10 top tips for how APAC manufacturers can generate new product ideas

New products and services are the lifeblood of any business.   Without innovation and creativity, buyers can soon become bored and tired of what your company is offering.   OEM manufacturers feel this point most acutely.  A good new product to offer your buyer can be a deal clincher and can set you apart from the competition.  It increases your footfall at trade shows and demonstrates unquestionably that you have your finger on the pulse and a vision for the future.  Buyers will be left wanting more.  But innovation and coming up with new product ideas is not easy.  Far from it.  Often manufacturers become paralysed, unable to move forward.  They simply regurgitate what has gone before, so how can you keep generating good new product ideas?  Here are my top tips:

1. Create an idea generation culture

Firstly, a company wide culture of innovation needs to be established that is characterised by open non-judgemental discussion amongst staff and customers alike.  Discussions should happen in formal new product development meetings but also take place less informally and involve everyone in the organisation.    

2. Ask buyers the right questions 

Buyers are a mountain of information.  Very often they will have already had product development meetings with their teams prior to sharing their requirements.  They respond best to physical samples whether that be at a trade show, delivered to their door by a courier or at an individual face-to-face meeting.  Once existing samples are placed in the hands of buyers, the objective, aside from selling, is to gain as many ideas as possible to funnel back into the new product development process.  Some simple questions that can be asked are as follows:

• What do you like about this item?

• What do you dislike about this item?

• If you could change one thing about it, what would it be and why?

• Do you think it is too big/small?

• What do you think about its functionality?

• Would your customers buy it?  Why or why not?

• Are you looking for any particular products to complement your range at the moment?

• What are your best selling products at the moment?

• What do you think will be the products of the future?

• What is missing on the market at the moment?

• We are thinking of developing an X.  What do you think?

• What's the best new product you've seen in our industry in the last few months?

3. Try to view your products and ideas through end user eyes

Ultimately, we manufacture for the end user as opposed to our buyers. It is therefore critical from the outset to provide products that meet the needs of the end user. If they don't, they won't sell.  Very often, how we communicate with end users and the questions we ask them to gain ideas is slightly different to those we ask our buyers.  Questions that end users can be asked to generate new ideas are as follows:

• Are there any particular products that you are looking for? 

• Are there any problems that you have that are not solved adequately by current products on the market?   

• What are those problems?  

• How do you think they can be solved?  

• What would your family and friends think of this product?

4. Document ideas no matter how trivial they may seem

New ideas come and go like dreams.  One minute they are vivid and clear in your mind, the next they are gone.  As individuals, we should carry notebooks or have a designated file on our computers or smartphones that we use to write down ideas as they come to us.  Group meetings should also be documented or recorded.

5. Know your industry and products inside out

We've all heard the old adage  "experience makes fools wise".  In no job function is this more true than product development.  Read as many articles about your product field as you possibly can.  Visit as many trade shows as you can.  Visit retailers to see how your products are being sold and who is buying them.  Speak to as many customers as you can.  Listen to podcasts.  Watch television programs.  Surf the internet for hours researching your industry.  

The greater the breadth and depth of your knowledge, the easier the idea generation process becomes.  By knowing what is already on the market, you will begin to see the gaps.

6. Favour quantity of ideas

Considering most new ideas fail to get off the drawing board and may not be seen through to completion for a variety of reasons, it is critical that the emphasis is on the quantity of ideas generated.  The greater the idea pool, the greater the chances of success.  

7. Revisit discontinued products from the past

Can they be modified in some way or improved to utilise technology that wasn't in existence when first released?

8. Realise that Ideas snowball.

One idea leads to another!  Once someone has put forward an idea, others are able to add, suggest and contribute.   

9. Unleash the power of the individual

Whilst it is true that idea generation is a team effort, the power of the individual should never be overlooked.  Prior to idea brainstorming sessions, individuals should spend time privately thinking, remembering that new ideas usually present themselves when the mind is completely relaxed and they are least expected.

10.  Remember. Every idea is a good idea!

Remember even the most ridiculous ideas serve a function - to spark discussion.  That can only be a good thing.