Customer feedback is one of the big pillars of a business. Previously customers used to collect feedback from their customers either through interviews or surveys. This too, was usually done after a product launch to gauge the sentiments of the target market. Not only was the whole process expensive, but it also didn’t give the desired results. They are quick but don’t show how people behave in real life.
Product testing, on the other hand, requires some time from customers but shows how people interact with your product or service. In the modern era, with the advancements of 3D printing technology, prototyping has completely revolutionized how companies launch products.
Big corporations were the first to benefit from fast prototype testing. It enabled them to validate assumptions, get early feedback, and build consensus on ideas. But what if you’re leading a small team? Does this mean prototyping is a no-go for your team? Not at all! If you’re a small business owner and are constrained by time and budget to test the features of your product or service before release, then fast prototype testing offers a great solution. Here are some reasons why small teams should still consider prototyping.
What Does Fast Prototyping Involve?
Fast prototype testing involves the development of prototypes of products and testing them with potential customers to gauge if they meet their needs. Ideally, businesses should create multiple versions of the prototype so that they can gauge which one product with different combinations works best. This helps to get an in-depth insight into the designs that work best with consumers. The greater the variations tested in this stage, the greater the probability of success. The process can take any time, from a single day to a weekend or even more, depending on the scope of the project.
It Can Save Time, Money, and Sanity
To survive and thrive in this market, you need to look at the market from the lens of the customer. One of the most critical aspects of operating a successful business is ensuring your product matches the expectations of your customers. This can be a challenging process, especially if you have a small budget. Fortunately, small businesses with rapid prototyping small businesses can test their products before they launch them onto the market
With rapid prototyping, small companies can test their ideas with potential customers before they invest their money into that idea. It also helps the engineers and management see the financial viability of a project. For example, NASA pumped millions of dollars into its Challenger program that ended in catastrophe and all too because of a single O-ring seal. Small companies don’t have deep pockets, and prototyping can save companies thousands of dollars in time and resources from being wasted.
Fast prototyping also helps companies avoid building products that nobody has a demand for. This helps avoid the re-engineering of features that might have been feasible before but, due to time, have become not feasible anymore.
Helps to Get First Movers Advantage
When you are on the verge of creating something brilliant that’s disruptive, it will attract the attention of copycats. By launching the product faster through rapid prototyping, you can write out expensive mistakes and get first movers advantage. By getting customer input early in the process rather than after months of development, work has been done, and significant investment has been made in its development.
Helps to Get Stakeholders Involved
To get buy-in from stakeholders, you need to show them how something works — not just tell them. Visual representations of ideas are far more powerful and help people to understand how something will work without having to read through pages of text or watch hours of video tutorials as people don’t have the time to do so. This helps explain complex concepts in a way that makes sense to everyone.
Improves Communication
As a small team, it can be hard for entrepreneurs and managers to get internal feedback on various projects. When you’re working on a small team, it’s hard to ensure that everyone is in full synergy. People might be working on different parts of the project at the same time, or maybe you’re not even in the same country.
Many of us have learned that the best way to get feedback on a project is to release it in a controlled environment and see what other engineers think.
To avoid any issues with communication, it’s critical to gauge ideas through prototyping as early as possible. This helps make the vision for the product crystal clear for everyone involved. This way, if there are any issues or bugs in your project, they can be corrected before they develop into major issues. Feedback from employees involved in the project can also boost their motivation levels and help them become more involved in the project. They will also want to share ideas on how to improve the products.
Affordable Rapid Prototyping Services in the Bay Area
Prototyping helps small businesses test an idea before going all out on its development. This helps businesses understand what their target market wants from their products.
At Connekt, LLC, we help businesses save their time and energy in developing products. Our team has an excellent record of delivering top-notch prototypes that help our clients improve their products drastically. Our team handholds small businesses throughout the process and, after understanding their requirements in great detail, delivers the exact prototype they want.
Because of our customer-first approach, they are our biggest source of marketing. Read what they have to say here. We are fortunate to work with companies in diverse industries and offer state-of-the-art design solutions, including rapid prototyping, CNC machining services, and 3D printing in Northern California, including the Bay Area. See our portfolio of work here.
Reach out to us today to get started.
