Managing New Products

A company can add new products through acquisition (buying another firm, buying patents from other firms, licensing or franchising from another firm) or organically through development from within (in its own laboratories, contracting with independent researchers, or hiring a new-product development firm)

New products range from new-to-the-world items that create an entirely new market to minor improvements or revisions of existing products. 

Most new-product activity is devoted to improving existing products. In contrast, new-to-the-world products incur the greatest cost and risk. And while radical innovations can hurt the company’s bottom line in the short run, if they succeed they can improve the corporate image, create a greater sustainable competitive advantage than ordinary products, and produce significant rewards.

The Ansoff Matrix

The Ansoff Matrix, also called the Product/Market Expansion Grid, is a tool used by firms to analyze and plan their strategies for growth. The matrix shows four strategies that can be used to help a firm grow and also analyzes the risk associated with each strategy.

en_GBEnglish