19 DECEMBER2021Additionally, a consult with the Agile Development team or a SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Op-portunities, and Threats) would help, as zeroing in on an idea that is not technically feasible to build, will eventu-ally lead to disappointment and failure.CONCEPT DEVELOPMENT AND TESTINGOnce the idea is thoroughly vetted and approved, the next crucial step is to build a detailed version of the idea in alignment with the user stories. Creating an insight-ful picture of the product from the user's perspective, conducting competitor analysis, and enlisting all the major features of the product, can help create a value proposition conversation for the users along with con-cept testing. This form of value proposition evaluation is one of the foundations of concept development and testing, which will ensure that any challenges, or prob-lems in the idea will be discovered at an early stage, and can be course-corrected immediately, saving time and resources. MARKET STRATEGY/BUSINESS ANALYSISThe best and most straightforward approach for build-ing an effective marketing strategy is to follow McCar-thy's 4Ps of marketing (i.e., product, price, promotion, and placement) while developing a new product. While cre-ating a cost-based pricing model, one must consider the price above market, copy market, and price below mar-ket, so as to come up with final market-focused pricing for the product.SEAMLESS PRODUCT DEVELOPMENTOnce the ideation, analysis and business strategy are in place, it is time to move on to the actual product devel-opment cycle. With a clear focus on building aesthetic UI/UX for the product, one needs to visualize how the product will look and whether it complies with ergo-nomics' best practices, is in alignment with the user stories, and has features that can make it stand apart from the rest of the competition. FOLLOWING STRICT MARKET TESTINGOnce the product development is complete, it is time for careful and strategic market testing, which needs to focus on reducing the uncertainty revolving around the success of the software product. The same can be achieved by checking the viability of the new product and its marketing campaign, through two powerful tech-niques: · Alpha Testing: This is generally done by in-house engineers, deployed to judge the product based on its performance. Additionally, the marketing mix results are mapped with the product, and analysed based on its performance, allowing for last minute improvements or modifications, before the final go-ahead.· Beta Testing: This generally involves testing the product with specific target groups of customers, who can then share their unbiased feedback of the product. Essentially, this is more about listening to the voice-of-customers, and including their feed-back as the vital aspect of product development.MARKET ENTRY/COMMERCIALIZATIONCommercialization of the final product after a complete and successful testing, entails various aspects that need to be considered for a successful market launch. These include a perfectly coordinated approach to production, distribution, sales, marketing, and customer support. An effectively coordinated effort that addresses all of the above, can help strengthen the product-market. Additionally, an effective marketing strategy that can further strengthen the brand voice, visibility and customer delight, can drive the success and accelerated adoption by the market. Endnote: Ensuring the above steps are well imple-mented in product development cycle helps not only in checking the technical feasibility of the idea but also en-sures faster time to market while effectively addressing the customer needs. In additional to this, it also multi-plies the chances of success, reducing technical debts and offering better management of the production cycle and negates the opportunity cost. THE BEST AND MOST STRAIGHTFORWARD APPROACH FOR BUILDING AN EFFECTIVE MARKETING STRATEGY IS TO FOLLOW MCCARTHY'S 4PS OF MARKETING (I.E., PRODUCT, PRICE, PROMOTION, AND PLACEMENT) WHILE DEVELOPING A NEW PRODUCT
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