INSIGHTS

There's a secret to designing and engineering products that last decades.

These days, the life of a product model is something best measured in dog years. With tech companies and auto makers conditioning us to expect new designs on a yearly cadence it's rare to see a one outlive a jar of peanut butter. For just a moment, see if you can remember a single electronic product that has been available and unchanged for 20 years. It’s not easy.

There’s always been pressure on research and development (R&D) to deliver quickly. But in a post-pandemic world, accelerated demand leaves even the most innovative companies scrambling to keep up.

During the first waves of the pandemic, organizations did what they could to get through the initial disruption and keep operations going. Now that things have stabilized, business leaders are looking to make changes that strengthen their supply chain, improve customer satisfaction and have a positive impact on their bottom line.

While offshoring was once seen as a key factor in staying competitive, the rising risks have businesses of all sizes thinking about moving their operations back to the United States.

Wearable devices have become all the rage in recent years, with 100 million more devices shipped in 2018 than 2014.  As technology companies seek to create devices beyond the smartphone, wearables show promise as a robust transitional option. These devices, such as watches, rings, and smart earbuds attempt to make tasks more convenient, while maintaining a connection to a smartphone.  Developing a wearable device can be more difficult than developing a smartphone, as space must be more optimized, and the design must be attractive to a wide audience. A wearable should have the ability to perform as a form of attire, telling others something about yourself.

It is undeniable that strong, consistent visual brand language is an important marketing tool.  If we take a moment to consider the companies and products that most resonate with us as consumers, visual messaging is undoubtedly a key player in creating an image and an identity around a particular product that makes us want to buy it.  The power of strong visual impact and brand identity is such that it can make us choose the branded product over the no-name product, even though both products may have been made by the same manufacturer and contain exactly the same ingredients.

Today, digital technology provides customers unprecedented access to information, and this has shaped their demands and expectations.  There’s no doubt about it - the customer is in charge. Customers want - and have access to - an incredible amount of options when they are considering a purchase.  Companies that once held a monopoly on their market are now faced with multiple competitors, each vying for the attention of the same customer. This places a great onus on companies to distinguish themselves from competitors, pursue customer loyalty through connectivity, and find ways to continue connecting with new and existing customers.

Augmented reality has come a long way since its earliest iterations in the 1960s when American inventor Morton Heilig patented his “Sensorama”, an interactive theatre experience that allowed viewers to examine stereoscopic images from different angles. Today, with thousands of companies turning to AR technologies to help them make better products faster, the future looks bright for this technology and the ones who can leverage it most effectively.  As augmented and virtual reality technology becomes more affordable and accessible, the implications for product developers are becoming increasingly exciting.

Gathering new customers is an expensive process and can cost companies up to 25 times more than it costs them to retain existing customers. With the key objective being customer retention, voice of the customer (VOC) research is a proven method for capturing customer data at every key point in the unique buying journey, and then using it to secure customer loyalty by constructing a better overall experience. Among other things, VOC research can help companies tailor and tweak their products and services, identify customer pain points and areas of friction in their buying journey, and minimize risk during new product development by accurately evaluating the viability of new products or ideas.

The ultimate goal of VOC research is to compile a detailed list of the needs and wants of the target customer.  Gathering it requires both qualitative and quantitative measures. The key questions at hand go beyond simply asking customers what they want, but gathering real-time customer experiences and assessing needs and wants from there.  While there are many pitfalls and areas of misunderstanding around what VOC research is and how best to gather it, several key objectives and methods can help provide a solid blueprint.

510(k) is the FDA’s clearance pathway for introducing new low to moderate risk medical devices to market. On November 26th, the FDA proposed sweeping updates to this process.  So, what are these changes and why is this good news for new product developers?

In the age of crowdfunding platforms and mainstream venture capital (popularized by television shows like Shark Tank), innovative thinkers have more opportunity than ever before to receive support for their ideas.