Open Innovation & New Product Development
No development can take place in isolation. Perhaps most companies today have realized this as a result of which they are going forward with open innovation techniques for new product development or bringing in changes within an existing service or product. It is essential that a company should always be clued in to the consumer demands and psyche, else they cannot come up with a new product or service that would cater to the audience requirements.
Modern day idea management techniques encourage an organization to capture ideas from the audience and implement it. The reason behind this is that these ideas can hint at a probable market for a certain product to be established and can also prove to be beneficial for the company, boosting its sales and image.
This is what Smarty Ears, a United States company specializing in speech therapy wants to come up with apps for mobile devices. The company is inviting people to come with product ideas and submit them via a web page on its website. The details that need to be provided include the application description, who is it targeted for, and the evidence that supports the idea. The company responds back to the individual within a span of four weeks and if it is working on a similar concept it informs the submitter. In case the company is not interested in any idea it is returned to the individual. In case in the future, the company wishes to work on the concept it would open a dialogue with the submitted again. The result of this open innovation is that when the company interacts with the audience at large, a greater body of knowledge and idea sharing takes place that leads to quicker product development.
Automobile brands too are not lagging behind in this. Though their market research defines their target segment for various products, yet automobile giants like Volvo, Sweden resorted to open innovation technique for its XC90 NPD project to develop an SUV. The company initiated the process by engaging a small group of women professionals in California to get additional information apart from their market research. There were subsequent meetings held to discover various thoughts, opinions and expectations about SUVs that would help the company in the concept development phase. These insights gave Volvo the required knowledge to come up with the final XC90 NPD product in the market.
No one knows where the source of great ideas can germinate from. Sometimes it can stem from group discussions and sometimes from competitions and audience feedbacks. Most companies have realized this fact and are experimenting with open innovation products and techniques in order to reap its benefits and come up with better products.
Modern day idea management techniques encourage an organization to capture ideas from the audience and implement it. The reason behind this is that these ideas can hint at a probable market for a certain product to be established and can also prove to be beneficial for the company, boosting its sales and image.
This is what Smarty Ears, a United States company specializing in speech therapy wants to come up with apps for mobile devices. The company is inviting people to come with product ideas and submit them via a web page on its website. The details that need to be provided include the application description, who is it targeted for, and the evidence that supports the idea. The company responds back to the individual within a span of four weeks and if it is working on a similar concept it informs the submitter. In case the company is not interested in any idea it is returned to the individual. In case in the future, the company wishes to work on the concept it would open a dialogue with the submitted again. The result of this open innovation is that when the company interacts with the audience at large, a greater body of knowledge and idea sharing takes place that leads to quicker product development.
Automobile brands too are not lagging behind in this. Though their market research defines their target segment for various products, yet automobile giants like Volvo, Sweden resorted to open innovation technique for its XC90 NPD project to develop an SUV. The company initiated the process by engaging a small group of women professionals in California to get additional information apart from their market research. There were subsequent meetings held to discover various thoughts, opinions and expectations about SUVs that would help the company in the concept development phase. These insights gave Volvo the required knowledge to come up with the final XC90 NPD product in the market.
No one knows where the source of great ideas can germinate from. Sometimes it can stem from group discussions and sometimes from competitions and audience feedbacks. Most companies have realized this fact and are experimenting with open innovation products and techniques in order to reap its benefits and come up with better products.
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