I’ve said a number of times in the past that brilliant consumer insight is fundamental to successful new product development and buy-in from retailers.
But where does all this brilliant insight come from?
While there are all kinds of academic ideation processes, I think most of that is bullshit. People are creative by nature. If you foster a culture of creativity within your organisation, you’ll have a workforce of new product developers before you know it. (For more on that, read How to Let Creativity Thrive in Your Organisation).
It also helps to redefine “new product development” which sounds big and kind of scary. Development can be incremental, and some of the best new products are exactly that. A few years back everyone was super impressed when Berocca introduced the Twist & Go. Such a simple idea!
Berocca + a bottle of water = greater profit margins. Bingo.
Since then they have taken it one step further with their Fizzy Melts. Genius! Now you don’t even need water at all.
These are great examples of putting the customer at the heart of new product development. In this case the product required water. Value-add that to the core product and you have a new product. Remove the need for water altogether and you have another step in the evolutionary chain.
This is not rocket science. It’s about knowing your consumer through and through and watching for any small improvement you can make to their life (and your bottom line).
So now I’m just waiting for someone to find a better way to pack a 1kg block of cheese. C’mon guys… Surely there’s a better way!?!
Image Credit http://www.berocca.com.au
THE NO-BULL BRANDER 