How to Put Together a Focus Group

Once you have developed a prototype, you need to get feedback about that prototype and observe how potential customers interact with it. A focus group is an excellent way to collect this kind of information. A focus group can be described as a way to bring potential customers from your target market segment together and asking them questions that will promote valuable, insightful feedback.

Keep the following tips in mind to put together an effective focus group:

Don’t make the group too big

The ideal focus group is large enough to develop rich, insightful discussion but small enough so that no participants are left out and everyone’s voice is heard. As a rule of thumb, a group of about 10 people tends to be ideal.

Don’t ask more than 12 questions

The idea of focus groups is to carefully solicit valuable, meaningful feedback from participants, not bombard them with an endless list of questions. Generally, you won’t want to ask any single group more than 12 questions, and if you can keep that number between 8 and 10, that is optimal. Also, keep in mind when developing and choosing questions that your focus group session should never be more than 90 minutes.

Keep questions short and sweet

Remember, a focus group is all about oral communication. In other words, participants won’t have a chance to see or read the questions that they are being asked. That means you need to keep your questions short and sweet. Long-winded, meandering questions will not only confuse a participant, but also likely be hard to follow. Excellent questions will be concise, but thought provoking. Therefore, all questions should be short and to the point, open-ended, and worded in a way that cannot be answered with a simple “yes” or “no.”

Ask questions in a logical, coherent order

In order to put together an effective focus group session, you want to work to make sure the conversation flows smoothly from one question to the next. Basically, you want the session to feel more like a natural conversation than a formal interview. In regards to structuring the focus group questions, ideally you will want to ask participants two or three engagement questions, which are designed to introduce participants to the topic at hand and make them comfortable.

From there, you will want to move into exploration questions. These questions are the meat of the discussion and will likely be where you will glean the most valuable insight. They should focus on your product, its features, and its functionality. Last but not least, you will want to close with a few exit questions. These questions should nicely wrap things up, as well as encourage participants to share anything that was covered during the session.

Solicit an experienced moderator to facilitate discussion

The key to a great discussion is a great moderator. An effective moderator will be able to bring different ideas into the conversation, spark valuable feedback, and transition discussion from irrelevant points to relevant ones. If no one on your team has experience moderating focus groups, investing in a professional is wise.

Pivot International is a product design, development, and manufacturing firm with strengths in software development, electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, and industrial design. If you are interested in engineering a new product or updating an existing product, contact us at 1-877-206-5001 or request your free consultation today.

3 Steps to Validating Your Product Idea

When you’re on the quest to develop a lucrative product, how can you tell a great idea from a horrendous idea? The key is product validation. By validating your product idea, you essentially put it up to scrutiny. If it emerges intact, you’ve got a good idea on your hands. Validating your idea will also make the process of actually getting it to the market much smoother.

“Ideas stall because the process of getting them to market can seem overwhelming. In reality, if you validate your idea — prove it has worth beyond the bar napkin on which it is scribbled — the process thereafter actually gets much easier,” explained startup consultant Peter Gasca. So how can you validate your product idea to improve your shot at success? Be sure to keep the following advice in mind.

Check to see if it already exists

Before you launch into full-throttle development, taking your product idea from idea to reality, check to make sure the product doesn’t already exist. Just because you haven’t heard of it doesn’t mean that it isn’t already out there. However, if you find that the product itself or something very similar does exist, don’t despair.

“Do not give up on your inspiration too hastily,” Gasca said. “Perhaps there are ways to improve on the existing product? Can you offer value to the business already producing it? Could the market be satisfied better? If you answered ‘yes,’ move to the next step.”

Share your idea and get some feedback

If you think you’ve got a good idea, you need to share it and get some honest feedback. Don’t be afraid to reach out and ask for honesty. If someone doesn’t like the idea, ask why. Learn as much as you can from the feedback.

“At this stage, what you want is brutally honest feedback. Entrepreneurs have a tendency to get stuck in ‘idea lock,’ when they are hell-bent that their idea is a winner, regardless of what others say,” Gasca explained. “If you are the only person who truly thinks the idea is good, then it is time to reassess.”

Remember, it might not always be easy to listen to honest, critical feedback, but it will be good for your business in the long run.

Build a minimum viable product

Once you’re sure that you have an idea that could actually work, it is time to get to work on a minimum viable product. Build a working prototype as cheaply as you can, and try it out with some potential consumers to see what they think. If you get positive feedback, you’ve officially validated your product and can move forward to the next step of the development process.

Pivot International is a product design, development, and manufacturing firm with strengths in software development, electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, and industrial design. If you are interested in engineering a new product or updating an existing product, contact us at 1-877-206-5001 or request your free consultation today.

How to Better Manage Your Employees

When you are launching a new product or a new company, it can be tough going it alone. More likely than not, you will have at least a few employees helping you get started. Whether you are a small startup with a few employees or a multinational corporation with employees spread out all over the globe, effective employee management is key.

Keep the following advice for managing your employees in mind:

Keep your employees engaged

Effectively managing employees isn’t simply about getting employees to do what you want them to do. Rather, the most effective managers are able to inspire and motivate their employees through engagement. How can you keep your employees engaged? Well, you need to be engaged as a manager.

“Engaged managers till the soil for their direct reports, creating the same conditions that lead to the manager’s full engagement in work and workplace culture. They then encourage employees to find engagement in ways that are unique to them, based on what the manager knows about their passions, interests, and needs,” explained Tracy Maylett, the CEO of management consulting firm DecisionWise. “Disengaged managers, on the other hand, either don’t know what motivates their people or simply don’t care. It’s about management by authority, threat, and coercion.”

Pay attention to how different people respond to and cope with stress

There is no denying it: Work can be stressful at times. Effectively managing your team requires emotional intelligence. If you’re trying to tie up loose ends a mere 48 hours before a product launch, it’s likely going to be a stressful experience for your team. You, as the leader, need to pay attention to how your team is responding to and coping with that stress. Work to foster collaboration in high-stress times, and always make sure that your employees’ needs are being met.

Never make promises you can’t keep

Whether deliberate or not, when you make a promise you can’t keep, you erode your employees’ ability to trust you, which undermines your strength as a leader. This can happen, albeit inadvertently, as a company is just getting off the ground. The founder might make overly optimistic projections about the company’s future, and his employees’ role in it.

“Misunderstandings in this area arise because people tend to talk generally about what might happen and how good things are going to be in the future,” explained Aubrey Daniels, an expert on management and human performance issues and the founder and CEO of management consulting firm Aubrey Daniels & Associates (ADA). “People often hear things are going to happen that were never intended, and when they don’t come about, they’re disappointed in the organization and in you. Older employees may test you early in the relationship to see if you can deliver. If you fail the test, your effectiveness as a manager will be dramatically reduced.”

Work to maintain a positive company culture

The bottom line is that it’s in your best interest to have happy employees. It not only makes working a better experience, it also makes economic sense. Believe it or not, unhappy workers cost U.S. employers a staggering $550 billion each year. That is because disgruntled, disengaged employees are much less productive. You can work to facilitate a positive company culture by encouraging teamwork between employees, recognizing employees when they perform well, and respecting boundaries between your employees’ work time and their personal time.

Pivot International is a product design, development, and manufacturing firm with strengths in software development, electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, and industrial design. If you are interested in engineering a new product or updating an existing product, contact us at 1-877-206-5001 or request your free consultation today.

3 Tips to Come Up with Better Product Ideas

Your next product is only as good as you next idea. Considering that only 20 percent of new product ideas will succeed, there is a lot riding on that good idea. How can you come up with better product ideas? Check out these tips and tricks!

Don’t just generate one idea

The more ideas you have, the better. Don’t assume your first idea is the best one. Try to think of the issue or problem from multiple angles and tweak your idea accordingly. Talk to shoppers and see what is on their minds. Learn as much as you possibly can about consumer wants and needs and take a multifaceted approach to understanding those wants and needs. Remember, your first approach to a problem might not necessarily be the best one.

Look for new niches

If you’re looking to break into an industry, carefully evaluate the big players in the industry. Examine what they offer, as well as what they don’t. The key is to try to fill in gaps in your target industry and come up with ideas that will allow you to enter a new niche. You might also try to identify markets that have stagnated or markets where there hasn’t been any recent innovation. There are often gaping holes in the offerings of big companies, making it easier for smaller, less established players to step in.

Develop a cheaper version of an already existing product

Sometimes the best ideas aren’t about totally reinventing the wheel. Many tremendously successful companies actually got their start by taking an existing product and figuring out how to make it cheaper. Consider Warby Parker. This tremendously successful eyeglasses company, which was launched in 2010 by four business school friends, sells prescription glasses at half the price of other businesses.

Pivot International is a product design, development, and manufacturing firm with strengths in software development, electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, and industrial design. If you are interested in engineering a new product or updating an existing product, contact us at 1-877-206-5001 or request your free consultation today.

How to Develop Valuable Survey Questions for Consumer Feedback

Soliciting consumer feedback is a critical part of the product design and development process. After all, how will you know what tweaks need to be made to your product prototype if you never ask your target consumers about their experience with it? However, soliciting consumer feedback is easier said than done. Surveys can be an excellent way to reach your customers. They tend to be cost effective, and with survey administration via email, mail, or mobile devices, you can easily reach faraway consumers. Furthermore, a broad range of data can be collected, and with survey software, data analysis has never been easier. However, any survey is only as good as its questions. How can you develop valuable survey questions to get more valuable consumer feedback? Be sure to keep the following in mind.

Pay attention to length

As a general rule of thumb, you want to make sure that consumers can complete a survey in around 5 to 10 minutes. That typically means no more than 40 questions. If for whatever reason you do need to ask more than 40 questions, you might want to consider rewarding the consumers for the time and effort it took them to complete the survey. For example, you might offer every participant an entry into a drawing for a chance to win a prize.

Remember, order matters

The order of your survey questions matters, and it matters significantly. First and foremost, you will want to put all demographic questions first. This is because people tend to drop off answering questions at the end of a survey. If you leave your demographic questions for last, you might not get that information, which is bound to be critical. Secondly, make sure your survey questions follow a logical thought pattern. That means starting out with broad questions first and gradually moving into more specific questions. If you delve right into highly specific questions, you might confuse the consumer, so it is far better to gradually ease into a topic.

Be aware of how you are phrasing questions

A good question that is poorly phrased will wreak absolute havoc on your survey results and could very well prevent you from getting the information you need. It isn’t just what you ask; it is how you ask it. You don’t want to inadvertently coerce your consumers into answering a question a certain way by implying that there is a right answer to the question or making using of assumptive language. When phrasing survey questions, be sure to keep the following in mind:

• Avoid leading questions. There is a reason lawyers can’t ask leading questions in court! It is critical that your questions are objective. Leading questions are inherently biased and will skew the results of your survey.
• Don’t make assumptions. Don’t make assumptions about how consumers will answer the question. For example, let’s say you are testing a new piece of software with a focus group. A question like, “what was your favorite part about the software,” assumes that the consumer liked the software and had a positive experience with it. Don’t make those kinds of assumptions — perhaps the consumer had a horrible experience using the software and didn’t like anything about it.
• Avoid coercive language. When crafting a survey, don’t try to coerce consumers into answering the way you want them to. Remember, feedback is only useful and viable when it accurately reflects the actual wants, needs, and feelings of the consumers. In most cases, coercive language is subtle and inadvertent, but it can have a big impact, so always double check to make sure that all language used is objective and neutral.

The bottom line? A well-crafted, well-thought-out survey can be an excellent way to collect valuable consumer input for the product design process.

Pivot International is a product design, development, and manufacturing firm with strengths in software development, electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, and industrial design. If you are interested in engineering a new product or updating an existing product, contact us at 1-877-206-5001 or request your free consultation today.

The First Steps for Becoming a Successful Mobile App Entrepreneur

In 2014, a study by the Nielsen group found that men spend an average of 29 hours per month using mobile apps, and women spend an average of 30 hours per month. Results from 2013 showed 32 percent of app usage is gaming, 8 percent is entertainment, and 8 percent is utility.

If you are interested in developing a new, useful or fun app for a mobile device, the numbers show you’re entering a reliable market. But, what are the right steps to developing, marketing, and maintaining a mobile app? Here are some basic ideas you can follow to plan out the launch of your mobile app!

1. Identify your passion

Every entrepreneurial venture should begin with a passion. If you are simply pursuing the business for the money, you will eventually burn out or fail to deliver a quality product. Following through with a good idea requires dedication and determination to see it succeed.

Larry Alton, on entrepreneur.com, writes, “Perseverance is the one thing that’s guaranteed to move anything over time, whether it’s a person, a job or an entire company.”

If you like what you are doing, it takes some of the edge off of all of the work that goes into turning an idea into a successful product. If you want to design a successful app, you need to have a real passion for the product you want to create.

2. Pay attention to what is trending

Check out the top-of lists in the app store across both the Apple and Android platforms to see what is trending in paid and free apps. You’re not looking at trends to see what kind of idea you should pursue, but to find out what specifics about these apps separate them from the bottom of the list. The number one and number two items on the list may be drastically different from each other, but they both most likely use techniques that attract and hold the attention of users. Pay attention to each app’s design, color scheme, mechanics, and marketing style.

3. Make a plan and take your first step

While you may not have all of the details figured out, it’s good to outline a plan for your idea. Writing down the steps needed to make your idea a reality makes it more tangible and easy to commit to starting. Once you have a clear plan and you’re committed to the idea, you need to take a step toward launching your app. Taking that first step may be risky, but successful entrepreneurs view taking risks as a step in the right direction.

In his article, “6 Traits of a Maverick That Make for Successful Entrepreneurs”, Brenton Hayden writes, “It’s about taking real risks, and achieving success — often in a way that is unique and unexpected.”

Being afraid to take risks can hold potential entrepreneurs back. Don’t let your idea fade out of existence because you held yourself back.

Pivot International is a product design, development, and manufacturing firm with strengths in software development, electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, and industrial design. If you are interested in engineering a new product or updating an existing product, contact us at 1-877-206-5001 or request your free consultation today.

What Type of Business Loan is Right for You?

When it comes to opening up a new business or launching a new product, navigating the financing process can be a challenge. If you are wondering which type of business loan is right for you, we’re here to break it down for you.

SBA Loans: The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) offers small business loans to entrepreneurs who want to start a new business or expand an existing business. SBA loans are offered by a range of banks and lending institutions. Keep in mind that SBA loan applications are structured to meet SBA requirements to ensure that the loan is eligible for an SBA guarantee. Before you apply for an SBA loan, you will want to be sure to look at the SBA Loan Application Checklist. Also, keep in mind that the SBA runs several loan programs:

• The Basic 7a Loan Program: This basic loan program provides loans to entrepreneurs starting, acquiring, and expanding a small business. This is the most basic and the most widely used SBA loan program.
• Certified Development Company (CDC) 504 Loan Program: If you want to grow your business by expanding your product offerings, this can be an excellent option. It provides businesses with long-term, fixed interest rate loans with major assets as collateral.
• Microloan: If you are just getting started and want to launch a new product, a microloan can also be an excellent option. These loans are offered to newly established businesses for up to $50,000.

Working Capital Loans: If you want to release a new product but don’t have required working capital to pump into the development process or a prototype, a working capital loan can be an excellent option. These loans can essentially be used to convert company or personal assets into cash.

Equipment Loan: If you need new equipment to manufacture a new product, a new equipment loan can help. This will provide you with the working funds to purchase new equipment with collateral.

Merchant Cash Advance Loan: These loans are smaller than traditional business loans, and the payment terms are shorter. In some cases, the lender may take a fixed percentage of your future credit card sales in payment.

Lines of Credit Loan: A line of credit is different from a standard small business loan, in the sense that it essentially functions as a line of credit (like a credit card). This is ideal for businesses that might sell more products seasonally and need some cash to get them through the low season. Overall, these loans are ideal for helping businesses manage their cash flow.

Pivot International is a product design, development, and manufacturing firm with strengths in software development, electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, and industrial design. If you are interested in engineering a new product or updating an existing product, contact us at 1-877-206-5001 or request your free consultation today.

3 Venture Capital Success Stories

Last year, venture capitalists pumped an astounding $48.3 billion into US companies, according to the National Venture Capital Association and PricewaterhouseCoopers — a 15-year high. Where does all of that money go? Let’s look at some of the world’s most famous venture capital success stories.

1. Uber

The famous cab services Uber was able to raise a staggering $1.5 billion in venture capital funding. The company raised $1.2 billion in funding back in 2014 from a group of mutual fund managers and venture investors, including Fidelity Investments, Wellington Management, and BlackRock Inc. Uber was also able to raise an impressive $258 million from Google Ventures. The company isn’t just good at helping users hail cabs, it is also pretty good at raising money.

2. Snapchat

This popular photo-sharing app in which photos disappear just seconds after they’re opened was created by former Stanford students Evan Spiegel, Bobby Murphy, and Reggie Brown. The app isn’t just tremendously popular with the youth of America — it’s also popular with venture capitalists. It raised close to half a million in an initial seed round, and later raised 60 million in a funding round led by venture-capital firm Institutional Venture Partners. All in all, it has raised a staggering $486 million in investments. In February of 2015 Snapchat announced another round of funding, in which it raised a staggering $1.4 billion.

3. Instagram

This online mobile photo-sharing and video-sharing site was developed in San Francisco by Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger. In a little under a year and a half, it garnered over 100 million users, and quickly attracted the eye of many venture capitalists. Instagram raised $7 million in Series A funding from several different investors, including Benchmark Capital, Jack Dorsey, Capital fund, and Adam D’Angelo, which put the company at a value of $25 million. In a subsequent round of funding, they raised $500 million from venture capitalists, putting the company value around $25 million. Social media giant Facebook ended up purchasing the company for an impressive $1 billion dollars.

Pivot International is a product design, development, and manufacturing firm with strengths in software development, electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, and industrial design. If you are interested in engineering a new product or updating an existing product, contact us at 1-877-206-5001 or request your free consultation today.

5 Crowdsourcing Mistakes You Don’t Want to Make

Crowdsourcing can be an excellent way to fund product development. But to maximize your shot at success, be sure to avoid making these five mistakes!

1. Jumping the gun

You’ve got a great idea for a brand new product. The first step is to head to a crowdsourcing site such as Kickstarter or GoFundMe, and ask everyone you know for money to make your dream a reality, right? Wrong.

Many entrepreneurs “jump the gun” when it comes to crowdsourcing. You should never consider starting a crowdsourcing campaign until you perform extensive market research, have a clear business plan, have a prototype in the works, and have exhausted all other sources of funding (angel funding, venture capital, business loans). Successful crowdsourcing is used to fill gaps in the budget of well-developed, well-thought out products. Don’t try to raise your entire product budget using crowdsourcing sites, especially when you are still in the idea development stage.

2. Not including a budget

If you’re going to ask people to give you money, give them a heads up as to where that money will be going. If you are opening a new brewery, and plan to use the funds to offset taxes, provide this information. If you are developing a new high-tech coffee maker and are crowdsourcing to put together a prototype, be sure to mention it! The bottom line is that you need to include a detailed, itemized budget so your backers have an understanding of the financials of your project, and don’t feel like they are just funneling money into a black hole.

3. No personalization

Don’t send a mass email to everyone you know soliciting a contribution to your campaign. Personalization is the key to success. If you can send a personalized email to everyone, at least segment by demographic.

4. All text, no visuals

The point of crowdsourcing is to tell an effective story for the sake of accruing backers. Visuals are absolutely key. If your campaign is comprised solely of words and no visuals, it may be time to go back to the drawing board, and add in compelling videos and pictures.

5. Generic reward offerings

On crowdsourcing sites such as Kickstarter, you have the opportunity to offer rewards in exchange for project funding. Take time to put serious thought into your reward offerings, and be creative. Offer things that backers otherwise wouldn’t be able to receive. For example, if offering standard company merchandise as a reward may not cut it, considering consumers could probably buy that same merchandise without backing the campaign. As a general rule of thumb, offer backers something unique they wouldn’t otherwise be able to purchase or access.

Pivot International is a product design, development, and manufacturing firm with strengths in software development, electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, and industrial design. If you are interested in engineering a new product or updating an existing product, contact us at 1-877-206-5001 or request your free consultation today.

The Top 3 Products of Summer 2015

Good news—summer is just around the corner!

Best Products of 2015

What are the hottest summer products out on the market this year? Let’s take a look.

The Apple Watch

Make sure you’re on time for your kid’s swimming lessons and soccer games with what may be the most highly anticipated product launch of the summer. Pre-orders for the Apple Watch kicked off at the beginning of April, and according to reports, several models have already sold out. The high-tech watch boasts a sleek aesthetic with stainless steel, aluminum and gold finishes, and six watchbands.

The Solar-Powered Edyn Garden Sensor

One of the best parts about summer is being able to enjoy all the freshly grown produce plucked right from your backyard garden. From juicy strawberries to fresh tomatoes, there is no greater summer joy than harvesting your own fruits and veggies. Now, you can take your backyard garden up a notch with the Yves Behar-designed Edyn Garden Sensor, which provides professional and amateur gardeners with soil readings, plant recommendations, and customized tips.

“I knew I wanted to use technology to help farmers, but I did not know this would be a sensor technology,” explains Jason Aramburu, the mastermind behind the product. “In 2012, I was managing thousands of acres of field trials across Kenya. I needed to keep track of how different soil amendments were affecting soil moisture. I could not find any sensor technology that was affordable, so I set about creating Edyn.” The sensor works with a specially designed iOS app to provide readouts of soil conditions and fertilizing and watering tips. The good news is that you’ll be able to find the sensor in stores this May!

Essax Shark Saddle

For all cycling enthusiasts looking to get on their bikes this summer, the Essax Shark Saddle is making waves throughout cycling circles. Definitively one of the summer’s most innovative products and probably one of the most unique bike saddles on the market, the Essax Shark Saddle claims to optimally distribute a rider’s weight for a super comfortable ride. “The technology that has gone into the Essax Shark saddle is the ‘AF-Net Matrix’. This technology is applied to the shell of the saddle, with Essax claiming this makes the saddle 4.7 percent more efficient, 37 percent more rigid and 70 percent more resistant to dynamic fatigue compared to identical,” Cycling Weekly reports.

Pivot International is a product design, development, and manufacturing firm with strengths in software development, electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, and industrial design. If you are interested in engineering a new product or updating an existing product, contact us at 1-877-206-5001 or request your free consultation today.