Product Development - Starting At The Beginning
Its a very big part of our job thinking of new ideas and developing new products to keep our little business going. Seeing a new product launch looks easy, sometimes even obvious but take it from us it's not.
Inspiration is one thing, little sparks of excitement about the way a colour looks against another or a flicker of an idea that takes root in your chest and turns to butterflies as it grows is the easy bit. However these initial flickerings often don't come to anything because the dots don't join up.
Its one thing to have a good idea but its quite another making it work for the masses. Every step is like a carefully laid path, the idea needs to be great but the figures need to add up, the communication needs to be spot on, the photography, the product description, the customer reflection, the personalisation example, the styling, the social mood, the packaging, the processes, delivery etc these are all considerations that can scupper even the best ideas.
In a nut shell the route (both mental and physical) from the product to the customer needs to be clear and quick (preferably instant) and the only way to acheive this is through proper product development.
All too often we see products out there that started life as someone else's product and have been developed from this half way point. We can spot a product like this from 100 miles, they will almost always have lost some of their meaning and the path will be a little cluttered. Its easy to see a good idea that is selling well and try and start a new product from this point, its the wrong place to start, resist the temptation. Ideas that are formed from a real starting point, a real beginning, like a gifting occasion that you are attending or with a special person in your mind will, without doubt, produce better products with more heart and soul.