Starting a Business With An Invention
New Product Image
Written by Samuel Muriithi for Gaebler Ventures
The successful product is commonly one who's planning and development process was well-rounded from the outset. What are the desirable attributes that must be incorporated into this process to ensure that the end product has a winning image?
Effective design is one of the best ways to enhance the image of a new product.
Design can actually prove to be the most critical aspect that prospective customers will consider in making a purchase decision. It is a fact that for many of the products on the market today people will tend to look at the engineering and appearance design effort that has been inputted. Appearance design has proved especially vital in enhancing new product image and subsequently improving the marketability of the same. This can be said over and over for many different products including cars, refrigerators, shoes, mobile phones etc.
The image of a new product is enhanced when the design convinces prospective buyers about the item's ease of use, quality, and durability. For the small enterprise, an effective design will mean reduced production costs and an eased marketing effort.
Product quality is without question one of the ideals on which the image of a new product is founded. The entrepreneur should pay much attention to this attribute since in most cases the subsequent products that he/she introduces will be similarly assessed. The catch with product quality is that it can only be defined at a personal level and that this assessment is heavily influenced by individual tastes. Since it is virtually impossible to satisfy everyone's desires, the entrepreneur can only manage to enhance image by ensuring that the product's quality matches the exact use for which the product is intended.
Modern day customers are increasingly associating a new product image with positivity if they are assured of compensation should the product not live up to realistic expectations. Nowadays you can hardly sell any gadget or home accessory if you cannot provide warranty terms. Manufacturers have been forced to incur heavy expenses as a result of product-liability claims and this threat has been instrumental in forcing them to be more attentive to product quality and warranties. The entrepreneur, even at the small enterprise level, should remain vigilant about these issues especially when product demand starts increasing.
Color is another critical element in creating and enhancing new product image. Without a doubt people will tend to make their selection based on what color the item is regardless of whether it is a car, a shirt, a table or even a handkerchief. While this is true, color can never be a selling advantage by itself. The entrepreneur must however remain attentive to the market demand and know what color of product will be right and when this should be changed if necessary.
Last but not least, the entrepreneur will do much good for new product image if he/she can provide repair services wherever applicable. Ignoring customer dissatisfaction in this regard will certainly prove costlier in the long run.
Samuel Muriithi is a business owner in Nairobi, Kenya. He has extensive international business experience in the United States and India.
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