Innovation and new product development is the main driving force behind any type of business all over the world. Implementation of completely novel concepts and technologies helps companies efficiently gain and grow competitive advantages in the market.
The timely introduction of innovative power products, however, depends not only on how fast you make business decisions. The ultimate success of your innovation is also bound to constant contact with today’s consumers. The main trick is to get to the bottom of their interests and concepts of global modern market tendencies and trends.
Nevertheless, many companies out there still won’t realize that the introduction of something “revolutionary” isn’t a toggle switch that can be easily flicked at any moment. It is a lengthy strategic process.
According to reports by Forbes, almost half of the companies included in the current Fortune 500 rating are expected to lose their rates of introducing successful innovative products over the next ten years. Their perspectives will simply become obsolete due to their inability to keep a hand on the global consumer pulse.
The 10 Most Innovative Gadgets of the Past Decade
Revolutionary changes are not only a constant engine of progress and a great source of profit for far-sighted companies. Above all, some of the best new innovative products change people's lives for the better.
The success of many was rapid, while others took considerable time to implement their ideas. In any case, the following global innovative products have changed and enriched the lives of consumers all over the planet with new opportunities.
Tesla Roadster
The importance of this innovation is hard to overestimate - it made the entire automotive industry realize that the electric car is a mature and practical technology ready for mass production. Surely, it took a long process to build a roadster capable of making more than 200 miles on a single charge.
But the resulting impact eventually reached the world's leading manufacturers (Nissan, Audi, BMW, Lexus, Honda, etc.) that launched the production of ecological versions of their cars. All in all, the world-renowned providers started focusing more on innovations and eco-friendly approaches, contributing to making the world a better place all-around.
HTC Dream
One of the pioneering innovative mobility products that challenged the ridiculously popular on the market Apple productions. The initial practical implementation of open-source Android OS clearly made iOS lose lots of numbers and positions. And the trend hasn’t really ceased - up to date, the vast majority of global mobile providers (e.g., Sony, Samsung, Nokia, etc.) prefer to use the novel open-source platform.
Apple iPad
A striking example of truly innovative product design and development. According to Steve Jobs's plans, back in 1983, one of Apple’s main goals was to put a computer in a “book”, which ultimately succeeded. The original versions, of course, had a rather weak performance to match a full-blown computer. But since then, the iPad has become the most popular tablet device on the planet.
Parrot AR. Drone
Creativity and innovation in products and services is the best way to describe how Parrot approached the global consumer market. Their device line wasn’t something new - early versions of drones have been originally implemented back in the 80s.
However, Parrot was the one company to propel these handy remote-controlled “flying bots” into the mainstream. Currently, drones have their own races, allow conducting complex simulations and record 4K video, etc. - and all that is enabled via a regular smartphone
Fitbit Flex
Smart fitness bracelets have become an extremely fashionable and popular gadget globally, replacing the usual watch for many people out there. And it was Fitbit that laid the foundation of such a mainstream tendency in 2013, allowing consumers to lead a healthier life with the help of smarter devices.
SHARP LC-70UD1U
This one explicitly fits the fields of innovative products for business and entertainment at once. SHARP implemented an early prototype of an Ultra HD display with 4K resolution, which was a limited run, overly expensive technology back in the day, but has since become available for the mass consumer to enjoy.
SAMSUNG Galaxy Round
Nowadays, curved screen displays are widely used in mobile devices, TV implementations and other home appliance industries. In 2013, SAMSUNG made a real breakthrough in the field of design, which was a quickly adopted tech trend in Western Europe and the United States, ushering in an era of curved glass devices.
Google Glass
This technology is too young and expensive to be massively accessible as of yet. But the examples of AR/VR Magic Leap and AR combined with a head-up display have already demonstrated that the perception of the surrounding world can be enhanced.
One of the hugest innovative products of 2019 was the introduction of AR Hololens 2 technology by Microsoft. The device is no more difficult to use than a baseball cap. And perhaps, in a few years, we’ll get to afford this technology integrated into our ordinary glasses and contact lenses.
Amazon Echo
An innovative, popular product that allowed to introduce AI-powered virtual assistants in the everyday life of every family. Echo definitely earned a huge business-pushing sum by selling the rights for the technology. Since then, it has grown to be used for listening to music and audiobooks, making video calls, setting reminders, ordering products, and much, much more. We can safely say that it was a true breakthrough for 2014.
Oculus Rift
A prototype of the original VR technology was created by Palmer Lucky in his parents’ garage, proving once again that the idea is the main driver of a breakthrough. Originally a product designed for computer games, it is now widely used in medical and engineering training, giving students the opportunity to test their knowledge before going out in the real world.
10 Criteria That Make Product Innovation Successful
Between 60 and 80 percent of ideas fail in the implementation process. There are ten main criteria that will help answer the question: “How to market innovative products?”.
Client benefit
It is one thing to interest the consumer in your product. The main business goal should be maximizing their involvement in the whole innovation process. Often, the promotion of goods is aimed at the wrong target audience.
For a broad instance, originally, a jacuzzi was considered a means of treatment for arthritis. Only repositioning it in the market as a luxury item allowed its creators to make considerable profits off it.
Competitive advantage
Each product, especially in niches with high competition, should have at least one distinguishing feature that makes it stand out among the others. This defining feature should be relevant in the long term and constantly improved and highlighted.
Promotion of an advantage
Sometimes, the consumer is not ready to change their usual way of life. This fate befell, for instance, the first supermarkets and ATMs. It is important to prepare your target audience before entering the market with a good infomercial campaign or promote your innovation on top of something familiar.
Trial
It‘s crucial that the customer gets to check out all the benefits of your product. Difficulty in use and inaccessibility of testing are one of the main stumbling blocks when entering the market (take Segway as an example).
Flexibility
Many concepts are overly difficult to implement: you may at first lack the required infrastructure, established target audience, development strategy, etc. So be ready to work on your solution long-term, adding new features when and where you can.
Legal background
Another crucial moment - there shouldn’t be any conflicts with moral standards, laws, patents adopted in society or the country. Many campaigns failed or suffered serious losses, having studied the legal aspects insufficiently (like Red Bull and, again, Segway).
Project profitability prospects
Keep in mind that it may take years for a new product to fully enter the market. In addition, it is important to correctly evaluate the development strategy so that the product is not superseded by other innovations over time.
Conflict of interests with existing product
“If you don’t sacrifice yourself, then someone else will do it” - Steve Jobs. It is important to correctly assess the benefits and losses of putting new things before the established goods in the company's portfolio.
Comparison
Does the new product correspond to the style, values of already manufactured products? If no, there is a significant risk of losing a considerable share of regular customers (like Harley Davidson did).
Practicality
It is important to correctly assess your strengths and capabilities (equipment, technologies, investments, sales). Perhaps, for entering the market it is necessary to attract new partners, which will give speedy growth, stability.
Conclusion
Novel concepts and technologies continue rapidly breaking into our daily lives. Every year, a huge number of products are introduced that can significantly expand human perception and offer completely new experiences.
At the same time, there are many factors you should consider when entering the market with a new idea. One thing is for sure, even after the project is launched and successfully deployed - forget about the rest. Very soon, competitors will put all their focus on stamping you out of the market.
