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In the Spotlight

A close-up of teardrop and round Swarovski crystals hanging from a chandelier.
Figure 10.1 A new product’s success is dependent on the product development cycle and why consumers adopt new products. New product development involves a process of stages. (credit: “Chandelier” by Drew Coffman/flickr, CC BY 2.0)

Chapter Outline

10.1 New Products from a Customer’s Perspective
10.2 Stages of the New Product Development Process
10.3 The Use of Metrics in Evaluating New Products
10.4 Factors Contributing to the Success or Failure of New Products
10.5 Stages in the Consumer Adoption Process for New Products
10.6 Ethical Considerations in New Product Development

Swarovski, a well-known company that specializes in crystal cutting, developed a campaign around diversity and acceptance a few years ago in an effort to reach worldwide customers. One such campaign that was launched during the holiday season in China focused on the Advent calendar despite the fact that the observance of Advent is primarily a Western tradition. If you’re not familiar with Advent calendars, they’re a type of calendar that counts down the days from December 1 to December 25, Christmas day. On each day in December, you open a pouch or flap on the calendar where a small candy or toy is included. Swarovski took the concept to a whole new level.

The Swarovski Advent calendar retailed for $458 and contained 25 individual compartments with Swarovski crystals. You might be thinking that the price is a little high, but think again—the market supported the price, and the calendars sold out quickly. While the physical Advent calendars took off in the market, so did the digital version. With the digital calendar, users would play interactive games, earn game cards, and then swap the cards with other people. After they collected seven unique cards, they could turn them in to Swarovski for a gift.

Later in this chapter, we’re going to explore some measurement metrics for determining the success of new product launches, but one immediate indicator that a product launch was successful is a quick sellout. For Swarovski, the fact that their Advent calendar sold out so quickly is a testament to the successful product launch.1

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