Product launches. For many CEOs, these two words hold incredible weight as it may be the exact moment that finally reveals the expected success to come for their business. Unfortunately, simply having a brilliant product idea is not enough to guarantee a profitable launch. In fact, it’s only a small part of the equation- the truth is that there are various other elements at play that can have an incredible impact on the way the market welcomes your products. A business that is conscious of these factors and actively takes them into consideration when designing its products is much more likely to be well-received among its audience and get that highly coveted launch success.
But what are they, exactly? Here, we’ll reveal insider information from an industrial design company to break down 5 design-related tips every business needs to incorporate into its product development process for an amazing launch.
1.) Understand your competition
It goes without saying that your competition is going to present a great challenge for your launch. If your business is a startup gearing to launch brand new products, rival businesses will have an advantage in that they have already established themselves as a reputable business with a loyal customer base who value their products. To combat this, you will have to engineer products that supersede expectations through function and visuals. How is this possible? By conducting market research to evaluate your competition. In doing so, you can learn what design features the market genuinely appreciates and finds useful within similar products, as well as what they feel could be improved upon or removed altogether. While designing with this information in mind, you’ll be able to make informed design decisions with the intent of encouraging customers to choose your products over the competition.
2.) Think outside the box
As most industrial design companies in California will reveal, popular products have an edge to them. Something to their design that makes them innately distinct and exciting. This is to say, innovation and exclusivity drive sales. When customers see a product that contains unique features and functions that they can’t get anywhere else, chances are they may be more inclined to make a purchase. At first glance, trying to create designs that are original and different may seem arduous, but there is one approach that may help with this- market research. Much like the previous point explains, market research is a brilliant tool to gain insight into your competitors, except in this regard, instead of asking what is or isn’t working among similar devices, this time we ask ‘What is missing?’. Specifically, the goal here is to pinpoint what gaps exist within the market. What niche expectations or desires do customers have that your competitors aren’t realizing? Ultimately, you can incorporate these demands into your product design to assemble compelling products that are truly one-of-a-kind.
3.) Consider your target audience
Your audience can reveal a significant amount of information that can be used to inspire your aesthetic design choices and design language. For example, if your business is looking to sell educational toys for young toddlers to improve their fine motor skills, your product will need to feature design aspects such as eye-catching colors, bold typography, simple mechanisms, and minimal text, as this is typically what performs well in this corner of the market. After all, young kids are usually not drawn to dull colors, extensive wording, or complicated features. This is to say, for a successful product launch that grabs the attention of your target audience, you must craft a specific design language with their interests in mind in order to entice them to make a purchase. Not to mention establishing a unique and consistent design language for your business is an excellent way to increase brand awareness for future launches.
4.) Test your design
Launching a product with defective functionality is almost certain to result in disaster for your business. Think negative reviews, unhappy customers who will most likely avoid making future purchases, damage to your credibility as a business, and a loss of profits. Ultimately, the best way to prevent this outcome is to test your product via prototyping. Prototyping is the stage during the design process in which you may evaluate the usability and performance of a product. Essentially, it’s used to spot errors within a product’s mechanisms so the correct adjustments to the design may be made ahead of time. Of course, if a prototype is found to be functioning as intended, this signals the design is ready to be finalized and launched on a mass scale.
5.) Use high-quality materials
As explained here, there are many ways you can signal to the market that your product is worth purchasing, but a tried and true method is simply allowing the quality to speak for itself. Usually, manufacturing with inferior materials will result in flimsy products. Of course, this does not bode well for a launch as customers frequently take the caliber of a product’s quality into consideration before deciding whether or not to make a purchase. For a successful launch, it is advised to use high-quality materials that will impress end-users with their durability. In doing so, your customers are inclined to feel their purchase guarantees more value than others.
Trust DesignStein Studios to Improve Your Product Launch
Product launches can be stressful, but DesignStein Studios can help. As an industrial design company, we are a team of skilled and experienced designers who know exactly what it takes to craft products specialized to market trends and user needs so your business can have a profitable launch. When you outsource your product development to us, we will handle everything, from market research, designing, prototyping, and a variety of other industrial design services to develop a product you are proud to call your own. This way, you can shift your focus as a business owner to other key aspects that make for a successful launch, like marketing, sales strategy, and other promotional work.
Together, with DesignStein Studios working alongside your team, we can set your business up for an incredible launch with exceptional products to match. If you’re interested in learning more, give us a call at (714) 375-4846 to set up a consultation today.