Product
Marketing Article
By: Bob Cannon
Ever see a new product and say to yourself, “Why
didn’t I think of that?” Well, if you stop
to think about it, probably everyone one of us has either
had an idea for a new product, believe we are capable
of a new product idea or knows of someone else who has
had a new product idea.
To get an idea of the magnitude of new product ideas
and activity, I did a quick search on the word “inventor”
on Google and back came 9,300,000 websites. If you do
the same thing with “invention” you get
18,000,000 listings. We are not talking hundreds or
even thousands, but tens of millions. The generation
of new product ideas or inventions in our world is huge.
Yet when most people stop to think about the people
they have been exposed to with new ideas, they are lucky
to think of even one who has achieved any kind of success
with their idea.
How many of you have successfully marketed a new product
or know someone who has successfully marketed that new
product idea? My guess is few if any.
Why is it that with so many new product ideas, there
are so few commercial successes?
My experience both in the corporate world and as an
independent consultant leads me to believe that it all
boils down to a lack of understanding. First and foremost
is a lack of understanding of who the customer really
is, what they expect of the product and what they are
willing to pay for it. This by far is the most common
shortcoming in most inventors offering. I can’t
even begin to count the number of people who have spent
their entire budget on producing product, getting patents
and developing sales materials without knowing who the
customer is, how the product will be used and what the
consumer is willing to pay for the product.
In today’s world, knowing all about the customer
is critical. Almost 40 years ago when I started into
business, the buyers of products at the different retail
chains knew more about the customers than did anyone
else in the marketplace. Today, people move so quickly
that there is very little knowledge about the consumer.
The inventor must now do the work that used to be done
by the retailer and the distributor and make the buying
decision so easy that it is a no brainer for his channel
of distribution partners.
As if that weren’t enough, the inventor also
needs to understand the options that are
available for getting the product to market and
balance that against the time, money and drive that
are available to devote to achieving success in the
market. The more the inventor knows about their own
motivation, the easier it will be to choose among the
options. While it is not impossible to figure out what
options are available, this is an ideal time to get
outside help in outlining the options and evaluating
how each option fits that particular inventor. This
can be done with an industry knowledgeable advisor,
a consultant or possibly with a careful reading of the
“Guide
to the U.S. Hardware Market.”
After the inventor has developed a clear picture of
the product, the consumer and the options available
to market the product, they must then understand
the different channels to get your product
to market and how to present the product to that particular
channel. How to present the product includes things
like pricing, packaging, promotion and service. All
need to be tailored to the particular channel that best
fits your needs.
Once you have addressed all of these areas of understanding,
you have the basis for a plan to go to market and the
next step is execution. Even the most well thought out
plans can fail if there isn’t a means to gather
feedback and modify the plan as needed.
There are so few people who go through the necessary
steps to introduce an invention or new product idea,
that it is no wonder we don’t know more successful
entrepreneurs.
If you would like to know more about the steps to achieve
success in preparing your new product for the U.S. Hardware
market, visit http://www.marketingnewproduct.com.
We have even developed a collaborative consulting product
call the Quickie Market Analysis
to help inventors, and new product marketers avoid the
pitfalls.
It doesn't really matter where you are in the process
of introducing your product. The Quickie
Market Analysis will pick you up where
you stumbled and move you toward success. Visit the
U.S. Hardware /Hardlines Resource
Center to learn more.
# # #
© Copyright Bob Cannon, The Cannon Advantage,
2005. All rights reserved.
Byline
Bob Cannon helps inventors, imagineers, importers and
manufacturers successfully introduce new products to
the Hardware / Hardlines Marketplace. Check out his
blog at http:www.takingaim.blogspot.com.
Bob can be reached at (216) 408-9495
or mailto: bob@marketingnewproduct.com.
This article courtesy of http://www.marketingnewproduct.com.
You may freely reprint this article on your website
or in your newsletter provided this courtesy notice
and the author name and URL remain intact.'
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