The Online Inventor is a free newsletter for inventors
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THE
ONLINE INVENTOR – October Issue
(c)
2005 Market Launchers, Inc.
http://www.marketlaunchers.com
Editor:
Paul Niemann
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You
are receiving this free newsletter because you signed up for it either at my
MarketLaunchers.com web site, or by sending me an e-mail. If you want to
unsubscribe, just hit the "reply" button and type in the word
"unsubscribe."
You
know how it’s always fun to watch those “bloopers” reels on TV? Well, I
thought we’d create our own bloopers reel for you to enjoy in the next issue
of this newsletter, except that the purpose is to LEARN from other people’s
mistakes rather than to LAUGH at them. Here’s how it works:
You
send me a short paragraph of what you did wrong in either inventing, or in
marketing your invention, followed by another short paragraph explaining what
you SHOULD HAVE DONE (hindsight is always 20/20, right?). I will use the 3 best
ones that readers submit, and your name will not be used – to make sure that
no one gets embarrassed.
The 3
inventors whose stories I publish will receive a FREE & SIGNED copy of the Invention
Mysteries book. In a future issue, we’ll do a story on the 3 BEST ideas
that you submit.
I
hope you enjoy the 3 articles below. The third one is from the Invention Mysteries book, which is available at http://www.InventionMysteries.com
(To those of you who have already bought the book and are enjoying it, thank
you. I appreciate it.)
Best
Regards,
http://www.MarketLaunchers.com
800-337-5758
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In
this issue …
Article
# 1: RESEARCH:
Part 1 … “How Do You Know if Your Invention Will Sell,” by
Paul Niemann of MarketLaunchers.com
Article
# 2: “The
Case of the Missing Monkee,” by Paul
Niemann of InventionMysteries.com
Article
# 3: RESEARCH:
Part 2 … “Know What Questions to Ask,”
by Paul Niemann of MarketLaunchers.com
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Article
# 1: “How
Do You Know if Your Invention Will Sell,” by Paul Niemann of MarketLaunchers.com
There’s
no way to know for sure, but here are a few statistics to consider …
1.
A typical patent costs between $3,000 -- $5,000 WHETHER OR NOT THE
INVENTION IS PROFITABLE FOR THE INVENTOR.
2.
It’s been reported that only 3% of all patented inventions become
profitable for the inventor. Obviously, this means that 97% lose money despite
all your hard work.
With
these 2 statistics, wouldn’t it make sense to try to find out if your
invention is likely to be profitable for you before you spend a bunch of money
on it?
There
are 2 groups of people you can talk with in order to get feedback about your
invention. By doing so, you will get a pretty accurate idea of whether or not
your invention will likely succeed.
*
The first group is the distribution group, meaning factory reps,
wholesalers and store managers. Which factory reps, wholesalers and store
managers should you talk to?
Those who work
in YOUR industry. You would want to ask the store manager of stores where you
would expect to see YOUR product being sold, because he would know the types of
products that sell well, and he can make some suggestions to you. Plus, he might
be able to recommend some sales reps who he buys his products from, and he would
be familiar with your industry.
* The second
group consists of the consumers in your target market – those who are most
likely to buy your product. When I ask inventors who their invention is intended
for, most will say that it’s “for everybody.” You need to be more specific
than that; for example, it might be meant for middle-aged men. Or college
students. Or single women. Or construction workers. These are all examples of
target markets; “everybody” is not a market because there is no product that
is meant “for everybody”
OK, so you decide to do some
research among factory reps, wholesalers and store
owners, as well as consumers in your target market. “But what if
someone steals my idea?” you say.
True, it is possible that
someone can steal your idea when you disclose it to them. You can protect
yourself – to a certain extent – with confidentiality agreements, BUT what
do you think will happen if your invention is successful?
Someone will knock it off.
Guaranteed! It happens to nearly every successful product. Hopefully, you will
have built up enough of a sales lead to thwart off the knock-offs by that time.
The main purpose of this
article is to help you become one of the 3% of inventors who make a profit with
your invention (assuming that you patent it) and not one of the 97 % who
patent an unprofitable invention.
#
# #
Paul
Niemann runs MarketLaunchers.com, building web pages for inventors. Having your
own web page allows you to show your invention to companies when you’re unable
to present it to them in person. It can serve as your own “online brochure.”
Plus, there are companies who search the MarketLaunchers Invention Database for
new products.
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Article
# 2: “The
Case of the Missing Monkee,” by Paul
Niemann of MarketLaunchers.com
PUBLISHER’S
NOTE:
The following story is from my book, “INVENTION
MYSTERIES: The
Little-Known Stories Behind Well-Known Inventions,”
which is available at from fine bookstores. Signed copies are available only at http://www.InventionMysteries.com
This story will probably remind you of one of those popular “The
Rest of the Story” stories that you hear on Paul Harvey.
Bette
experimented with many different combinations of ingredients until she found the
right formula. Later, after she had already begun selling bottles of her Liquid
Paper, she was fired from her job. The firing turned out to be a blessing,
though, as it enabled her to devote all of her time to her Liquid Paper
business. Sales began to skyrocket and, in an attempt to fill the demand while
keeping her costs down, Bette had her son, Robert, help her fill the bottles
of Liquid Paper.
By
1975, her company, the Liquid Paper Corporation, employed 200 people and
produced 25 million bottles of Liquid Paper that were sold in 31 countries. She
later sold her company to Gillette for $47 million plus royalties.
I
don’t mean to change the subject, but back in 1997, the 1960’s pop band, The
Monkees, staged their 30th Anniversary Reunion Tour. Only three
of the original four band members participated. Davy Jones, Micky Dolenz and
Peter Torkinson, a.k.a. “Tork,” were all there, but what happened to the
fourth Monkee? Why would he skip their
reunion tour?
Could
it be because the missing Monkee was
in a much better financial position than the other Monkees? If so, how did he become wealthier than the others?
Remember
when I mentioned that Bette Nesmith’s son, Robert, helped her fill the bottles
with Liquid Paper in the 1950’s?
Robert
is his first name, but he goes by his middle name … Michael. You probably know
him as Michael Nesmith, guitarist for the band The Monkees … Bette’s boy.
Congratulations
… you’ve just solved the “Case of the Missing Monkee.”
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Article
# 3: RESEARCH:
Part 2 … “Know What Questions to Ask,”
by Paul Niemann of MarketLaunchers.com
In
Article # 1, I listed 2 main groups of
people you can talk with in order to get feedback about your invention. The
first group is the distribution group, meaning factory reps, wholesalers and
store owners. The second group consists of consumers in your target market.
First, let’s start with
the distribution group, focusing on store managers.
Here are several questions to ask. You can (and should) add your own questions
to this list …
How does the packaging look to you? Do you have any suggestions to make the packaging more attractive? (The packaging plays a MAJOR role in sales.)
What do you like about
my product? Is there anything you dislike about it?
Are there any changes
you would like to see made to it?
Will you put it on you
shelves once it’s available? (If not, then ask him what it would take to
carry it in his store.)
Where would you place it
in your store?
At which price would you
sell it to your customers? Example: $9.95, $12.95, $14.95 or $19.95? etc.
Anything else you think
is important to know.
The main thing
the retailer will want to know is how well it will sell, and what is his profit
margin. Any in-store displays that you can supply, and any outside advertising,
will help boost sales.
Next up is the customer group. You ask roughly 10 potential customers (members of your market) for their opinions on the following questions, which are pretty similar to the questions that you ask the distribution group:
What kind of product are
you currently using?
What do you like about
my product? What do you dislike about my product?
Are there any changes
you would like to see made to it?
Will you buy it when you
see it on the store shelves?
At which of the
following prices would you be willing to buy it? Example: $9.95, $12.95,
$14.95 or $19.95? etc.
Anything else you think
is important to know.
Questioning
consumers can be done in a focus group setting or in one-on-one surveys. Good
luck, and I think you’ll be surprised at how much new information you learn
about your own product as well as how much you learn about your target market
(and how to sell your product to them).
#
# #
Paul
Niemann runs MarketLaunchers.com, building web pages for inventors. Having your
own web page allows you to show your invention to companies when you’re unable
to present it to them in person. It can serve as your own “online brochure.”
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THE
END
Click here to
get your own web page for your invention.
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