Forums: Discussions for entrepreneurs and small business.

One important aspect of commercialization is to make your product marketable.  It seems like common sense, but many inventors and companies fail to realize the importance of marketability.

Two important aspects of marketability are: design and ergonomics.  The concept for design is simple:  If your product does not look good, it will not attract eyes.  As our society becomes more style conscious, consumers have been demanding products with designer flair.  Notice the new designer packaging for soap bottles and shampoo?  How about that cool modern looking trash can?  Design efforts are now at the forefront, but don`t forget, it also has to function!

Ergonomics focuses on human interaction with a product.  If it is a product you hold, does it feel right in the hand?  Is it too big for the average sized hand?  If it is a chair, does it contour to the body?  Ergonomics compliments design.  After all, who would want to sit in a great looking chair that doesn`t feel comfortable?

Design and Ergonomics are keys to making a product highly marketable, but they are not the aspects of a successful product.  There are a host of other factors that are involved in the success of a product.  We have seen numerous clients spend thousands of dollars for the prototype process, yet almost zero dollars on design and development.  They got their product to store shelves on the cheap and the products were functional and innovative, yet nobody bought.  Skipping the design process can make a potential success into a market failure.  All that investment money will be lost if you do not take the proper steps to develop your product.

Sanyo Tzeng
Synthesis Labs, Inc.
www.synthesislabs.com | Product Design and Development

Much or all of that investment money will be lost if you do not take the proper steps to obtain patent protection, when available.

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James Lindon, Ph.D. Patent Attorney
Lindon & Lindon, LLC
Cleveland, Ohio
Patents, Trademarks, Copyrights, Pharmacy Law, Litigation
[this is not legal advice - provided for discussion only]
Intellectual Property for the Individual and Small Business: Identify, Protect, Enforce, Defend.
"Fools rush in where angels fear to tread."
http://www.LindonLaw.com

One reason marketing companies exist is to make any product marketable.

That is true.  However, it makes the marketing company`s job much easier if the product is designed well and is at least attractive correct?

I suspect there`s a connection here between tangible products, and, say, the entertainment business. We could say that many original bands play music that "isn`t marketable," from the perspective of the management agencies and recording industry.

But those bands are pioneering and doing music that hasn`t been heard before. It isn`t necessarily familiar or easy to sell. Does that mean the band should go back to playing copy material, or music everyone`s familiar with?

Patenting can be performed after a functional prototype.  I have had many clients that had to revise patents or file new patents all together because they tried to patent something before having a real "working" prototype.  You can patent an idea (which I agree is a GOOD idea to do), however, without proving the concept, you can lose lots of money going that route as well.

I am referring specifically to consumer products.  I realize that not everybody has the same taste, a well designed product not to mention ergonomics (most people have the same spinal cord structure) will pay off in leaps and bounds.  I need only point to the ipod that lacks in the features department yet everybody buys.  They have used a multi-pronged approach with superior design, superior marketing, and tying in the consumer to proprietary software (itunes).  Once again, industrial design IS an important driver of their success.  I have never heard of anybody wanting to purchase an ugly car even though perceptions of ugly do differ.  I am not debating the fact that marketing is not important.  I guess that is your forte.  Will you downplay the importance of good design and engineering?

I forgot to mention.  If you do succeed in marketing a badly designed or engineered product, there is also another hurdle to overcome.  It`s called the 30 day return policy.  Also, bad word of mouth.  The last time I checked, word of mouth is an extremely important marketing tool.

Sanyo, I think you make excellent points and I think they apply to all products (and not just consumer) ... "it feels better" is more compelling than "it works better" imho; not that any of this needs to be mutually exclusive, but even when you look at toasters, I can see what an impact great design (in the way you`ve defined) has on everything ... all just a matter of degrees.

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Chris Miller, a simple taco maker:
The Tiger Taco home in the U.S.A.
Tiger Tacos in Australia
Tiger Tacos in the United Kingdom

Regarding patents.  Many patent attorneys will have your rush into a patent before creating a prototype.  Then you realize that the design or specifications of your patent do not actually work in real life (after prototyping) and you have to file a new patent or change an existing patent for another hundreds or thousands of dollars more.  Are they really looking out for your best interests? 

My advice is to find a reputable design firm to help you develop a prototype and then go patent something that actually works.

Half of our clients come to us with an invention that they have already patented only to find out in the design or prototyping phases that either 1) It just will not work or 2) The design is not cost effective for mass production.  In either case we need to design and develop a more innovative way to do the same thing and once we do, guess what?  They have to pay to revise or file a whole new patent.

Is patenting important?  Absolutely.  Just make sure to do it AFTER you have proven a concept.

Sanyo Tzeng
Synthesis Labs, Inc. | Product Design and Development
www.synthesislabs.com