Marketing new invention ideas involves several important steps, such as locating manufacturers, preparing and submitting marketing materials to manufacturers and negotiating licenses. Marketing activities include everything that is necessary to turn an idea into a product for sale on the retail shelf.
The first step in marketing a new invention for which you have a patent or patent pending is to license your patent rights. It is possible to license non patented inventions as well using the same basic research and marketing techniques, but there are also some different steps required. The main difference will involve the patent application steps, as well as the promotion of the invention as a patent protected invention.
When looking to license the patent rights to your invention, you should start by creating a list of around 50 potential manufacturers. You can search for manufacturers of similar products by looking in magazines, retail stores, trade shows and searching online.
Successful invention marketing involves a lot of research and preparation so that you can learn as much as possible about your target market. You can take a lesson from major companies in this regard who understand how fickle consumers can be.
These companies will first determine the demographics for their product or service and then look at industry trends to better understand the market potential for their product. They will also research how consumers react to their product before introducing it to the market.
Of course, all this research requires a large budget which most inventors may not have access to. There are still many cheaper options for performing valuable market research, though, and this should begin with developing a knowledge bank to reduce the risk and stress of making important decisions.
In fact, the internet now offers a wealth of free or low cost market information that is easily accessible, and inventors should take advantage of this technology for their marketing efforts.
