Before taking your new product to the market place or face the Dragons, it’s essential that you go through a number of stages. Here are the top 10 tips from newbrandguru.

1. If you come up with an idea or discover a unique product don’t ask family or friends if they think it’s a good idea. For a number of obvious reasons, they are unlikely to give you an unbiased opinion.
2. Talk to total strangers if possible, who will not be worried about your feelings or their situation if they are negative.
3. Don’t give away your secrets. If you have an idea for a product that solves a problem or makes life easier, ask people if they have that type of problem, how they feel about it and whether they would buy a product that solved that problem.
4. When pitching your idea to a company for funding or looking for backing of any kind, practice your presentation. Be precise, be accurate, know your product, make the benefits and USP’s clear, gain an idea of how big the market is (numbers of population, financial projections), production costs (if any), suggested wholesale/retail prices and most importantly, set yourself realistic sales objectives.
5. Carry out some simple research. Ensure you have the answers to any likely question to hand. Investors and business people will expect you to have done your homework and not just gone steaming ahead without any idea of a business plan.
6. Understand your limits, know your strengths and weaknesses. No one can be master at everything. If you are good at inventing things it doesn’t mean you will also have an excellent business mind.
7. Don’t try and do everything. Most small businesses fail because the principal is spinning too many plates. Something has to give and it is usually the mental or physical health of the individual.
8. Surround yourself with experienced and talented people. Taking on partners with the skills and experience you lack means that you can delegate responsibilities. You have people you can rely on, more time to concentrate on the areas you understand and support in times of crisis.
9. Just having a good idea doesn’t make for a good business. The bankruptcy courts are full of people who had a good idea and no business acumen.
10. The internet is a fantastic source of business and where most businesses waste money and fail to make an impression. Do not make the mistake of thinking that a cheap website has any chance of being found in the search engines. The companies making millions on the internet are investing good money in having a strong web presence, so get smart and build a social media plan into your marketing.

This entry was posted on Monday, June 15th, 2009 at 00:02 and is filed under Blog. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.