Innovation And Technology Product Development Process For Entrepreneurs

The formation of new enterprises and the closure of less productive firms are important factors that increase the dynamism of modern economies. When new companies employ resources for new activities and achieve rapid growth in parallel with business going well, they can create many new job opportunities and grow faster by working more effectively than companies already existing in the market by using their entrepreneurship and innovation skills.

At this point, establishing a well-functioning business environment depends on the rapid growth of young and innovative companies. These new companies must have an innovation advantage to survive in sectors requiring high technology where competitive pressure is felt intensely.

These companies have to follow technological advances while trying to keep up with the global competitive environment; They develop new production methods, new organization and marketing techniques, new processes, and new products.

One of the most important actors that enable these changes to occur in companies is undoubtedly entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurs who follow the developments in technology and set out with the motives we know, take action by taking risks to seize an opportunity. Entrepreneurs ensure dynamism in the economy by developing innovative products and processes.

On the other hand, companies achieve significant gains through R&D expenditures, which are of great importance for revealing innovative activities.

These gains return as an added value to the country where the companies are located and their resources are transferred. While companies carry out these activities; They receive support from social networks, universities, competitors, and research and development organizations.

What Is Innovation And Product Development For Entrepreneurs? 

The concept of innovation is often used together with or instead of the concept of product development. This word, which expresses the creation of new ideas, products, or services or the development of existing products and services to make them more efficient and functional, has an important place in today’s business world.

Determining innovative approaches, especially when stepping into a new venture, is one of the cornerstones of the path to success. Creativity, risk, change, competitive advantage, and sustainability are the five basic characteristics of innovation.

How To Develop Customer-Centric Product Development Approaches?

Many different approaches can be taken when creating or improving a new product. Determining the right approaches ensures that the product or service is more easily adopted by the customer.

Adopting customer-oriented approaches during service and product development gives the enterprise an innovative perspective. Customer-oriented development of products or services can be explained as involving customers in the development process. 

When the customer identifies with the relevant product and feels that the brand values him/her, it makes the product easier to hold on to. Therefore, it is always recommended to put the customer at the center and take steps in this direction.

Importance Of Prototyping And Testing For Entrepreneurs

When developing a new product, producing a sample model in the early stages is defined as prototyping. Prototypes can be prepared for different purposes and provide various advantages to the startup.

These advantages can be briefly listed as follows:

Functionality Testing: Prototypes play an important role in testing the functions of the product to be produced in the early stages and correcting any errors. In addition to functionality, it also offers the opportunity to evaluate it from an aesthetic perspective.

Communication and Promotion: Prototypes also help to better explain the product to investors and customers. Providing information about the product through presentations or promotional files can provide a certain amount of insight. But prototypes are more convincing. With these aspects, it can be said that prototypes are a communication and marketing tool.

Development Potentials: Without a product prototype, it is often not possible to detect deficiencies or see improvements that can make the product more functional. Thinking about a prototype often contributes to the emergence of more creative ideas.

Evaluating And Improving Feedback

Product development is often not the final stage for the product. After the product is released, several improvements need to be made. Customer/user feedback guides the improvement process.

Taking into account feedback from individuals who use the product and improving the product in line with common complaints or requests further increases its retention potential.

To receive good customer feedback, it is necessary to create a strong communication strategy and create environments where customers can interact. Social media or user satisfaction surveys are the best options to get customer feedback. Additionally, making improvements in line with customer feedback makes customers feel more valuable. This supports the formation of brand loyalty in the medium and long term.

Entrepreneurship And Innovation – Product Development Stories

Innovation and entrepreneurial activity are among the most important dynamics of long-term economic growth. Generally, entrepreneurs commercialize innovative new products and processes, and thus entrepreneurial activities bring dynamism to the economy.

For example, the U.S. economy has benefited greatly from high levels of entrepreneurial activity that have led to innovations in products and processes. Companies such as Cisco Systems, Dell Computer Corporation, Microsoft, and Oracle were founded by entrepreneurial individuals who wanted to keep up with the developments in technology.

These companies have provided significant added value to the economy by commercializing innovations in products and processes. According to experts on this subject, in the formation of new initiatives; Although economic conditions, social networks, marketing, entrepreneurship teams, and financial and public institutions’ assistance are important, these factors alone are not sufficient.

In this process, entrepreneurs step in and evaluate new business opportunities and innovation processes by bringing these factors together and engaging in new initiatives.

What enables this is the entrepreneurial vision. The entrepreneurial vision is an indication of what the organization aims to achieve in the future. Beyond identifying opportunities, the visionary entrepreneur envisions changes in the economic environment in which he operates to create opportunities.

The entrepreneur’s actions directly affect firm performance. These actions; can be listed as social interaction, resource management and organization, development, evaluation, and dissemination of ideas.

See you in the next post,

Anil UZUN