Developing new products

New product development is a vital expansion strategy. A typical process is highlighted in Figure 4below.

For carsales.com new products are developed which are attractive to car buyers, sellers and advertisers. These could relate to new niche websites or improved search and match technologies.

Underpinning effective new product development is the need for market research. This can occur in a number of different ways. Firstly carsales.com looks at their peers in other related industries, both in Australia and overseas. These provide a benchmark of technology applications for carsales.com to measure themselves against. Secondly, they keep a close watch on emerging technologies and consider their application to the business. Thirdly, carsales.com might commission independent, third party research to support its own internal research. And finally they tap into the thoughts, ideas and comments expressed within social media.