Product+Planning-Team+4

Customers: What customers want from a tennis ball is durablility and a better curve. We will get this input by designing the ball in a different way.
 * The Product Planning Process for a Tennis Ball**
 * Input:**

Sales: The sales would cost a little more than an original ball but will sell much more since it's a more advanced ball.

Engineering: The engineering of the new ball would be the same size and shape, a new line design on the ball, fix the inside for durability and a better bounce. It matters because we don't want the ball to look the same, we want a change in appearence and performance.

Tech Support: Tech support can help in how we distribute the balls to stores, a website where you could order the tennis balls, a number you can call for information on the new products.

Marketing: Something we could use for marketing are athletes using the new ball and showing how great it is. This is important because it shows the customers that athletes like the new ball and will encourage them to buy one themselves.

Competition: Wilson, Dunlop, Kong, Prince, Gamma, Rol Dri, Sportogo, Tretorn, Unique, Volkl, Penn. The strenghts we have over these brands are advanced balls and a new brand which customers would like to try out.

Idea A: Slightly bigger, different material fit for a better hit against the racquet. Idea B: Different line designs for a better curve, fixing the inside for a better bounce, different colors.
 * Product Ideas:**

Our team decided to choose Idea B because it would best fit the new way to change the ball. We chose it because Idea A violates the laws of a tennis ball, it has to be a certain size and has to be the same material as any other ball. The idea we chose is a much more efficient ball, we would fix the inside rubber so it can last longer and bounce better, change the line designs in a way so the ball can have better curve when struck, and various colors because no one wants the same lime color ball. This would revolutionize the sport by making each match last longer due to the advanced balls.
 * Approved Product:**

Marketing: We will use athletes to advertise in commercial, because people tend to follow famous people. An example would be Maria Sharapova using the ball in a practice session for a commercial

Conclusion: Our team had to brainstorm for a while to think of something, but we eventually though of some ideas that can improve the overall game, improving the performance of the product. Something we learned is that the tennis balls have to be a certain size and have the same material, so we couldn't change any of that. An issue we had was the material problem, we wanted to change the material to something a little rougher but we can't because of the rules. I think the same issues happen to companies because I'm sure they don't just want the same material ball. Other issues a company can have are things involving the material, the inside, and design.