The SmithBucklin Innovation Center is an association’s resource for growth through new product and service development and management. The Center works closely with client organizations to develop new products or services that drive value to members where they need it the most. We are proud to offer this unique and powerful resource which supports SmithBucklin’s mission to help client organizations grow.

The Importance of Offering New Products and Services to Members

Continuous advancements in technology. Shrinking travel budgets. Increased competition. Information flowing faster than ever. Factors like these have changed the game for associations, affecting growth trends and challenging the value brought to members. Associations can leverage the SmithBucklin Innovation Center and its proven new product development process to enhance their value proposition and help achieve their growth goals. The Center’s methodology is based on a deliberate, market-based research process that identifies member challenges and develops products that directly address those needs.

Why Follow a Process to Develop New Products or Services?

There is a risk to introducing any new product or service to the market. Without a market-based process, there is no way to know what product or service ideas will meet real needs, generate revenue or be developed based on sound financial analysis. Studies have continually shown that following a formal process for new product development yields more consistently successful results. According to a 1998 study by the Product Development & Management Association:

A large majority (68 percent) of firms that are most successful in bringing new products to market… follow a formal new product process. Moreover, they get better payoff from their new product efforts, with 49 percent of their profits coming from new products compared with 22 percent of profits for the rest.

The SmithBucklin Innovation Center’s process for new product development is based on a proven methodology that has brought success to many companies in the private sector. The methodology’s underlying process and principles have been customized to meet the unique governance, organizational and cultural requirements of trade and professional associations. A portfolio of new products and services is just the beginning. The Center works closely with association board members, volunteers and staff to build the competencies needed to establish a long-term model of new product development and management.

Find Out What the SmithBucklin Innovation Center Can Do for You

To learn more about how the SmithBucklin Innovation Center can help your association grow through new product development, call 1-800-539-9740, or email Stephanie Yanecek, vice president, SmithBucklin Marketing & Communication Services.