Idea Sources

Question 1

Internal idea sources

Answer 1

Skills and hobbies eg bill gates interest in software
Experiences/ expected occurrence eg Richard Branson bad plane experience
Research and development eg Apple r&d made IPhone after IPod
Employee suggestions
Brainstorming eg google depts come together

Question 2

External idea sources

Answer 2

Family and friends
Media eg news report on obesity-gym
Import substitution eg Joe Murphy Tayto
State agencies eg Enterprise Ireland
Competitors eg Samsung watch after Apple Watch
Customer feedback/complaints eg veggie options in McDonalds

Question 3

New product development stages

Answer 3

Idea generation 
Product/service screening
Concept development 
Feasibility study 
Prototype development 
Test marketing 
Product launch

Question 4

Idea generation

Answer 4

First step is to generate new ideas (external or internal)

Eg Apple use idea sources to think of new tech products - AirPods

Question 5

Product/service screening

Answer 5

Each idea is examined (SWOT) to spot good ideas and get rid of bad fast ie ideas are vetted, unworkable ideas are dropped
Avoids expenses
Eg Apple dismissed all other ideas because AirPods had the greatest potential for sales

Question 6

Concept development

Answer 6

Involves writing a report on the product/idea
Turn the idea into a concrete plan
What is the USP, packaging, branding
Eg Apple devised a USP of AirPods- no wires

Question 7

Feasibility study

Answer 7

Investigating does the idea have potential ie if the idea is viable
To see how much cost/profit eg CFF BEC
does the tech exist? Do you have the labour skills?
Eg Apple did desk research on wireless headphones. Decided it would be profitable

Question 8

Prototype development

Answer 8

The first working model of a new product
Tested and refined to eliminate any problems, this process is repeated until product is perfect
Eg AirPods were produced, employees tested them, it was modified

Question 9

Test marketing

Answer 9

Small scale trial to identify faults and gauge reactions
Business launches product to a small segment of the market
Evaluate customer responses, these reactions define the price/advertising
Eg AirPods were given to 50 people in the target market for feedback

Question 10

Product launch

Answer 10

Full scale production begins (job,batch,mass)
Company must start a marketing campaign to raise awareness
Eg Apple began advertising eg online video “practically magic” and began to sell