Time to market, what is it?
The time to market or TTM is the time that passes from the conceptualization of a product or service until it is launched on the market. It is also known as Speed to market. It is then, of all the work processes that are generated in order to offer that product or service to the final customer.
There is no standardized TTM system. Each company, product, and service will have a different time to market. Today, the TTM has been greatly reduced thanks to advances in technology that streamline many of the processes. However, it should be noted that the demands of consumers have also changed. Users demand immediacy. If a brand of product X does not offer news on time, it is very easy for this customer to switch to the competition.
Time to market phases
- The roles of each of the team’s components are defined. Among them are assigned the roles of sponsor and project manager.
- Once the conceptualization of the project has been established, the team together with the stakeholders will decide on the viability of the project.
- In this stage, the product design begins. All this after having evaluated the market study that will determine the needs of the market. Workshops will be held where all team members will contribute their ideas.
- After having defined the design of the product or service, we move on to the stage of product development, production, and testing. Here we will study which are the best and most efficient production processes that minimize costs and time.
- Once the product or prototype is manufactured, tests will be carried out to verify if the product meets the expectations. The times and production processes will also be analyzed.
- In this phase, the product is launched on the market and it begins to study the acceptance of it by the users. Depending on the results, the continuity of the product will be decided.
The importance of TTM
Nowadays, it is essential for any company to invest in R & D. The fact of not developing new products, gives the competition an advantage. However, the first to arrive can dominate the market positioning itself as a leader in its sector. In addition, once the product or service is generalized and popularized, it loses performance as there are many actors at stake. Today, technology plays a very important role in the development and launch of new products.
Launching a product or service on time is vital. The fact of delaying a few months in the launch of the product can mean significantly reducing the market segment to which it is intended. In addition, not only that, but the competition can be much greater.
Arriving late at the market will affect us negatively in two ways. The first is that we will not be able to sell the product for so long. The second is that market share is lost and can not be recovered later, so the number of potential buyers decreases.
Advantages of a good TTM
Nowadays, companies invest an average of 40% more time and resources than necessary. As a result, this causes delays in launches. In general, wasted resources are due to:
- repetitive work
- administrative paperwork
- bad information management
- Inefficient suppliers
But, what are the advantages of managing the Time to market well?
Economic management procedures
Working with a well-run schedule will optimize time and production costs as well as staff planning and delivery times.
Increase in profit margins
If the product in question meets the demands of the market and is launched early, there will be more time margin and possible stakeholders that will increase the chances of increasing profits.
Advantage over competitors
Arriving early in the market, you get more market opportunities and greater market shares.
How to improve your company’s TTM
In order to improve the time to market of your company, you can implement the following strategies:
Combine business with technology
In many companies, the departments involved in the launch of a product or service do not collaborate in the design and innovation processes. This is a mistake to avoid.
Clear financial objectives
Selecting a clear revenue goal: Giving your innovation team a clear objective, in financial terms, that they must achieve will stimulate them to strive harder to succeed. Innovations are innately connected to the company’s business model, so there should be a clear way to measure your success from a financial point of view. This will encourage teams to push for a faster TTM.
Outsource processes
One way to streamline processes if the resources of your company are compromised is to hire external companies to help us finalize processes. In this way, we can finish the design and production phases more quickly, although this has a higher cost than doing it in-house.
Organized workflows
Reduce downtime to a minimum and boost efficiency. In this way, it will be possible to have the entire team working on the project during all phases of development. In the same way, it is possible to clearly assign tasks and deadlines. It will also be better understood how the delays of each phase in the later phases would affect. This way, each member can have a 360 view of the entire project.
Organized planning
Each of the processes to be fulfilled during the development and design phase must have established delivery dates. In this way, a commitment is generated and a part of pressure is exerted so the members of the team get involved to the fullest. These reference dates must be coherent, feasible, and easily accessible to all. In the event that these dates are not being met, there is a risk of ending the project delayed.
Track effective and real-time results
It is ideal that all team members collaborate in all phases of design and development. It is very important to share all project information with all of them. In this way, the interest and collaboration of all is increased. The information must be shared in real-time to speed up and make decisions quickly and efficiently. This way you avoid delays by waiting for revisions and feedback.
Accessible materials and information
Having all the information and materials updated and without confusion, will allow us to work on outdated versions. This will avoid duplicating the work. Currently, a tool that allows working in this way, is the applications of management of projects in the cloud.
Despite being simple and logical measures, these are not always met. In companies with vertical structures, the implementation of these measures to streamline TTMs is complicated as the decision-making process is long and tedious.
In summary, the TTM of a product can be well organized if all these measures are taken into account, which will mean greater benefits for the company. Also if you want to increase the general sales of your company, we recommend that you have this article about customer experience.
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