“A market is never saturated with a good product, but it is very quickly saturated with a bad one”.
Henry Ford never said anything wiser. But essentially what is a good product or a bad product.
Technically a product may be great, but it may not meet the requirements of its target segment. Understanding the gap which no products available in the market is fulfilling is one short yet simple strategy to create a good product, and more importantly, a successful brand.
So how should companies go about it? Consumer focused market research is the only solution. So how to go about the same?
- First do an exploratory study to gauge the needs which your target segment may be facing which are yet to be met with.
- Then do an internal analysis to match the firm competencies vis-a-vis the gap faced by the target segment, to propose few product types with hypothetical specifications.
- Do a in-depth interview to review if the proposed product types meet the needs of the segment, or if at all, they are needed. Many products fail because they do not address any market needs.
- Do a conjoint analysis and/or a factor analysis to determine specifically what is required by the target segment.
- Go back to verify if the same matches with the internal competencies of the firm, and do a feasibility study for the proposed project.