The Best Ways to Market a New Invention
The route to market for new inventions takes two distinct directions -- licensing your invention to another organization or marketing it yourself. That decision requires a careful review of risk and reward. Although marketing an invention yourself appears to offer greater control and potentially greater profit, the risks involved in development, production and marketing could be high. Licensing transfers the risk to another organization with the rewards to you in the form of a one-time payment or continuous royalties on sales.
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Advice
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Whatever route you choose, take professional advice at each stage. Work with patent attorneys to register and protect your intellectual property before opening negotiations with any other party. Discuss your invention with patent agents who can advise on the current new product requirements of their manufacturing and marketing clients. Review existing market research sources and consult market research companies on the best way to fill any gaps in the research.
Finished Product
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If your invention is an idea or concept, rather than a finished product, carry out market research to assess its potential as a commercial product. Identify customer needs and assess the physical product features your invention would require to meet those needs more effectively than existing solutions. Carry out full development and production costings to determine realistic pricing and volume levels.
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Partners
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Identify partners who can bring essential skills that will help you take your invention to market. Universities have innovation groups who carry out basic research or spin out new ideas into commercial products. Many have business incubation units that provide business-related services and facilities to individuals or start-ups that want to develop their inventions. Contact product development companies or marketing agencies specializing in innovations.
Test
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Investing in manufacturing facilities represents a very high risk for a new invention. If the finished product does not reach its forecast sales level, that could spell disaster. Consider working with contract manufacturers or companies who offer prototyping or low-volume manufacturing. By producing an initial batch of products, you can carry out realistic test marketing and scale future production in line with demand.
Marketing
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If you decide to produce and market your invention yourself, you have a choice of routes to market. Set up an e-commerce website and use marketing tools such as email or direct mail to generate traffic to the site. Appoint distributors or retailers to market the product. Take space at trade exhibitions to sell direct to users or meet potential distributors.
Licensing
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Licensing carries a lower risk for the inventor. Development, production and marketing require specialist business skills as well as considerable financial investment. By licensing an invention to a third party, the inventor is free of the business risk but can still receive an income. The license can be based on a patent, copyright or just an idea. It's important to work with a company that has an established market presence with the resources and knowledge to market and distribute your product effectively. The better they perform, the more you make in royalties.
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Resources
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