Business Research Proposal

Business Research Proposal



Executive Summary

New product development (NPD) is the term used to describe the complete process of bringing a new product or service to market. There are two parallel paths involved in the NPD process: one involves the idea generation, product design, and detail engineering; the other involves market research and marketing analysis. Companies typically see new product development as the first stage in generating and commercializing new products within the overall strategic process of product life cycle management used to maintain or grow their market share.

New Product Development

Problem Statement

Although there is ample anecdotal evidence that customer support is an essential aspect in the marketing of many products, the relationship between customer support requirements and new product development (NPD) is not adequately understood.

Needs and Justification of the study

New products, whether they take the form of new applications, new innovations, or entirely new goods, are an essential component of business success. "Some entire industries are based on effectiveness in [new product development]," wrote George Gruenwald in New Product Development: Responding to Market Demand. "Everyone in industry knows that new products are essential for viability: If we do not continue to grow, we die. To grow, a company must continue to learn (research) and to make a difference in its industry (pioneer)…. Business, whether itsells waste management or interstellar communications, janitorial services or gene-splicing, lives through new growth—not through clones of the past."

What this means is that new products are essential to survival. "Innovate or die" has become a rallying cry at small and large businesses as increasingly savvy consumers demand the newest and the best products. As one entrepreneur in the bicycle manufacturing industry told Nation's Business, "At trade shows, the first thing customers say is, 'What's new?' Every year you have to raise the ante. If you were not to do it, you'd be left in the dust." To prove his point, Sinyard admitted in the same article that he must revise the company's 37 products annually (from small changes to complete redesigns) and that fully 50 percent of a line of bike accessories the company also sells is totally replaced by new products each year.

Research Aims and Objectives

Following are the main aims and objectives of the study:

To investigate the role of after-sales support in five different sectors - covering both simple and complex products.

To investigate how different companies evaluate customer support requirements during new product development.

Research Questions

The need for evaluating customer support during NPD is clear but previous research had the limitations which were discussed. Therefore, the following research questions were identified:

What are the main elements of customer support in different industries? How are these connected to the characteristics of representative products?

Is customer support important for both simple and complex products?

How do companies evaluate support requirements during new product development?

Limitations and Basic Assumptions of The Study

     The study will be limited to in-sufficient number of secondary sources i.e. books, journals etc. the basic assumption of the proposed study will be that the study only comprises ...