How To Find Ideas For Creating Your Own Profitable Products

How To Find Ideas For Creating Your Own Profitable Products
Simply Easier Marketing - Part 3 of 3.
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(c) 2004 Charles Kangethe
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In this Article we look at the third competitive advantage
of successful Internet Marketers - Creating Products.

The main problem with creating products is not in the build
process, but rather in the "Ideas Process."


Product Ideas Come From NEEDS
--------------------------------

* New Knowledge

Research at centres of learning gives rise to new theories that
provide a wealth of ideas, for new products.

* Emulation

Modification and copying of existing products and services is
the most common source of new ideas for products.

* Ego

Most inventors of products have big ego's that are only
satisfied by the "creative process," from invention to
production.

* Difficulty

Hardship in terms of effort required to do any work or activity
is a rich source of new ideas for products.

* Scarcity

Shortages of necessities and luxuries very often give rise to
new ways and products to overcome the shortages.

Product Development
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Products can be developed in one of two ways :

* Product Centric Approach

This is where the idea and the product are the drivers of the
process.

Prototypes and initial production runs are completed before
research to find out whether or not the product has a chance
of commercial success.

* Market Centric Approach

In this approach the Market is the driver.

It focuses on identifying clear market needs and then
finding very specific products to satisfy those needs.

With this approach you know your product will succeed
before you commit money to the production process.

The Research
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The two main purposes of research are :

* Technical Viability

In this step you analyse the process and cost of manufacture.

The aim is to find an answer to the question - Can the product
be made in commercial quantities for reasonable cost ?

* Commercial Viability

This step determines the likelihood of commercial success when
the product hits the shelves. You determine how much competitor
products sell for and the expected return on investment.

A Practical Exercise In Creating Your Own Product
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Step #1 - Developing NEEDS

Decide on which NEEDS you want to create a product for. For
this exercise we will use Difficulty.

Step #2a - Idea Development Using a Market Centric Approach :

Using a directory of Internet Newsgroups join a few groups and
lurk. Understand the group's purpose and etiquette, and when you
feel comfortable post a simple question. For instance :

=>

Hi Forum

I am doing some research and would like to know what is the
single biggest difficulty you have with x ?

Name

<=

Depending on the level of activity on the group you should get
back one or more ideas to work with.

This is market research in a basic form and can be made more
sophisticated depending on how much time and money you want to
throw at the research.

Step #2b - Idea Development Using a Product Centric Approach :

Think about your own or someone else's daily activities in and
out of work.

What single task is most difficult, repetitive, boring or
uninteresting ?

Here are a few high level ideas :

* List Building

* Writing Weekly Articles

* Scheduling Daily Tasks

For each high level idea, narrow it down :

* Lists - Get more subscribers, retain subscribers etc.

* Articles - find fresh ideas, writing, find publishers etc.

* Scheduling - plan the day, timekeeping, allocating priorities
etc.

Work each high level idea down to the lowest level of detail
you can, and then use the Internet to find existing products
that deal with your "low" level idea.

Study each product you find and score it for

* Strengths
* Weaknesses
* Availability (Placing)
* Pricing
* Marketing Strategy (Promotion)

Your aim is to find a product that you can improve on in THREE
or more of these areas.

Step #3 - Technical Research

* Define the product's form - digital, tangible, e-Book etc.

* Decide if you have the technical ability to build the product

* If you must sub contract the work - will you require patents
or trademarks ?

* How will you protect your idea against theft ?

* How much will it cost per unit to build ?

* How long will each build take ?

* How will you store it and fulfill Orders ?

Step #4 - Commercial Research

Many Marketers forget or choose to ignore this step !

Unless your product costs next to nothing to produce or is
meant to be a free give away, this step is critical before you
commit cash to the build process.

Go to the Internet forums and newsgroups and post a question.
For Instance :

=>
Hi Forum

I have an idea to resolve difficulty x. Would this be of
interest to you ? If so what specific features you like to see
in the solution to x ?

Name
<=

This step, performed in several different "Market Places," will
tell you :

* If your market is (still) "Hungry"

* Whether they really want to satisfy their "hunger"

* What they will pay to satisfy their "hunger"

Marketing - The Final Word
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If your research indicates that the project should go ahead,
your next step would be to create a marketing and sales plan.

As we saw in part 1 of this series, the big Internet players do
not only rely on personal sales, they have huge Affiliate
programs.

Affiliate sales should be a major plank in your marketing and
sales strategy.

Conclusion
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Creating your own product is not difficult. All you require is
a methodical approach and a plan.

This article gives you both.

Relevant Resources
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Find Markets for research purposes in newsgroups
=> http:/ ile.net/news/
=> http://groups.google.com/

Market Research Techniques and Resources
www.sbaonline.sba.gov/starting_business/marketing/basics.html

Set up an affiliate program - Simply Easier Marketing Part 1
=> http://www.simplyeasier.com/afiliates.htm

Traffic and Op't-In Lists - Simply Easier Marketing Part 2
=> http://www.simplyeasier.com raffic.htm

For an e-book on creating specific Info products and a report
on Market Research Before Building Your Products - send a blank
mail to
=> simplyeasier_products@getresponse.com

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Charles Kangethe of http://www.simplyeasier.com is a leading
new wave Netpreneur and a published author from Suffolk. The
"Simply Easier" brand name is your guarantee of high value,
quality Marketing Products, Services and Resources.
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