Product planning

Product Planning, or product discovery, is the ongoing process of identifying and articulating market requirements that define a product's feature set. It serves as the basis for decision-making about price, distribution and promotion. Product planning is also the means by which companies and businesses can respond to long-term challenges within the business environment, often achieved by managing the product throughout its life cycle using various marketing strategies, including product extensions or improvements, increased distribution, price changes and promotions. It involves understanding the needs and wants of core customer groups so products can target key customer desires and allows a firm to predict how a product will be received within a market upon launch. In the product concept phase, managers generate ideas for new products by identifying certain problems that consumers face or various customers needs. For example, a small computer retailer may see the need to create a computer repair division for the products it sells. After idea conception, managers may plan the dimensions and features of the product and develop a trial product. The next step is engaging in a competitor analysis. Secondary research usually provides details on key competitors and their market share, which is the percent of total sales that they hold in the marketplace. The business can then determine places in which it has an advantage over the competition to identify areas of opportunity. Market research is one stage of product planning and is regarded as the way to accomplish the activity though designing questions, preparing the samples, collecting data and analysing them. It provides significant insight into customers wants, needs, buying habits and behaviours and is a key tool used in the product planning process. For example, customer satisfaction information can be obtained through surveys and market research. The process consists of 4 components: definition, collection, analysis and interpretation.