I Have an Idea for a New Product, but Now What?

Do you have an idea for an electronic product, the next must-have gadget, music or video system, time saver, or the greatest problem-solving device that was ever invented? Before you begin designing the product, there are a number of tasks that you must complete and issues that you must resolve before you have an actual product design that can be produced, marketed, and sold. This article will provide you with some guidelines to assist you in getting your idea turned into a successful design. Other issues, such as whether or not to apply for a patent for your product idea and in detail how a particular product should be advertised or marketed will not be addressed in this article.

Many great product ideas were turned into fully functional electronic devices but never made their way successfully to the marketplace because the product was not easy to use, the target market or niche market where the product could be sold successfully was not accurately identified or targeted, the product advertising was not successful, an unattractive or non-identifiable name was applied to the product, the product pricing was too expensive, the product was provided in unattractive packaging, the product as manufactured was unreliable, or the wrong sales distribution model was chosen. There are a lot of minefields to dance in before you have a successful product that meets or exceeds your sales expectations.

Initially you must identify the following to determine if your product idea is valid:

- who would buy this new product?

- how much would they be willing to pay for it ?

- can you produce the product and make the required profit margins at the anticipated sales price?

- how do you get the product in front of the customers so that they can buy the product?

- can you provide warranty and service functions for the product?

- will your design require product compliance testing for any applicable FCC or UL regulations?

- will the product have to meet RoHS requirements (such as lead-free for components and soldering) for overseas (European Union, China, Japan, Korea, etc.) and domestic (California) markets?

- would this product infringe on any existing patents?

To answer the above questions, you should document your product idea in the form of a product specification document that describes which systems that the product could interface with. It should also identify all of the various functions the product should perform, describe how the product should be packaged esthetically and physically for size and shape, and define how the device will be powered. The product specification document should also describe how the user would interface with the product, such as by an equipped keypad, pushbuttons, a rotary dial switch, touchscreen, by an external link to a personal computer, PDA, or one of the newer sophisticated cell phones. You must also consider how the unit will display information to the user with options including an LCD character display, light emitting diodes or LEDs either singly or in an array, a graphics capable display in monochrome or color, or by audible tones.

Once the initial product specification document is completed, a marketing study should be initiated that identifies the optimum target market or market niche, and the product's preferable name choices, including a primary name choice and some alternate name choices. The marketing study should provide options for selling the product both directly and through sales distribution, including who would actually stock, sell, and support the product in each scenario. The marketing study should also include the product's anticipated pricing range such as the anticipated MSRP or manufacturers suggested retail price at the upper end and the discounted pricing where you would really be able to sell large quantities of the product at different volume levels and different margin levels at the lower end.

When the marketing study is completed, it should be reviewed against the original product specification document and changes made as required to either or both documents to fully identify the product requirements. Once this review is completed, the electronics and mechanical packaging design processes can begin, based on the parameters established by the review of the product specification document and the results of the marketing study. In order to optimize the design, the product designers must know what functions the product should perform, what the product should look like, and how much the product should cost to be manufactured and packaged ready for sale. Product logo designs and product labeling requirements should also be identified as they can have an impact on the physical package designs and the overall appearance of the product.

With this information available, you are now prepared to either design the product yourself; utilize other internal resources to design the product, or to contract the design activities with an outside source. You will need access to the following functional skill sets to have your idea turned into a working product:

- electronics hardware designer(s) with the analog and/or digital design expertise required for your design idea application

- printed circuit board layout designer with an applicable pcb CAD package

- a software designer with the required programming expertise and software tools

- a mechanical packaging specialist

- an electronics assembly resource to populate the printed circuit boards, to solder the components to the boards, and to assemble the finished prototype product

Even if all of these resources are available within your own company, they may not be available to you in the timeframe your product introduction requires due to scheduling conflicts with other internal projects. This is the point in the project where it can make economic and scheduling sense to make use of the resources from outside entities. Sometimes all of these resources can be outsourced from an electronics manufacturing service provider or EMS, or you may find an engineering resource to provide the initial design services and an EMS to assemble the product. Be sure to have an appropriate Non-Disclosure Agreement in place with any and all parties that are involved in this process to protect your intellectual property.


Aug 1 2009 How Barcode Printers Enhance Warehouse Performance by Nate Rodnay Many warehouses are able to increase productivity and performance levels by optimizing their barcode automation system. Barcode printers can significantly improve performance in warehouses.
Jul 9 2008 Manufacturing by Aweng Moral-Basco Manufacturing is a branch of industry which accounts for about one-quarter of the world's economic activity. It is the application of tools and a processing medium to the transformation of raw materials into finished goods for sale.
Jul 4 2008 Are You Thinking of Diversifying Your Product Line? Think Long and Hard Before You Do by Cash Miller Your small business is growing up. Now you think it's time to expand your product line. A word to the wise it could cost you everything if you're not careful. Diversifying your product line can be expensive and time consuming. So much so that you once you've begun you might not realize what kind...
Feb 28 2008 Growing Tobacco by Albert Nale Cheap cigarettes? Well, no discount cigarettes can get as cheap as the one made by you. Growing tobacco is no difficult a job if you take care of the plants especially in the beginning. Historically cigarette companies have helped farmers grow tobacco.
Feb 6 2008 Quick Guide to Laser Engraving by Helen Hecker The most popular materials in the engraving fields are coated metals, wood, acrylic, glass, leather, marble, plastic, and host of synthetic materials made specifically for lasers.
Dec 17 2007 Strategic Use of Lean Six Sigma by Carl Wright Six sigma and lean manufacturing are utilized as improvement tools to improve the business. This improvement can take many forms, such as increased business, reduced costs, and improved cycle times or service.
Nov 27 2007 Lean Manufacturing Definition by Carl Wright There are many definitions of lean manufacturing. Some include words about value added activities and waste reduction. Our definition is the “continuous elimination of all waste resulting in a system of value added activity”. The key word is continuous. The journey to a state of lean never ends.
Sep 26 2007 Why Implement SMED (Single Minute Exchange of Die) If Changeovers Aren't Your Biggest Constraint? by Bill Hanover A little time and effort implementing SMED could literally make your company $millions$ even if changeovers aren't your biggest constraint.
Jun 13 2007 Manufacturing Credit Cards: Materials and Processes by Devlin Gilliland The credit card is made of many plastic layers, laminated together. The center is commonly made from a plastic resin known as polyvinyl chloride acetate (PVCA). This resin is then mixed with other materials, such as dyes and plasticizers to give it the appropriate look and feel.
Feb 21 2007 Prototyping Your New Electronic Product Idea by Jim Usery This article outlines the minimum tasks needed to send your new electronic product idea out for prototyping. It lists and defines the minimums to either perform your self or to have subcontracted.
Feb 21 2007 I Have an Idea for a New Product, but Now What? by Jim Usery Do you have an idea for an electronic product, the next must-have gadget or the greatest problem-solving device that was ever invented? This article will provide you with some guidelines to assist you in getting your idea turned into a successful design.
Feb 20 2007 Basics of Manufacturing Printed Circuit Boards by Jim Usery This article tells about the basics of manufacturing printed circuit boards including the terminology and the steps to processing a pcb.
Feb 20 2007 What Your Electronics Manufacturing Service Provider Needs from You by Jim Usery This article tells what your electronic manufacturing service providers needs from you to prepare an accurate quotation for a typical printed circuit board assembly project.
Feb 20 2007 What Are Gerber Files for Printed Circuit Boards, and Who Needs Them? by Jim Usery This article tells what a gerber file is and what it is used for in the electronic manufacturing industry.
Feb 20 2007 The 8-Basics Of Lean Manufacturing by Bill Gaw Here's the question heard around the world: How do we continuously increase speed, improve quality while lowering our operating costs? This article's answer is to stop chasing computer sophistication and start applying the 8-basics of lean manufacturing.

Aug 1 2009 How Barcode Printers Enhance Warehouse Performance

by Nate Rodnay

Many warehouses are able to increase productivity and performance levels by optimizing their barcode automation system. Barcode printers can significantly improve performance in warehouses.

Jul 9 2008 Manufacturing

by Aweng Moral-Basco

Manufacturing is a branch of industry which accounts for about one-quarter of the world's economic activity. It is the application of tools and a processing medium to the transformation of raw materials into finished goods for sale.

Jul 4 2008 Are You Thinking of Diversifying Your Product Line? Think Long and Hard Before You Do

by Cash Miller

Your small business is growing up. Now you think it's time to expand your product line. A word to the wise it could cost you everything if you're not careful. Diversifying your product line can be expensive and time consuming. So much so that you once you've begun you might not realize what kind...

Feb 28 2008 Growing Tobacco

by Albert Nale

Cheap cigarettes? Well, no discount cigarettes can get as cheap as the one made by you. Growing tobacco is no difficult a job if you take care of the plants especially in the beginning. Historically cigarette companies have helped farmers grow tobacco.

Feb 6 2008 Quick Guide to Laser Engraving

by Helen Hecker

The most popular materials in the engraving fields are coated metals, wood, acrylic, glass, leather, marble, plastic, and host of synthetic materials made specifically for lasers.

Dec 17 2007 Strategic Use of Lean Six Sigma

by Carl Wright

Six sigma and lean manufacturing are utilized as improvement tools to improve the business. This improvement can take many forms, such as increased business, reduced costs, and improved cycle times or service.

Nov 27 2007 Lean Manufacturing Definition

by Carl Wright

There are many definitions of lean manufacturing. Some include words about value added activities and waste reduction. Our definition is the “continuous elimination of all waste resulting in a system of value added activity”. The key word is continuous. The journey to a state of lean never ends.

Sep 26 2007 Why Implement SMED (Single Minute Exchange of Die) If Changeovers Aren't Your Biggest Constraint?

by Bill Hanover

A little time and effort implementing SMED could literally make your company $millions$ even if changeovers aren't your biggest constraint.

Jun 13 2007 Manufacturing Credit Cards: Materials and Processes

by Devlin Gilliland

The credit card is made of many plastic layers, laminated together. The center is commonly made from a plastic resin known as polyvinyl chloride acetate (PVCA). This resin is then mixed with other materials, such as dyes and plasticizers to give it the appropriate look and feel.

Feb 21 2007 Prototyping Your New Electronic Product Idea

by Jim Usery

This article outlines the minimum tasks needed to send your new electronic product idea out for prototyping. It lists and defines the minimums to either perform your self or to have subcontracted.

Feb 21 2007 I Have an Idea for a New Product, but Now What?

by Jim Usery

Do you have an idea for an electronic product, the next must-have gadget or the greatest problem-solving device that was ever invented? This article will provide you with some guidelines to assist you in getting your idea turned into a successful design.

Feb 20 2007 Basics of Manufacturing Printed Circuit Boards

by Jim Usery

This article tells about the basics of manufacturing printed circuit boards including the terminology and the steps to processing a pcb.

Feb 20 2007 What Your Electronics Manufacturing Service Provider Needs from You

by Jim Usery

This article tells what your electronic manufacturing service providers needs from you to prepare an accurate quotation for a typical printed circuit board assembly project.

Feb 20 2007 What Are Gerber Files for Printed Circuit Boards, and Who Needs Them?

by Jim Usery

This article tells what a gerber file is and what it is used for in the electronic manufacturing industry.

Feb 20 2007 The 8-Basics Of Lean Manufacturing

by Bill Gaw

Here's the question heard around the world: How do we continuously increase speed, improve quality while lowering our operating costs? This article's answer is to stop chasing computer sophistication and start applying the 8-basics of lean manufacturing.