New product development is the foundation upon which the future of the organization will grow. At some point your current offerings will tend to saturate your market and sales will slow. We attack this problem by seeking out new customers and by offering new products to current customers. If I had a dollar for every time we've been asked if we have other products, I could retire some significant debt.

Take a look around and you will see all manner of businesses trying to lure new customers by offering new, differentiated products. One example that immediately comes to mind is banks. Banks do not seem to have a problem coming up with new "products" for consumers. (Which brings me to a pet peeve -- financial institutions calling what they offer "products". To me a product is something that is built from raw material and offered for sale. For software, the raw material is brainpower and time.)

Our small endeavor has the product design and engineering experience we need to come up with a constant stream of products. Bringing these products to market on a tight budget is the tricky part. Also our marketing expertise is limited, so that our marketing decisions are ofttimes "seat of the pants". In addition to everything else, we are trying to get smarter about this aspect of our business by reading and asking questions.

I would find it useful if someone would write a column in this newsletter that addresses the theory of pricing in various markets and gives examples of how pricing affects sales. I know that books have been written about this subject -- I just bought one -- but some real life experiences from readers would make an interesting column. If not a column than a recommended reading list.

As your company grows, keep in mind that your present customer base is your best test market for your new products. If you have given your customers good value, then they will eagerly try out your latest offering. Customers are always looking for the new and better, so be creative and keep your quality high. I'm convinced it's a way to grow a company steadily and with the necessary foundation to keep it solid in the future.