I always advocate inventing for the marketplace. But what does that really mean? Many inventors come up with an idea on the fly, without really having taken inventory of the similar products that exist in the marketplace. There’s no guarantee that there’s actually a market for the product. They’re excited about their idea, but that’s about it. It’s not impossible to create great ideas like this, but I do think the risks are greater and it’s more challenging.
I think that it’s possible to come up with great ideas simply by looking at existing products and analyzing individual companies’ strengths and weaknesses. Choose a company to analyze closely. Who are they? Who do they market their products to? Who is their audience? Visit a local retailer and take a look at their products. What does their packaging say? What does their brand say? What are they trying to accomplish? What is their message to the customer? How do they reach out to people – and are they successful? Try to get a sense of their success by talking to people who have bought their products, maybe even people in the store. Observe people interact with the product. Use Google to search for online reviews, complaints, and positive experiences. Do people like their products? After you’ve asked these questions and thought about the answers for some time, it’s time to identify what’s missing. What opportunities have they passed up? Many big companies use their resources to go after the big carrot, the idea that’s obvious and powerful and going to make them a lot of money. They may have missed small improvements that could be made to existing ideas that could have great value and worth to the consumer. They can’t possibly have thought of everything, and it’s in this space that you should seek opportunities for ideas. You don’t have to reinvent the wheel to come up with a great idea that someone will pay you to license – and what’s chunk change to a potential licensee could mean substantial income for you! And better yet, you’ve already identified a potential licensee.
———————
Stephen Key is a successful award-winning inventor who has licensed over 20 products in the past 30 years. He is a board member of Accudial Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and has a new book “One Simple Idea: Turn your dreams into a licensing goldmine while letting others do the work,” from McGraw-Hill. Along with business partner Andrew Krauss, Stephen runs inventRight, a company dedicated to education. Teaching inventors and entrepreneurs the skills needed to successfully license their ideas.
One Simple Idea is available in book stores and online book retailers nationwide. Visit www.inventright.com to learn more.
