On low cost product innovation

Betterncourt and Bettencourt (2011) is an article offering practical advice on low cost product innovation. As I see it, this kind of advice on product innovation is especially valuable for companies with tight budgets on R&D and for companies aiming for business growth in market segments with price-sensitive customers. Briefly, some of their suggestions that I figure out from reading their article are as follows:

1. Review previously rejected product concepts in view of the present market situation, e.g. changed customer needs, to spot business opportunties
2. Find out unaware-of innovations wrapped up in existing product bundles to develop new products
3. Re-design products with fewer features as "good enough" products to target new market segments
4. Find out possibilities of enhanced customer value via bundling of complementary products

These are then ideas of low-cost product innovations noted briefly from Bettencourt and Bettencourt (2011). You need to refer to their article for a full account of their ideas.


Reference
Bettencourt, L.A. and Bettencourt, S.L. (2011) "Innovating on the cheap" Harvard Business Review June, pp. 88-94.