Team+1+Product+Plan


 * Team # 1-Catie Willis and Emma Russell**
 * Project 3: __The Product Planning Process for a Wiffle Ball__**

**Input:**

 * //Customers://** What colors would you like? Do you want to stick with traditional white? What would you change about the Wiffle Ball? We will have volunteers go to sporting goods stores and conduct surveys, that won't take but a minute to answer.
 * //Sales://** What regions sell the most and the least? What age group buys the majority of the product?
 * //Engineering://** Would the squares need to have curved edges to be more aero dynamic? This would help us perfect the merging of the two designs.
 * //Tech Support://** Would it be wiser to punch out the holes or stick to the mold? If we stick to the mold, we would need them to create a prototype mold to find the right model. If we punch out the shapes, a machine to do so, would need to be designed and built. Would substituting the rubber for the hard plastic affect the machines that we have?
 * //Marketing://** What is popular to our target audience at this time? Would including the bat be a good idea (package deal concept)? Or, would it be wiser to sell them 4 or 6 to a pack? Would commercials, radio, or billboard ads be most effective? This information would help us to know how to entice our audience to buy the new and improved ball.
 * //Competition://** Our strengths our shown through our newly improved design and material, and that we now offer them in a multitude of colors, not just original white!

**Product Ideas:**

 * //Idea A://** We plan to replace the hard plastic material used to make the original Wiffle Balls, with a hard rubber material called Polybutadiene. By substituting the plastic with rubber, not only will the ball be able to go further when hit, but it will be more durable and less likely to crack as well as become a safer product for bare hand catching and potential hits to the face.
 * //Idea B://** Because of past experience with Wiffle Balls already on the market, we plan on combining and adjusting the two current designs to create a more aero dynamic ball. By combining the two designs we believe we will find a good medium between too hard of a ball and too brittle of a ball to produce a product that will last longer by adding strategically placed small squares in place of the circular holes. And we shall call it....the Waffle Ball

**Approved Product:**
We decided to combine both Idea A & B, because together, they make an all around better product. We chose these improvements, because it provides the consumer with a more stable and backyard worthy product for the money they spend. Through these improvements we have improved the game of Wiffle ball by producing stronger and more aero dynamic ball that is safer at the same time.

**Marketing:**
We plan to market our new Wiffle Ball, on billboards, in sports magazines, and in newspaper ads. We plan to use the colors red, orange, and yellow (the colors of fire) to emphasize that the improvements have made it a hotter product, and a faster ball. Letters will be big and bright to catch everyones attention. An we plan to show that even though there have been improvements it is still meant for a backyard favorite.

**Conclusion:**
We looked at the products already on the market and listed the pros and cons of the two designs. Because of our experience with both styles we were able to pick exactly what it was we wanted in our new designs. To find our information, we used what we knew about the previous products and then went to The Wiffle Ball website where we continued our evaluation, Once there, we discovered there was no information on how the balls are made but there was a phone number. We contacted the Wiffle Ball factory and were directed to Steven who answered all our questions about the making of the balls. We were surprised by every thing he told us. The balls are made in two halves from hard plastic made in molds, not cut out. Once the pieces are successfully molded, they are heat sealed together to form the ball. This whole product is created automatically in machines. It is only a two step process. We had several questions that we would need to have answered before going through with our product. We are unsure about the square holes or to continue with a revamped mold. Other than those, we didn't run into any problems. We did though have to debate the desicion to use rubber because we didn't want something too hard or too brittle. However, debates over issues such as that, should ,and probably do come about in actual companies during their product planning process. Companies should try out a multitude of different material choices for their product to see which one enhances the product to its fullest potential, before putiing it out on the market. Other issues, compaineis face when coming up with new products, and ways to revamp existing products, is coming up with the next big thing! our generation is always wanting more. More features, more colors, more more more. Companies have to be very intouch with their target consumers, and always be ahead of what the consumer will want next.