Coming up with new ideas is tough work these days, but getting that idea to market is tougher. A little alchemy sets things in motion so idea meets developer, developer finds investors and the stars align when the concept is trotted out before folks who actually sell it. Sounds daunting, and it is -- but if you apply due diligence and come up with substantive arguments for taking a risk on developing your brainstorm because its potential is unmistakable, there could be a big payday for you down the road.
Instructions
1. Determine your market. Human beings are complicated. You can't begin to judge your new product's potential if you don't know your target audience as well as the Internal Revenue Service. Ask probing questions. Read demographic research studies and psychological profiles. Understand how hot buttons affect a product's potential. For example, after 9/11, businesses making sealing tape used "to keep biological contaminants from leaking into homes" and made a fortune from fear. Know your market as well as you know yourself.
2. Determine the trends favoring your new product. Know the difference between a fad and a trend so you don't track the former thinking it will be around for an extended amount of time. Creative ideas associated with Operation Desert Storm went down in flames when the armed conflict ended before many products made it to market. Keep an eye on individual trending niches like fashion, lifestyles and particularly technology. While a new smartphone seems to be introduced every day, find a way to add features that nobody else offers and the potential for your new product will skyrocket.
3. Determine the irresistability of your product. Savvy marketers understand the importance of "longing" when evaluating the potential of a new product or idea. When a consumer longs for something, the urge transcends wants and needs -- she craves it. Psychologists, sociologists, anthropologists and behaviorists understand the depth to which longing influences human beings, and it's a great indicator of market potential. Longing can literally keep a consumer from sleeping and eating. Harness and satisfy that longing, and the potential of your new product will be limitless.
4. Determine whether the scarcity card can drive your product's potential. When Rod MacArthur started The Bradford Exchange in the 1970s, he was convinced that limited availability would quickly drive new product marketing of limited-edition collector plates. If only 1,000 are made and sell out fast, it's human nature to value the product even more. Bradford's trading floor tracked plates on the secondary market (post-sell-out). Prices soared and fell. Limit the availability of your concept, and if it picks up steam helped by this strategy, you'll soon recognize the wisdom of taking this marketing approach.
5. Determine your product's viability in relation to the competition. Many marketers list a competitor product analysis first when creating a plan because they believe a saturated market is risky business. Not everyone feels that way. Bold marketers willing to bet the farm on a product that resonates at gut level regularly intuit a feature or benefit that's noteworthy enough to send the product's potential into overdrive. It takes guts to play this card, but if it's coupled with the aforementioned dynamics and the right marketing message, you could have a winner.
