In this issue of SPG Insights, we’re taking an in-depth look at the new product development process and what companies need to do to maximize the revenue and profit they realize from their R&D efforts.  With the resurging economy, new product launches are everywhere.  Just last week, one of the major newswires had over 500 new product announcements from companies hoping to grab your attention – and that was a shortened Fourth of July week!  And yet we know from our research that the vast majority of those new products will miss their revenue and margin targets…often by a wide margin.  Over and over, we see companies making the same critical errors:

§         They get lost in the world of features and benefits and don’t prioritize their commercialization efforts around products that bring the highest economic value (in terms of revenue improvements or cost reductions) to their customers

§         They plan poorly for the pre and post-launch environment.  Competitors quickly copy good ideas and put downward pressure on prices.  Often, ad-hoc pricing decisions get made in the heat of battle that usually make a bad situation worse.  In some cases, seriously damaging long-term price integrity.

In our first piece, New Product Success: Enhance Your New Product Development Process with “Value Gates,” we describe proven techniques developed with our clients to drive value-based thinking earlier into the product development process.  This ensures that the products that ultimately do get launched are the ones with the greatest chance of driving growth.