Product development is an important part of growing your business. No matter how great your product is or how well it sells now, eventually, customer tastes and demands are going to change. Even if your current product remains relevant in the marketplace, you will likely need to make some improvements to stay ahead of the competition.

But product development is a complex part of running a business, and it can be difficult to predict trends and meet changing consumer demands. Collecting data, organizing feedback, and somehow turning that data into a functional product can be difficult if you don’t use the right tools. With the help of innovation management software, however, product development gets much easier.

Provide Easy Means of Receiving Feedback

There is no shortage of opportunities to ask customers for feedback on your products. The trouble is, most of the surveys that companies as customers to fill out take time and effort, and consumers simply don’t want to go through the hassle of filling out a questionnaire or answering the questions on the phone-based survey. But idea management software can provide your customers with an easy way to provide feedback.

This type of software can be used in conjunction with social media polls, which allow customers to answer a question with a single click—something most of them are willing to do as they scroll through their news feeds. These responses can then be organized within the software for your use.

But additionally, this type of software can allow you to build connections with consumers so that they can provide ongoing feedback. If desired, your customers can create profiles within your system so that they can provide you with ideas and feedback whenever the inspiration strikes.

Incentivize Innovation Among Employees

In addition to your customers, your employees are one of your main sources of information for product development ideas. But how do you encourage your employees to come up with innovative ideas? While there are many potential ways to prod your team members into coming up with ways to improve your business, innovation management software can be one of the best solutions.

A lot of these programs come with gamification techniques built in for your use. You can customize the program so that providing product ideas and process improvements feels like a fun competition, rather than a required task. With point-based systems, score boards showing top contributors, and the ability to earn badges, your employees will be eager to provide ideas so that they can beat out their coworkers for providing the best idea. And of course, you can add your own incentives for the top participant as well!

Organize Data and Track Trends

Collecting data is only the beginning for product development. You need to be able to find trends among the feedback to see what most of your consumers want, or to pinpoint common issues people experience with your product. The right software can do all that for you.

By tracking these trends, you’ll be able to easily identify potential areas for improvement, or customer needs that current products don’t fulfill. With that information, you can quickly fill those needs and keep your business at the top of your industry.

Simplify Collaboration Efforts

Of course, once you have a plan in place for a new product, you need a team to collaborate and bring that product to life. Will, you can use your innovation management software for collaboration efforts as well. Your team can communicate, share documents, and update team members on any issues and progress they have made. So, regardless of where your team members may be, you can effectively collaborate and develop the best product possible.

In this way, the right software can simplify the development of a new product from start to finish.