business english online coach

If you are involved in product creation you could take a lesson from rabbits and rats.

I know I can just imagine you scratching your head as you wonder what furry creatures have to do with product creation. Both of these animals were designed to be productive when it comes to the number of offspring they can have.

For instance the rabbit can mate by three months of age. Their gestation period is slightly more than a month and they can have as many as 12 kits in each liter. They can also live up to twelve years of age. By the way if you were curious a rabbit is lagomorphs while the rat is a rodent.

A female rat can begin to reproduce as early as 35 days of age. These rodents can also have as many as 12 pups and multiple annual litters. Unlike the rabbit a rat will generally live just 2-3 years, but could have a few hundred offspring and preside over many generations of rats during that time.

So what can a lagomorphs and a rodent teach us about product creation? Simply put these two creatures teach us that more may be better.

Thomas Edison used existing products to make new or better products and he never stopped at one product. He held multiple patents for his devices and he kept trying new things.

This philosophy is what’s needed for those involved in product development. Always keep developing – always keep dreaming.

Let me present a scenario for your consideration. A business owner has what they feel is a great idea for a product launch.
They have researched the idea; they have developed the product and are banking on the buzz factor for the product. They are so convinced this is THE idea they were meant to create that they invest everything in the product and do not look at additional product creation.

What happens if the product fails?

Obviously this business owner risks potential financial ruin because they did not consider a contingency plan.

What if this same business owner involved himself or she in the creation of multiple products released on a slightly staggered basis? The new product ads to the overall product line and the success vs. failure ratio are spread out among a variety of products and not simply one that may succeed or fail.

Like the rats and rabbits, work on a product creation gestational cycle where new products are being developed on a consistent basis.

Obviously low cost products are the most cost effective means of developing multiple products, but even high end products could be retooled to add new options or trim to an existing model.

It is highly probable that you will develop a product that does not connect with your customers, but there is an equal chance that one or more of the products you create will become a best seller for your business.

The product creation strategies you implement could be in tangible goods or it could be in new software applications or ebooks. These final two products may not be overly expensive to create and carry the potential for a longer shelf life.