Market Research
For any market-driven company, Market Research is essential input to the Structured Design Process. Often this input is overlooked and even absent because it can be expensive and oft-perceived as something that only big companies can afford. Many times this knowledge already exists in an organization, and only requires some facilitation in order to extract it.
Market research data provides an insightful collection and analysis of data about your target market, competition, and market environment used to create useful information to guide your product development decisions; limiting risk. The research can often uncover unmet customer needs, creating an opportunity to revise product features to improve product differentiation. It can also provide a means to measure progress once your product is in the market.
Market Research provides essential input to the Business Plan, which serves several purposes. It spells out the expected capital outlay required to develop the new product, along with the return on investment once the product is in the market. The Business Plan also serves as the foundation for financial approvals by either internal or external sources. |
