How to evaluate product viability : Verify if that's really a million dollar idea

You’ve got an amazing idea for a new product. Perhaps you feel it could be a million-dollar idea...what now?

Is the market really ready for your new product concept?

I’ve worked with plenty of aspiring entrepreneurs who had great new product ideas and didn’t know the true potential until they discovered how to first conduct effective research to determine market viability.

Failure of a new product in the marketplace can result in an extremely negative impact on you and your business. New product development is both an art and a science that doesn’t come without its share of inherent risk. To reduce the potential of this effect, strategy is key. Knowing how to conduct market research before the release of a new product to determine if it’s viable and likely to appeal to your target market is most important.

Here are just a few of several factors to consider that can help you determine whether your idea is worth pursuing in the marketplace.

Determine Your Target Market Customer

The first, and most essential factor to consider is your market. Are there enough people out there willing to part with their hard-earned money to buy, use, and enjoy your new product?
Market research is crucial to the success of any product and should be fully evaluated before you even start talking to manufacturers, get a patent or develop a prototype. You must define your audience, understand their unmet needs, what they’re interested in, your competitors, define your value proposition, and other metrics. How will your new product do a better job at meeting the needs of your target market compared to your competition? Consider using Google’s Keyword Planning Tool and Google Trends to help you better understand the target market landscape.

Does it Make Sense to Pursue?

Second, you want to make money, right? That’s the whole point of bringing a product to market and if it doesn’t make financial sense, it doesn’t make sense. Pricing your new product includes pinpointing your target customer, identifying what competitors are charging-how are they perceived, what is the target market willing to pay, understanding the relationship between quality, features, benefits and price. If you feel your product may be too expensive to produce or the space is crowded with lower-priced rivals, you might need to pivot or adjust your idea, add unique features and find ways to create significant benefits and value.

Define Your Unique Value Proposition

While there’s nothing wrong with jumping on a trend to make profits, for lasting results, you need something wholly unique that brings value to the purchaser. How will your product make their lives better? How will they come to define it in their eyes? Your value proposition should offer guidance for your new product strategy so consider picking a clear set of pain points to address in the form of your product benefits. It’s these things that help you stand out in even the most crowded markets. Make sure that you have a clear understanding of your product’s advantage before moving forward.

At the end of the day, you owe it to yourself and your business to be relentless in determining your product viability. There is only so much you can do to determine product viability based on what you know. Navigating the world of product development takes skill, guidance, and even a good mentor to help you effectively navigate the product development journey from mind to market.

Remember, how you determine your product viability could be the difference between the success or failure of your new product journey. Preparation and understanding how to navigate the process is key.

We look for these attributes in our clients and mentor them to navigate the path to narrow the gap from mind to market, then pave the path to profit.

Dennis G Shaver
#1 Best Selling Author
Innovation & Entrepreneurship Catalyst
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