the development takes place, so they’ll know what’s coming and they can give their feedback as well. So, maybe in the product requirements phase, you should already involve them.

Ask them to look at the concept if they have ideas. They can help you create your product presentation.

What is the product features? What are the benefits? What’s the product positioning? Your team can help give input on those topics as well. Involve them early on, because you have to make sure that when development is finished, then the marketing materials are ready, and the social media plan is ready.

Step #9: Logistical Planning

After your product is developed, samples have been created, and they have been released. So in this step, you’re going to plan how many quantities you need in stock of your new product. You need to make a plan on timing when they should arrive in your warehouse or your shop. You also need to talk about ramp-up planning with your factory or with your supplier. Start mostly with lower quantities, and when you are selling it a little bit longer quantities go up to a certain yearly quantity estimation.

So, you have to discuss and talk about this with your supplier or with your factory.

Step #10: Product Launch

This step is where your product is developed and released. Make sure to have enough quantities in stock. Have your commercial materials in places such as your social media marketing plans, and other promotion ads. This is the final step where you can start selling your product.

Final Takeaway on How to go from Ideation to Successful Launch

These steps are essential to having a successful product launch. In the end, after doing all these steps, you can start thinking about evaluation with your team. Do a project evaluation to see where you can improve, and you can take those improvement points with you to your next project.

Free template to collect your meeting minutes

If you’re like me, you’re probably also fond of structure and overview. That’s why I always use my Project Planning & Action template in my project team meetings. It’s a handy spread sheet to note down all the actions with deadlines and responsible persons. You can filter on ‘open’, ‘closed’ or ‘started’ action points or on ‘responsible person’ and see in one glance who needs to take action and when.

Download my free template by clicking here.

If you like to learn more details on how and when to involve your Marketing team, read more in this blog article.