Tonight the discussion focused on innovation. We talked about creating new or improving old products, new or expanded product lines, and repositioning. The basic thing that I got out of the discussion was that in order for a company to continue to exist, it must keep up with the times. It must make new and exciting products and services to keep people coming back for more. Companies like Apple are masters of this. They give people just enough and are constantly introducing new products to keep people wanting more. If Apple would have stopped after the first iPhone, they would now have been in trouble. The Android phones would have left that first iPhone in the dust and Apple would have slowly shrunk away. Instead the iPhone is on its 4th generation, the iPad is out, their computers and original iPods are ever evolving, and people are asking, “What will they do next?”
Some of the steps in new product development include idea generation, idea screening, business analysis, development, test marketing, and commercialization. While I could not necessarily explain these items as eloquently as my Professor or my textbook, they all seem to make logical sense to me. You first have to think of the idea, then run it by others, then decide if you can actually make money on the deal, then actually make the product, then test it, and then sell as much as you are able to.
Obviously, like the iPhone it does not end there. There is a cycle to every product. Someone is constantly innovating and if a business or individual is not doing it, they will be left in the dust. If this were not true, we would still have rotary phones and Grandparents would not be asking their Grandchildren for help with any electronics. We must stay up with the times in order to start business and maintain its success through marketing.
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