The Product Innovator’s Handbook

Gethin Roberts is an experienced product design engineer. He’s also Managing Director of ITERATE, a dynamic product design consultancy that blends creative and technical expertise to develop products from an idea all the way through to production. He has an MSc in Rapid Product Development, has acted as a design advisor to the Welsh Government's SMART Productivity and Design Programme, and has also been an associate lecturer at the University of the West of England. Author location: Wales, UK

Introduction

1. Know Your Why
Why do you want to develop a product? What is your personal motivation – to make money; to learn a new hobby; or educate yourself in a different area of expertise? This chapter explores the reasons why you may want to develop a new product and allows you to identify personal characteristics that will be critical to your success.



What Problem Are You Solving?
This chapter helps you identify an opportunity for a new product? Have you spotted a problem that can be solved through the introduction of a new design? What is the scale of the problem; is it just you that experiences this or is it experienced by many – is this problem worth solving at all; is the scale likely to result in a lucrative product and will it result in you building a scalable business.


Who Are You Selling To?
Have you identified your target customer? How would you describe them, what is their lifestyle like, what other brand and products do they engage with? This chapter will help you understand the importance of building a niche; understand the value of product features and how this is viewed in the eyes of your customers.


Protect Your Product
This chapter explains many of the terms related to intellectual property (IP) and demystifies the common misconceptions. Protecting your idea is often the first step in the process that innovators often take, when in fact, it should be one of the last. Understand how IP fits in to your long-term business plans and why it might not be relevant to you at all depending on your aspirations.


Fund Your Product
Lack of funding is the common reason why new products fail to get to market. This chapter explores the different approaches you could use to fund your project and minimise your personal exposure. Accessing the range of financial mechanisms may require you to engage with groups of people and organisations such as angel investors and government bodies – each have pros and cons that will impact on your business and product development journey differently.


What’s Your Business Model?
End-customers are increasingly seeking experiences - this chapter explores a range of different business models that enable you to deliver your product into the hands of the user in a frictionless and exciting way. Some concepts explained include razor and blade; subscription selling; renting and leasing; and the hybrid model.


Your Manufacturing Strategy
The time and complexity involved in preparing your product for manufacture is a critical phase in the process that many underestimate. This chapter outlines some of the challenges and risks that exist and how you can mitigate against them. Events such as Brexit and Covid-19 have dramatically changed the manufacturing landscape. This chapter will help to inform you on how to select a manufacturing partner based on your product requirements and primary market.


Your Go to Market Strategy
This chapter explains the different ways to get your product in front of the consumer. Selling via high street shops was always the best way to go about this; however, online sales now provide an accessible route to market for many product creators; as well as a number of other possible other routes to market that should be considered depending on the nature of the product.


How Your Product is Designed
This chapter explains the stages of the product development journey; how the product is created from the point of the idea being conceived; designed; engineered; prototyped and tested. The time and cost associated with this process can vary hugely depending on the technical complexity and scale of your design requirements – understand the likely timescales involved and the phases of the process that can take the longest.


How to Choose a Product Designer
You are likely to require input from a Product Designer or Design Engineer at some point in your journey. This chapter helps explain ways to identify the skills you need for your project; how to identify a suitable Product Designer, the good points to look out for, as well as the bad points. Your project may require a team of people to deliver it effectively, this is when you should choose to talk with a design consultancy who are able to offer a vast range of skills and help you all the way.



Contents List

Introduction

1. Know Your Why

2. What Problem Are You Solving?

3. Who Are You Selling To?

4. Protect Your Product

5. Fund Your Product

6. What's Your Business Model?

7. Your Manufacturing Strategy

8. Your Go to Market Strategy

9. How Your Product Is Designed

10. How to Choose a Product Designer

Conclusion

The Author

Acknowledgements