Preparing to Partner with a Product Development Firm

Product development firms are in the business of helping to conceptualize, build, and develop new products that have the potential to fundamentally change markets.  Finding a solid partnership with the right development team is critical, as the product design and development process require extensive collaboration between your business and the product development firm. When your project is ready and you begin the search for a product development partner, the following elements are important to have prepared for discussion:

The product audience.

Fully understanding your audience or end users may take the longest in the development of your product, but it is the most important.  A product development firm can also help expand this research, but having a clear understanding of the end users, not just the product itself, will help set the foundation for a better design.  Understand and be able to communicate exactly who your audience is, what their specific pain points are, and what your competitors are or are not doing to alleviate those pain points.

The competition. 

It’s important to have identified the competition you may face before going down this path.  Knowing who the competitors are, where they’ve succeeded and failed, the elements lacking in their product’s design, and the range of products you’re trying to improve upon is important for both you and the product designer.  This will help cut down on R&D costs by using reverse engineering and could also give some more insight into end users through customer testimonials and online product reviews.

The product vision.

A picture is worth a thousand words and that’s absolutely the case when talking to a product development firm. Bring pictures, sketches and aesthetics, and any early prototypes to help the designers build an iterative product prototype that matches the product vision. The focus should be on functions over features, as user-centered designs are typically more successful and ongoing iteration will be a part of the development process.

The product summary.

Providing a detailed description and summary of your product, it’s features and functions, and information about the overall problem this product will solve is important to communicate to the development team your vision and end goals.  An experienced product development firm like Nectar can help fine-tune this information to ensure the product goals strategically address business challenges.

The product development process is driven by the critical partnership between your business and the development team. The development team must be committed to helping you through the design and development process, moving from concept through manufacturing and be focused on ensuring your product will achieve and sustain superior performance.  Nectar utilizes a variety of cutting-edge techniques, tools, and methodologies to discover the emotional, motivational, behavioral, perceptional, and cultural aspects that influence your product and market. Whether you are looking to develop a new MedTech device, IoT device or a new consumer product, you will want to be sure the company you partner with is committed to helping you smoothly through the process from end to end. If you are looking for a product development partner, contact us to discuss your design and development needs.