Idea Generation - The idea generation is from personal frustration. I know that this may sound odd, but I like to mow my own lawn. It is my time away from the television, phone, computer, and so on. It gives me time to just simply do "nothing more than I need to."
Idea Screening - I feel that the idea will work just fine, a switch will control if the kill switch is on or off. The product already has a name for itself, this just adds an alternative option. The concept test would not really need to be done. I feel this way because people already want to or disable the current kill switch option, but when individuals do so, it is not something that can be changed from on to off easily.
Development - I think that the development of an on off switch would be very simple to anyone who works with wires and a power source on a regular basis. Anyone who wires the rest of the lawn mower should be capable of wiring an on off switch that would work similar to that of a light switch or ignition, with the general idea of "on and off."
The Test Marketing level could be skipped over because people already like this option, and create their own, but it is not anything that is pre-done or well thought out.
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Mowing Non-Stop
Just today my husband bought a new John Deere riding lawn mower. I am a "light" woman. On a good day, if I eat rocks for breakfast, I might find myself at 100 lbs. Tonight, I tried to operate our new lawn mower. My husband and a friend of his, along with our children, all had a good laugh at my expense. I obviously did not have enough weight on the seat of our mower to keep the mower running. Therefore, each time I hit a bump, the mower would make a noise that sounded similar to it starting to die or turn off. This leads to my idea of a new product being needed for all riding lawn mowers to have a switch to turn the kill switch located under the mower seat on or off as needed. (I know that this is a safety precaution, but it also interferes with the operation process in some cases.)
1. What is the likely demand for the product?
I feel that the demand will be great enough to make it worth while. I know that there are many people who chose to disengage the kill switch on their own. By creating a legit product or alternate option, we would be able to have the kill switch turned on and off as needed without having the possibility of interfering with any other safety issues.
2. What impact would the new product probably have on sales, profits, market share, and return on investment?
The option to have a switch to turn the kill option turned on or off would be an advantage on a lawn mower and could help to motivate sales for models that have this option. I believe that the option allows for people to still have safety features, but allows buyers to have the opportunity to control when they need to use the option and when they don't. The profits would remain similar to what they currently are, but more people may chose to purchase this type of mower because of the added option. I think that the market shares would be maintained with a slight chance to increase due to this added option. The ROI would hopefully see an increase immediately due to the demand that would be created for this product. Overall, having another option, that will give the operator more freedom, has potential to create a new demand.
3. How would the introduction of the product affect existing products? Would the new product cannibalize existing products?
I think the new product/options would have little affect on the existing products. The product/option would offer a new alternative to the way the lawn mower can be operated. The new product will merely be a competitor to the existing models.
4. Would current customers benefit from the product?
I think that current customers would benefit by purchasing a newer model with this option. They would have the opportunity to have more control over the machine that they would operate, leading to a user-friendly lawn mowing experience. It will also give them more options to look at when deciding what model to purchase. It could be the deciding factor that makes a new buyer choose the product.
5. Would the product enhance the image of the company's overall product mix?
I think that the overall image would remain similar, the advantage of this is that the lawn mower manufacturers already have a reputable name, this would give them another selling point. It would be an improvement to an already good product.
6. Would the new product affect current employees in any way? Would it lead to increasing or reducing the size of the workforce?
I think that it would affect employees because the manufacturers would have another task to do. They would need to assemble one more option and also know how to repair the new option. This would keep the workload similar to what it is now because products and options are always changing and with change comes acceptance to learn new things or methods.
7. What new facilities, if any, would be needed?
The facilities would be fine the way they currently are.
8. How might competitors respond?
I think that competitors would want to create a similar option so that they could have an equally demanded product. I think that some competitors would create a method similar, but different enough to catch the attention of potential buyers. All of the mower manufacturers would want to have the easiest method available for the buyer so that they seem more user friendly.
9. What is the risk of failure? Is the company willing to take the risk?
I think the risk is low because the overall product remains the same, but it now has an added option. The cost should be fairly low to install this switch, but it is an option that may be able to raise the products overall cost slightly enough to still get a small profit.
In my personal case, a John Deere tractor already has "the right name." However, there are a few things that another mower could offer that would convince me to purchase a different model. With a switch being a small cost to install, the overall total price difference might be only $50-$60.00, and the cost to include this switch might only be $20.00 (just a guesstimated example). By raising the price enough to make a profit, and still giving the buyer an added option, both the mower company and the buyer are feeling as though they are "winning." Each gets something they want without much of a cost difference. (Mower company gets a profit. Buyer gets another option.)I think that if John Deere had this option available they would be able to sell a product almost identical to one they already have, but be able to increase the profit, without having much added cost on their end to supply this new option.
1. What is the likely demand for the product?
I feel that the demand will be great enough to make it worth while. I know that there are many people who chose to disengage the kill switch on their own. By creating a legit product or alternate option, we would be able to have the kill switch turned on and off as needed without having the possibility of interfering with any other safety issues.
2. What impact would the new product probably have on sales, profits, market share, and return on investment?
The option to have a switch to turn the kill option turned on or off would be an advantage on a lawn mower and could help to motivate sales for models that have this option. I believe that the option allows for people to still have safety features, but allows buyers to have the opportunity to control when they need to use the option and when they don't. The profits would remain similar to what they currently are, but more people may chose to purchase this type of mower because of the added option. I think that the market shares would be maintained with a slight chance to increase due to this added option. The ROI would hopefully see an increase immediately due to the demand that would be created for this product. Overall, having another option, that will give the operator more freedom, has potential to create a new demand.
3. How would the introduction of the product affect existing products? Would the new product cannibalize existing products?
I think the new product/options would have little affect on the existing products. The product/option would offer a new alternative to the way the lawn mower can be operated. The new product will merely be a competitor to the existing models.
4. Would current customers benefit from the product?
I think that current customers would benefit by purchasing a newer model with this option. They would have the opportunity to have more control over the machine that they would operate, leading to a user-friendly lawn mowing experience. It will also give them more options to look at when deciding what model to purchase. It could be the deciding factor that makes a new buyer choose the product.
5. Would the product enhance the image of the company's overall product mix?
I think that the overall image would remain similar, the advantage of this is that the lawn mower manufacturers already have a reputable name, this would give them another selling point. It would be an improvement to an already good product.
6. Would the new product affect current employees in any way? Would it lead to increasing or reducing the size of the workforce?
I think that it would affect employees because the manufacturers would have another task to do. They would need to assemble one more option and also know how to repair the new option. This would keep the workload similar to what it is now because products and options are always changing and with change comes acceptance to learn new things or methods.
7. What new facilities, if any, would be needed?
The facilities would be fine the way they currently are.
8. How might competitors respond?
I think that competitors would want to create a similar option so that they could have an equally demanded product. I think that some competitors would create a method similar, but different enough to catch the attention of potential buyers. All of the mower manufacturers would want to have the easiest method available for the buyer so that they seem more user friendly.
9. What is the risk of failure? Is the company willing to take the risk?
I think the risk is low because the overall product remains the same, but it now has an added option. The cost should be fairly low to install this switch, but it is an option that may be able to raise the products overall cost slightly enough to still get a small profit.
In my personal case, a John Deere tractor already has "the right name." However, there are a few things that another mower could offer that would convince me to purchase a different model. With a switch being a small cost to install, the overall total price difference might be only $50-$60.00, and the cost to include this switch might only be $20.00 (just a guesstimated example). By raising the price enough to make a profit, and still giving the buyer an added option, both the mower company and the buyer are feeling as though they are "winning." Each gets something they want without much of a cost difference. (Mower company gets a profit. Buyer gets another option.)I think that if John Deere had this option available they would be able to sell a product almost identical to one they already have, but be able to increase the profit, without having much added cost on their end to supply this new option.
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