In our previous e-newsletter, we discussed the first of an 8 Step Product to Market Guide for inventors and entrepreneurs looking for some direction on where to begin. Now that you’ve had some time to think about the ‘why’, read more as we discuss the second step of this guide and become one step closer to achieving your goals of launching your own product idea.

So you have a product idea, great! You may have gotten to the point of knowing your ‘why’, even better! The next big step is to Establish Marketability. What does this mean? Well, it’s obvious; your idea must be marketable. If you are going to invest all your time, energy and monies into what you think might just be the next big product idea, then you must do it right. You want to make sure that your product idea will appeal to buyers and can be sold at a well enough value to generate profits.

Start Simple

So, how do you know if people will buy your product? Before we get into any business vernaculars, let’s start simple. Ask yourself this, has anyone else thought of this idea? Will anyone buy this product? A simple Google or Amazon search might be your first check. With Google and Amazon, the possibilities are endless and chances are if your product idea is already available to the market, you will find it on these two sites. If it is that your product idea is already available, don’t worry, that’s a good thing in fact. This will tell you that there is already an established need for similar products and that the market is conscious of and has adopted products similar to that of your idea.

There are many ways to successfully brand and market products even if similar products are already on the market. This will happen in the early stages of research and development of your product idea and Envision can help you with this! Knowing who your competitors are, is the first step to getting ahead of them. You must listen, analyze and think strategically to develop the product idea that will eventually lead you on the road to success.  

Some Business Vernaculars – The 5 Ws

You’ve heard of the Five W’s: who, what, when, where, and why right? Great, let’s talk about how to apply your market research.  The 5-W principal is used to identify, categorize, and understand your buyers. This is foundational to your targeted Marketing Plan, so you need to really engrain this information into your approach, and know your target market better than you know yourself!

o   Who are your buyers?

• Will you be targeting a specific market (niche) or the general population? Children, Women, Men?

o   What do they do?

• Work? Play? Do they have enough disposable income to want to buy your product?

o   When do they buy?

• Spring, summer, winter, fall, holiday, natural disaster, zombie apocalypse? Will your product be something that is seasonal or all year around? When will the market be inclined to buy it?

o   Where do they buy?

• Online, retail, wholesale? You want to make sure that your product is available and accessible through channels that are convenient for your target market.

o   Why do they buy?

• Considering the psychological, social, and cultural ideas of your target market can help you understand them better. Is there an emotional trigger that motivates the purchase? Fear, comfort, pleasure, excitement, memory collection perhaps? Is it, for instance, trendy or fashionable?

Overall, establishing marketability helps to determine the value of your product idea. At this point, you will be able to determine whether the idea is a worthwhile investment. These market evaluations tell if your product idea stands out. Will it be able to offer something different such as price or quality to the target market! Once you’ve done this, you are one step closer to getting your product to market and be sure to not miss the upcoming third step of this guide.