Customer involvement in new product development Essay

Customer involvement in new product development - Essay Example 84). At the end of the day when the products are introduced to the market it is the customers who will buy them. This is the reason as to why some marketing professionals have the assertion that customer contribution can be of high importance to the process of introducing a new product (Hesselbach & Herrmann 2011, p. 207). Some people disagree with this assertion with claims that customers cannot really know if they want something that does not exist already. The purpose of this report is to enhance the understanding on the role that customers can play in the product development process. By the use of marketing theory, practice, and other marketing concepts this reports will prove just how important customer contribution can be to the development process of new products. It is important for a business organization to know that improving the relationship between them and the customers should go beyond just the economic relationship of buyers and sellers. The main aim of all organizations in the business world is to get a competitive advantage that cannot be undone. The ways through which they can be able to get such an advantage is through making sure that their products are valuable, rare, un-substitutable and un-imitable. Developing such a product is in no way something that can be considered a walk in the park. If in any case a product is to become valuable it is the customers who have to value it if in any case it has to do well in the market (Sandmeier 2008, p. 56). Therefore, it will be important for a business organization to know exactly what their targeted market values (Foss 2012, p. 129). By knowing what they value the company can also come up with a product that is not substitutable because they will be able to add the values that the oth er products that are already in the market are missing. In the process of developing and introducing a new product to the market, there is always some uncertainty. The