Product Development: The Stages Of A Successful Product Development Strategy For eCommerce

The demand for the eCommerce sector is growing rapidly. If you are running a business in the retail sector, then you already know the importance of developing an innovative as well as useful product. You can’t move ahead without a quality product.

Global retail eCommerce sales are likely to reach USD 8.1 trillion by the year 2026. That clearly shows the growing demand in the sector, but the competition in this particular market is quite stiff. 

So, to stay up-to-date with the ongoing competition and boost your product’s sales, you need to create something unique. However, that is where you may face certain challenges. The process of eCommerce product development is quite complex. To avoid any errors during the development stage, you need to ensure that you follow a systematic approach.

Read on to explore the stages involved in a successful product development strategy for eCommerce. 

What Do You Mean by Product Development?

Product development, essentially, is referred to as the initial stage of the product life cycle. It begins with the ideation of the product concept and ends with the launch of the actual product. But in between, there are a lot of steps involved. 

The Different Stages of Product Development Strategy

If you intend to build a new product, try following the steps listed herein.

• Ideation 

The development process of a product always begins with a new and distinct idea. To make your mark in the market and launch a memorable e-commerce product, you must create an out-of-the-box product concept. Come up with a concept that adds value to the lives of people or resolves a specific issue.

Though there are numerous ways to get started with ideation, working with facts and figures is always a great idea. If you plan on introducing a new product to the market, you should collect feedback from your existing customers. To do so, you can analyse the product reviews and conduct a survey.

Did you know that nearly 95 percent of products fail? One of the major reasons is the lack of feedback collection. 

Conducting surveys will help you gain significant insights into the potential pain points and the expectations of customers. Moreover, you can also explore the opportunities for improvement. As a result, developing the right product becomes easy.

• Determination of product demand

With the product idea at hand, the next step is to identify its demand in the market and among potential customers. Simply put, it is time to assess the needs of your e-commerce product in the market. 

There are different ways to easily determine product demand. Well, you can either conduct customer surveys, take pre-orders, or analyse the search trends. Moreover, starting crowdfunding campaigns can also be a good idea. 

• Prototype development

After you are convinced about the demand for your new product in the market, you can proceed to prototyping. Prototypes are basically the preliminary versions of the products. Their main role is to test the functionality and design of the concept among the target audience.

The prototyping step involves a number of sub-stages. First, you need to develop a sketch on paper to solidify the idea in your head. Next, you must create a digital prototype to gain more details about the product. 

Lastly, you should develop a physical prototype. That will help you understand how the product functions in real-time.

• Product testing and validation

Now that you have a working prototype, it is time to test the product among your target users and gather genuine feedback. That helps identify the actual end-users and provides them with a chance to try the product.

Moreover, you also need to invest time in continuous testing of the prototype with the help of skilled professionals like engineers, QA analysts, and others. Next, you can combine all the feedback to get an idea of the potential improvement areas. It will allow you to make the essential changes at an early stage and launch a flawless product on the market.

• Manufacturing or Production

When you are done with the perfecting of your prototype, you can proceed to the manufacturing or production stage. Ensure you use the right materials when manufacturing the product. 

Depending on customer expectations, market trends, and expert opinions, you can determine the materials and other factors. However, you can expect several unexpected situations at this stage. Hence, plan accordingly.

If you want to hire a contractor for your product manufacturing, you need to factor in certain aspects. It includes the minimum order size, turnaround time, payment terms, equipment and facilities available, and more. All these factors will enable you to choose the right manufacturer to develop your e-commerce product.

• The launch of the product

Now that you have manufactured the intended product, it is ready to launch in the target market. When launching the product, ensure it makes a memorable and strong impression. 

To make a solid impact on your target audience, you need to frame your marketing strategy well. You can make use of initiatives such as email marketing, paid search ads, Facebook ads, influencers, and more. It can enhance the visibility of your product and ensure the optimum success of your launch.

• Feedback collection

The complete process doesn’t end with the launch of the product. The final stage in the product development strategy is feedback collection. Here, you will have to analyse all the reviews, ratings, and responses of the customers.

You need to check what customers are saying about your product. Evaluate whether they are happy with it or desire some changes.

All such information can help you make the necessary changes to the product. As a result, it can make a positive impression in the minds of your customers. Moreover, it can help improve your brand loyalty and long-term success.

Conclusion

To launch your amazing e-commerce products on the market, following the right approach matters. Now that you know the stages involved, it is time to implement them and get started. It will help you develop your product successfully and launch it in a hassle-free manner. 

If you are ready to launch your new eCommerce product, partner with experts and get started! 

Author: Harikrishna Kundariya

Harikrishna Kundariya is the Co-founder, Director, & Marketer of eSparkBiz Technologies – an excellent Software Development Company. Also, a notable IoT, ChatBot & Blockchain-savvy Developer. His 12+ years of profound experience enables him to create Digital Innovations for Startups & large Enterprises alike based on futuristic technologies like IoT, Artificial Intelligence, DevOps, and ChatBot. Adopting a modern yet extremely flexible leadership approach, he believes in building businesses & lasting bonds with his clients in the process.

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