Outsourcing virtual assistants — have you thought about it? Do you consider yourself a visionary out to change the world with groundbreaking solutions to long-standing problems? Or are you a project manager tasked to turn big ideas into reality? Wherever you fit in these two categories, you will surely agree that product and service development is both an exciting and daunting undertaking. Let’s walk through the general steps of product/service development – from ideation of the “secret sauce” to putting together everything for your customers. You’ll see why generating and giving life to great ideas are never a one-man team, and are sometimes best handled by outsourcing virtual assistants to streamline your workflow.
Ideation
Product or service development starts with a brainstorming session where you discuss issues your target audience is dealing with and the possible solutions to them. All possible angles must be examined because customer welfare and experience are the utmost priority in ideation. Although brainstorming is a creative process, the idea for a product or service must be data-driven.
Ideation shouldn’t be a solitary activity. Team ideation should nip knee-jerk decisions in the bud and flag any idea that is not feasible. Combining different perspectives to a solution makes a fertile ground for a feasible but unique product or service that can contribute a distinct value to its customers.
Concept Testing
Once you’ve brainstormed, it’s time to test the concept of the idea. At this point, you will need multidisciplinary perspectives to torture test your idea and its viability in the market. This should be a more rigorous process since concept testing already involves risk analysis. A focus group discussion or any market research tool is usually undertaken here to thoroughly test the appetite of the target audience for the product. Formulation of potential prices, market strategy, and value proposition also happens at this stage.
Concept testing should not be rushed so if under a tight timeline, outsourcing virtual assistants or data entry specialists should take care of the data gathering so the core team can focus on the product or service itself.
Product Development
Once all loose ends have been tied conceptually, product development can begin. Superb project management skills will go a long way in ensuring that the concept is well-translated into reality according to the set timeline. This is challenging because there will be several back-and-forth coordination during test runs and iterations.
Going Live
When the product or service passes brand, customer, and regulatory requirements, it is time to market and sell it to the public. Do remember that this final step may not be the last. Feedback from customers will inform you if you should enhance, retain, or nix the product or service altogether.
Where do outsourcing virtual assistants fit in the picture?
Though broken down into four main steps, there is a lot that goes on in between processes. A focus group discussion can be logistically challenging to mount. Intellectual property issues can erupt if not taken seriously. With so many moving parts in product or service development, having a plan and definite delegation of tasks among members get you closer to your business target. MCVO is a BPO company in the Philippines with a team of trained virtual assistants for every need – from data collection to ideation – depending on the level of experience you need. But surely, outsourcing virtual assistants at any stage will make product and service development less daunting. Give MCVO a call now if you want to know which virtual assistants fit your requirements.
