What are the latest trends in concept development and how can you use them to stand out?

1 Trend 1: Customer Co-Creation

One of the most prominent trends in concept development is customer co-creation, which involves inviting and involving customers in the ideation and feedback stages of the process. Customer co-creation can help you gain deeper insights into customer problems, preferences, and expectations, as well as generate more diverse and innovative ideas. Moreover, customer co-creation can enhance customer loyalty, trust, and advocacy, as they feel more valued and engaged in the process. To use customer co-creation effectively, you need to select the right customers, methods, and tools, such as surveys, interviews, workshops, online platforms, or gamification.

2 Trend 2: Design Thinking

Another trend in concept development is design thinking, which is a human-centered and iterative approach to solving complex problems. Design thinking consists of five stages: empathize, define, ideate, prototype, and test. Design thinking can help you develop concepts that are more desirable, feasible, and viable, as well as more empathetic, creative, and user-friendly. To use design thinking effectively, you need to adopt a mindset of curiosity, experimentation, and collaboration, as well as use various techniques, such as personas, journey maps, brainstorming, prototyping, or testing.

3 Trend 3: Lean Startup

A third trend in concept development is lean startup, which is a methodology that focuses on building, measuring, and learning from minimum viable products (MVPs). MVPs are the simplest versions of your concepts that can be tested with real customers to validate your assumptions and hypotheses. Lean startup can help you develop concepts that are more aligned with customer needs and market opportunities, as well as more adaptable and scalable. To use lean startup effectively, you need to define your value proposition, customer segments, and key metrics, as well as use various tools, such as business model canvas, customer development, or pivot.

4 Trend 4: Open Innovation

A fourth trend in concept development is open innovation, which is a paradigm that encourages sharing and leveraging ideas and resources from external sources, such as partners, suppliers, competitors, or customers. Open innovation can help you develop concepts that are more novel, diverse, and valuable, as well as more cost-effective and efficient. To use open innovation effectively, you need to establish a clear vision, strategy, and governance, as well as use various mechanisms, such as alliances, networks, platforms, or crowdsourcing.

6 Trend 6: Sustainability

A sixth trend in concept development is sustainability, which is the ability to meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. Sustainability can help you develop concepts that are more responsible, ethical, and impactful, as well as more competitive and profitable. To use sustainability effectively, you need to consider the environmental, social, and economic aspects of your concepts, as well as use various frameworks, such as circular economy, triple bottom line, or green innovation.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?