Use this simple hack to make your next product release a success

We've all heard the stories: companies making products for more than 6 months find out no one wanted them. These mistakes are costly because the average software-as-a-service company spends 23% of its budget on research and development, which can make or break your business. Indeed, R&D, when done well, has proven to be an effective, albeit risky, growth strategy. According to the Harvard Business Review, companies have dramatically increased their investment in R&D since the 1970s, when the average company spent less than 1% of its budget on R&D.

And these mistakes are surprisingly common: 42% of companies surveyed in a recent CB Insights survey chose "no market need" as their reason for failure. So, while companies must constantly create new products and better features for their users in order to continue growing, this is extremely risky.

This adds to unstable consumer preferences fueled by rising user expectations and a world full of alternatives. Businesses cannot afford product errors, especially in today's challenging macroeconomic environment.

Part of the problem is that concept and prototype testing, if done, is often done too late in the product development process. You need to research throughout the product development cycle to create the products and features your users want, not just refine them right before launch.

The good news is that there is an easy way to increase the chances of your next product release being successful: research four specific stages of the product development cycle.

1) Discovery research to identify difficulties and problems before developing concepts or ideas

2) Test the concept before you start creating prototypes

3) Usability testing when you have a working prototype

4) Iterative testing after the launch of your product.

If you expect users to use your new feature, avoid headaches and potential failures by gauging their interest as early as possible.

In 2011, Netflix launched Qwikster, which separated the streaming business from the DVD business. This made operational sense for the business, but was extremely burdensome for customers who had to log into two separate accounts with two separate monthly bills. After its announcement, there was a public outcry and the stock fell 50%. Eventually, Netflix apologized and did not continue with Qwikster, but it was a hard lesson learned. If they had asked the opinion of their users before the launch, they could have avoided a huge and expensive mess.

Similarly, Glassdoor spent six months creating a new product to test it just before launch and found that no one wanted to use it. To their credit, instead of launching it, they shelved it, but changing the order of operations to do their research first would have saved a huge amount of time and money.

You may be thinking, "I have to go fast, so I'm going to launch and iterate fast." What if you could skip your V1 and go straight to V2? This would save considerable resources and delight your users along the way, which would increase adoption, decrease churn, and build long-term value.

Investing in user experience during the design phase of a product can reduce the development cycle by up to 50%, according to a study by Strategic Data Consulting. That's time and energy you can't afford to waste in today's harsh macro environment. User research early and throughout the development process makes informed decisions the norm and enables you to create what your customer...