HOW TO TAKE A FRESH LOOK AT YOUR PRODUCTS
(written by Anything Creative)

Want to introduce a complimentary product to your current offerings?  Want to tweak  your existing products so that it appeals to more people?  Need to diversify your market?

Start looking at things from a different angle.  This is not always an easy thing to do, especially if you have been in business for years, but here are a few ways that can get you started…

Break it down
Break your product down and walk through its assembly from the very first step.  See what can be done easier and more cost effectively.  Many average products became great, after their creators just went back to the basics

Study another industry
You will be amazed how other companies business solutions can work just as well for you.  For example, the concept of prepaid airtime for cellphones and cellular providers, was just as easily tweaked to provide prepaid internet connections for ISPs.

Ask a child for advice
Yes, this may sound silly, but you would be amazed at how honest and refreshing a child’s advice can be.  They will tell you like it is – no sugar coating.  Sometimes the simplest of things can turn a product on its way up the product cycle.

Turn it upside down
If it’s a physical product offering you have, then turn it upside down on your desk and look at it from all angles.  See where improvements can be made to the product, the packaging, the colour, the logo, etc.  If it’s more complex than that, draw up the business concept on a piece of paper and then turn it upside down and take a look at it from that angle – you’ll be amazed at what jumps out at you.

Be open to opinions
Open up your meetings to everyone in your office and encourage input.  Sometimes the top management of a company have been doing things in the same way for so long that they don’t see space for growth – so why not invite the tea lady, the marketing assistant, the receptionist to sit in on a meeting?  You’ll be pleasantly surprised to find that these individuals see the business in a different light.

Get physical
Go for a run, take a walk with the dog or just stand outside and breathe some fresh air.  Once you’ve got the adrenaline and good endorphins going, sit down and let the good juices flow into your product

Hopefully, this will get you started looking at your products in a new light and getting you that much closer to the elusive 'perfect' product offering