Fundamentally, a product delivers a set of benefits to a customer, in
order to meet a need. Organisations must strive to fully understand this
process and be certain their product offering best matches not only need,
but also customer expectation.
Product development strategy
There is much debate relating to product development strategies. For
example, how is the term ‘new product’ defined? The reality is that few prod-
ucts are ‘new in the sense of being innovative, unique or novel. Most ‘new’
products are updates and revamp of existing goods and services. Jain (1997)
views new product strategy in terms of three categories (see Figure 10.1).
1 Product improvement/modification: Unless products are to be replaced by
completely new entities, they must be upgraded and enhanced as a mat-
ter of necessity. The process can have two possible aims; (i) maintaining
the competitive position in an existing market and/or (ii) adapting the
product in order to appeal to other market segments. Major changes
may result in the need to reposition product offering within a given
Product development and innovation 215Illustrative Example 10.1 (Continued)
The end of the Second World War saw dramatic expansion for Clarks as they moved into
world markets.
In the early 1950s Nathan Clark introduced what was to become a Clarks classic – the
‘Desert Boot’. Modelled on the simple comfortable boots worn by army officers, the boot had
attitude, and quickly gained popularity.
The 1960s saw a huge success for Clarks children’s shoes as their unique fitting properties
set standards for comfort and fit.
Today the company has global turnover of £921 million and sells almost 41 million pairs of
shoes each year. Clark’s success is founded on a commitment to comfort and performance. This
involves incorporating the latest comfort technology in their footwear. For example, the com-
pany’s ‘Active Air’ system incorporates a network of air chambers in the sole, allowing air to
circulate, provide impact absorption and provide an ‘energy return’ effect with each step.
Source: http://www.clark.co.uk, Accessed 5/2/07.- Product improvement
and modification - Product imitation
- Product innovation Figure 10.1
Product
development
strategy