Product Development Excellence with the Metier Substance Process

Entrepreneurs often get excited about an idea for starting a business and dive straight into the details of their plan. However, before launching a product, it's essential to invest time and effort into designing it properly. This process, known as product designing, involves creating a blueprint that outlines the product's concept, functionality, and design. 

Product designing is a crucial aspect of any business venture as it can make or break the success of a product. It involves analyzing the market, identifying customer needs and preferences, and incorporating them into the final design. The design should be aesthetically appealing, user-friendly, and cost-effective to manufacture.

To create a well-designed product, it's essential to follow a structured approach that answers the following questions: What is the product? Why is it important? And, how should it be designed to meet the business's objectives?

By answering these questions, businesses can ensure that they are creating products that solve real problems, meet customer needs, and achieve their business goals. So, if you're thinking of starting a business, take the time to design your product correctly. It will save you from costly mistakes and help you establish a successful business in the long run.

Market Research

Market research is a crucial step that should be taken before starting any business. It is important to quickly understand your potential customers and the ecosystem in which you will operate. Identifying your stakeholders is crucial, as they play a vital role in the success of your business. For instance, if you plan to start a grocery store, your primary stakeholders would be the distributors who will supply you with items, the person from whom you will take the store on rent, and the customers in the catchment area.

Similarly, if you plan to start a restaurant, your stakeholders would include the chefs, people who have restaurants, and those who will consume your food. Once you have identified your stakeholders, it is essential to learn from them and gather insights that can help you design your business proposition.

When started the OYO hotel business, identified the hotel's owners, the hotel team, and the customers in the catchment area as his stakeholders. He then spent three months meeting a new hotel owner every day to learn new things. From the early days of OYO, he started with a receptionist kind of work and ensured to interact and ask questions with all hotel team members, regardless of their department, including front office staff, housekeeping, commis staff, back of the house, and security guards.

For example, he used to ask the receptionist about the type of customers that come to the area. She replied that ten types of corporate customers and three types of retail customers come to the area. He also used to ask the hotel owners about their problems, and they replied that they did not get enough work, lacked clarity of business, and were not able to check how much revenue they were generating.

Moreover, Ritesh Agarwal talked to customers and found that they faced issues with high costs, lack of cleanliness, Wi-Fi not working, and no one available to resolve any problems occurring in the room. After analyzing all these problems, Ritesh and his team framed a proposition that included clean rooms for customers, rooms at a good price, and dynamic pricing.

OYO was started at Rs. 999 because Ritesh started his career by selling sim cards for telecom companies and thought that the Rs. 999 plan of Airtel worked for them, so this time also it may work. He was lucky that customers liked the Rs 999 price point, and it was important to provide clean rooms at a good price. Initially, only the first room was sold at Rs. 999, and further rooms were sold for Rs. 50 to 100 higher prices, known as dynamic pricing. The last room was also rated at Rs. 1500 to 1600, so the customer gets a safe and affordable price point.

In recap, Oyo learned many basic things from his customers and used these insights to provide them with revenue jump and technology for clarity. He searched for insights from partners' conversations and provided them with the tools they needed to manage the hotel property.

Product Design

Starting a business can be challenging, regardless of the industry you are in. However, there are certain steps you can take to ensure that your business is successful. For instance, if you are planning to start a grocery store, you can follow some essential steps. Firstly, it's essential to meet with the distributor of the grocery store to understand their requirements and expectations. Secondly, it's important to connect with the people working in nearby stores to gauge the market demand and competition. Finally, connecting with customers who purchase groceries will provide valuable insights into their preferences and requirements.

During your interactions with customers, you may come across valuable feedback that could help you in designing your product. For instance, a customer may tell you that they appreciate more those who deliver groceries and provide them with a choice out of five to six different types. As a grocery store owner, it's important to understand the needs and wants of your customers.

Similarly, it's important to understand the expectations of distributors. They want timely payment, support in selling products that don't sell well, and assistance in business growth. By taking these factors into account, you can design a product that meets the needs of both customers and distributors.

By incorporating these elements in your business model, you can become the number one grocery store in your area in terms of delivery and choice. Additionally, you can ensure timely payment for distributors, and take one to two pieces of the choices available with them. This can create an opportunity for you to make a commercially profitable business.

It's important to think carefully about the product you want to launch and the problem you want to solve. Conducting proper research and understanding the needs of your stakeholders is crucial for the success of your business. For instance, the founder of Urban Company started his first company, Cinema Box, without conducting proper research and understanding the needs of his stakeholders. As a result, the company was shut down.

However, he learned from his mistakes and launched Urban Clap, which became a super successful company. Understanding the needs of your stakeholders and incorporating them into your business model can help you create a successful business.

Common Platform to Solve Stakeholders Problems

It is crucial to learn from the mistakes of others and avoid making the same ones. Identifying the stakeholders of your business is a key step towards building a successful enterprise. Let's take the example of OYO, where the hotel owners and customers were the key stakeholders. Mr Ritesh Agarwal, the founder of OYO, had a deep understanding of his stakeholders. He worked in various roles, including as a receptionist and in the back of the house area, which provided him with valuable insights into the needs and expectations of his consumers and partners.

By leveraging his understanding of stakeholders, OYO created a common platform that addressed the problems and needs of all stakeholders. This approach has been instrumental in the success of OYO, which is now valued at over 10 billion dollars.

To replicate this success, it is essential to identify the stakeholders of your business and address their needs through a common platform. By doing so, you can build a profitable enterprise and attract investors who value your business. Remember that every business has a J-curve, and by prioritizing stakeholder needs, you can navigate through the initial challenges and increase your chances of long-term success.