Here is a response I have had Inventors give when you ask them “What makes your product unique to stand out in the market?” And their response is ” Mines better.” They fail to elaborate any further as if that statement covers the question. It doesn’t. When asked that question you need to be able to give actual facts why yours is better. Not “Everyone in my family loves it and would buy one if it was on the market.”
You have to look at your product and your competitors products and understand that if yours was to come to market you will be competing for the shelf space of the products already there before you. And you need to think about it from two different perspectives, the company you want to license and manufacture it. And the consumer who is going to see it on the shelf and make a decision to buy yours or the competitors.
Because you need the company to see the product as something they can produce for a reasonable cost, put in front of store chain Buyers and get purchase orders and sell at a margin that makes them money.
The store needs the consumer to see enough value in your product to purchase it so they make their investment back and a profit. Which prompts the store to order more and the circle starts all over. Every time that happens, YOU the Inventor, are making money.
None of these things happen if you don’t first get your foot in the door of the company by giving them a reason to see the potential of your product. So, you can see that just saying “Mine’s better” is not the preferred response. You need to explain yours is better because…………..and fill in the blanks. Your response should show you know your competition, their strengths and weaknesses, your strengths and weaknesses and why yours will come out on top.
Many Inventors come up with their idea and don’t research to see who is their competition and if their idea is actually Better Than those competitors. Then when confronted with the realization there are others out there they seem to push aside all common sense and still argue that there is a mass market for their idea.
Consider the corded phone versus the cordless/wireless phone. If you came up with the corded phone today do you think it would have mass appeal? When shown the cordless/wireless phone would you argue consumers will still want your corded phone more? That is the stance a number of Inventors take.
Better Than can also have to deal with educating the consumer. There are a number of products companies look at that they will agree are better than what is currently on the market yet they will turn it down because they can’t educate the consumer of its value on a blister card unless the consumer stops picks up the product and takes the tine to read the package and learn the benefits. Look at the MainStay line of products you find in Walmart. They are a basic flat piece of cardboard with MainStay written on it and the product attached to the cardboard. There is nothing on the cardboard explaining anything about the product. If you don’t recognize its value or use you will probably pass it by.
If you go to Bed Bath and Beyond you will see displays with a video unit running in a loop demonstrating the product. They are trying to get your attention and educate you on the products value. Hoping this will create product and brand awareness, increasing sales. These displays are limited in the store.
Look at HSN and QVC they are all about educating the consumer to create sales and buzz around the product. They take their time showing you the product and making sure you see all its benefits and value. They can do that because they are on 24 hours a day 365 days a year.
Same goes for ASOTV products; they spend huge amounts of money to do the infomercials showing you how it is quicker, easier, etc and generate mass sales quickly. If they skipped the infomercial and just put the product on a store shelf you would not see the same sales because most consumers would not know the benefits of the product.
So you can see Better Than can be affected by the market it is targeting.