First, let’s recall the four “P’s” of marketing Marketing is a science devised to help drive customers to your door. There are lots of ways to define how to market well, including the four P’s of marketing (1): product, price, promotion and place. This is considered to be the producer-oriented model. These are still the driving focus […]
Product Development
Do You Really Want to be the First to Market?
My stories of missing the context of the times Over the years, as I managed my several computer companies as CEO or executive chairman, I made the decision to go to market with a brand-new product that had never before been exposed to my customer’s marketplace. In each case, after overwhelming publicity, certainly noticed by a […]
How Product Packaging Can Make or Break a Sale
Packaging should never be a hindrance when customers buy something from you—in fact, it should inspire customers to buy the product.Whether for individual or commercial uses, it is one of the most important components of any product and has a big impact on how well your product performs. The quality of the packaging also determines […]
Create a Great Product – the 3-Step Dance Method
Can you create a product in a vacuum? Creating a new product in a relative vacuum is an exercise in complete trust that you know what’s best for the customer, perhaps even without interaction with such a customer. It’s probably happened, but not often enough to trust this method as a formula for success. The […]
Economics 101: If Water Flows Downhill, Then Why Fight It?
You’ll get the importance of this in a moment. Hang in there. Substitute the word “money” for “water” and we have an explanation for most all the reasons why successful products move from concept through early adopters through mass market. How money flows through the system Money flows to the cheapest effective solution to a […]
5 Important Factors When Choosing a Manufacturer for Your Product
Whenever your business needs something manufactured, whether it’s a final product or an individual prototype, you will need to find a suitable manufacturer. If you’ve never looked for a manufacturer before then the world can be a little overwhelming at first; most people don’t realize just how many different types of manufacturer there are and […]
The Cost of Counterfeit Products
Counterfeits can hurt your business even if you don’t know they’re out there. A shocking two in five name brand products sold online turns out to be counterfeit, and many counterfeits are so convincing consumers don’t know they aren’t real until they have been injured or the product malfunctions. Small businesses especially can be hurt […]
Start a Product-Innovation Revolution in 6 Steps—Whether You’re David or Goliath
In his book David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants, Malcolm Gladwell upends the idea that it was surprising for David, the underdog, to vanquish Goliath, the almighty giant. Underdogs, Gladwell suggests, have certain inherent advantages. In business, companies might find themselves in either the David or Goliath position, and it’s important to […]
Can a Revolutionary Concept Be Too Late to Market?
Too many startup businesses, especially in the technology world, are built upon brand new concepts that have not yet been proven in the field against products from other companies that already have revenues flowing. As a rule, creating a product that does not fit into an existing space, cannot be defined against one or more competitors, […]
4 Strategies for Lowering Product Development Cost in a Startup
For a big company, lowering product development cost makes little sense. A big company has scale, and that means even small improvements in the product more than offset their cost. However, for a startup, product development cost is paramount. Startups have only so much cash and no revenue. Worse, most startups do not raise anything […]
