There are various facets to consider when developing a product, including market analysis, product management, and idea testing. In this guide, we will cover everything you need to know about the Shopify development process and strategies for improving the development process to help you realize your vision.
Shopify is an excellent e-commerce platform for business development. It has more than one million active online stores and is simple to set up for new business owners. However, it would be best if you executed your product development and marketing strategies to observe ROI results.
Developing a product without a product plan is similar to navigating without a map. There is a chance you will triumph, but it is not very high. This is why product strategies are essential: instead of relying solely on your intuition during product development, you have a solid road map to follow.
Table of Contents
What is Product Development?
Product development contains the entire process of bringing a product to market. It also includes refreshing an existing product and introducing an older product to a new market. This includes identifying market requirements, conceptualizing the product, making the product roadmap, launching the product, and gathering feedback.
Product design is fundamentally concerned with new product development (NPD). The procedure continues until the end of the product’s life cycle. You can continue accumulating user feedback and refine new versions by adding or enhancing features.
A single department or person does not handle product development. In any organization, whether a startup or an established corporation, product development connects all departments, including design, engineering, manufacturing, marketing of products, UI/UX, and others.
Each group is integral in defining, designing, developing, testing, and delivering the product. As you will see in this guide, the complexity of the product development process increases the importance of product management.
7 Steps of The New Product Development Process
New product development (NPD) introduces an original concept to the marketplace. Agile software development principles can also greatly benefit the innovation process.
Although the product development process varies by industry, it generally consists of seven stages: ideation, research, planning, prototyping, procurement, pricing, and commercialization. Utilize the following Shopify Development framework to introduce your product concept to the market.
1. Idea Generation
Many people who want to start their own business get stuck in the first step, which is coming up with ideas. Most of the time, this is because they are looking for an influx of inspiration to show them the best Shopify Development product to sell. Building something “new” from the ground up can be artistically satisfying, but many of the best ideas come from changing something already out there.
In the Shopify Development process, people develop ideas for new products. If you’re starting a business and want to make a new product from scratch, you might think about where the market is lacking. What problems are customers having that goods on the market don’t solve?
If you already have a successful business, think about what additional products or services your present customers would like. Insights from business analysis can also be utilized to comprehend market opportunities better.
2. Market Research
If you have an idea for a product, you should go straight to production, but that could be a mistake if you don’t test your idea first.
Product validation ensures that you create a Shopify Development product that people are willing to pay for and that you are not wasting time, money, and resources on an unprofitable concept. There are numerous methods for validating product concepts, including:
- Sharing your idea with your target audience through online forums, etc.
- Distributing an online survey for feedback
- Launching a crowdfunding effort
- Test marketing is when you show your idea to a small group of people in your target market to get their first thoughts.
- Using Google Trends to find out what people want
- Putting out a product launch plan to determine how much interest there is through email sign-ups or pre-orders.
- Requesting primary feedback on platforms such as Reddit.
Whatever method you pick to validate your idea, obtaining input from a large and unbiased audience on whether they would buy your product is critical. Be careful of overvaluing feedback from people who “definitely would buy” your hypothetical product; until money changes hands, a person cannot be considered a customer. Only seek advice from family and friends if they also have relevant experience.
A feasibility study or assessment should be conducted to determine whether your planned project is financially viable. Product validation ensures that you are developing a Shopify Development product that customers will pay for.
Validation research will invariably include a competitive analysis. If your idea or specialty has the potential to gain market share, there are certainly competitors already working in that field.
Visiting your competitors’ websites and subscribing to their email lists will enable you to comprehend how they attract customers and generate revenue.
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3. Planning
Since product development can get complicated quickly, it’s essential to take the time to plan before you start building your prototype. Having a clear Shopify Development product plan can be helpful.
If you need a concrete concept of your product’s design and function before approaching manufacturers or searching for materials, it’s easy to get lost in the subsequent steps. A hand-drawn sketch of the product’s appearance is the best way to begin planning. The drawing should be comprehensive, with labels describing the various features and functions.
You don’t need a professional drawing since you’re not sending it to a manufacturer. If you need more clarification, you can draw a clear diagram, hire an illustrator on Dribbble and UpWork, etc.
Use your diagram to identify the materials and components needed to build the product. The list doesn’t include all possible features, but it should help you plan what you’ll need to make the product.
4. Prototyping
During the Shopify Development process, the goal of the testing phase is to make a finished product that can be used as a sample for mass production. You will likely arrive at your final product in a single endeavor; prototyping typically entails experimenting with multiple iterations of your product, gradually eliminating options, and making improvements until you are satisfied with a final sample. A minimum viable product is an excellent standard to uphold.
Prototyping also varies by product type. Food recipes and several cosmetic goods can be prototyped at little cost. You can perform your prototyping if you’re skilled in fashion, ceramics, design, or other verticals.
Entrepreneurs usually prototype their products with third parties. This usually means working in fashion and apparel with a local sewist, cobbler, or pattern maker. Google local industry services to find these services.
There are also art, design, and fashion schools in most big towns where people can learn these skills. Administrators of these university or college programs can give you access to their private job board, where you can request prototyping help.
5. Sourcing
Once you have a good product prototype, it is time to begin amassing the materials and securing the necessary partners for production. You construct your supply chain by assembling vendors, activities, and resources required to create and deliver a product to consumers. Project administration is essential during this phase of Shopify Development product.
While this step mainly includes locating manufacturers or suppliers, you may also consider storage, shipping, and warehousing. When searching for suppliers, there are numerous online and offline resources available. Although it may seem outdated, many business proprietors attend sourcing-focused trade shows.
Trade shows in Las Vegas offer the opportunity to meet hundreds of vendors at once, to see, touch, and discuss materials, and to develop personal relationships with suppliers, which can be helpful when negotiating pricing. You must decide whether to manufacture your goods locally or abroad during sourcing. Both solutions have pros and cons, so compare them.
One option is to shop on Alibaba, which is rapidly becoming the go-to site for sourcing products made abroad. Alibaba is a platform where manufacturers and wholesalers from China can post their products for sale.
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6. Costing
After completing research, planning, prototyping, and procurement, you should have a clearer picture of your product’s production costs. Costing is a step in business analysis in which all previously collected data is used to calculate the cost of goods sold (COGS) to establish a retail price and gross margin.
Create a spreadsheet with each additional expense listed as a separate line item. This should include all raw materials, factory preparation, manufacturing, and shipping costs. Shipping, import taxes, and any duties you will need to pay to get your final product into the hands of the client must all be considered since these fees can significantly influence your COGS, depending on where you produce the product.
In sourcing, obtain multiple quotes for materials or manufacturers to compare prices across different line items. You could also make a second version of the worksheet to compare production in your country with production in other countries.
7. Commercialization
You now have a profitable and successful product suitable for the global market. This methodology concludes with the introduction of the product to the market. At this stage, a product development team will give over control of a product launch to marketing.
Don’t worry if you can’t afford costly advertisements. You can still execute a successful go-to-market strategy if you employ the following strategies:
- Distributing pre-launch emails to customers.
- Implementing an Affiliate Marketing Strategy with Key Opinion Leaders.
- Inclusion of your product in gift guides.
- Enable Instagram Shopping.
- Administer Chat Marketing campaigns.
- Obtain feedback from early consumers.
Conclusion: Shopify Development Strategies Unveiled
The development process differs for each product, and businesses must consider their unique traits when creating something new.
If you struggle to figure everything out, remember that every product that arrived before yours faced the same obstacles. There are many moving elements, from product management to prototyping to marketing your product to the world. Following these steps as you create your product can break the enormous task of bringing a new product to market into smaller, easier-to-handle steps.
You can ensure a successful final product regardless of your development by conducting the necessary research, planning, prototyping, procurement, and cost estimation.
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