We’re shopping…well sort of, we find ourselves in aisle #12 in a local retailer looking at automotive accessories. We focused on what was not there among the offerings of gadgetry designed to make life behind the wheel just a little more pleasant.
What we came up with was a disposable plastic shopping style bag, packaged in such a way that it dispenses a bag when you need one. Now it’s time to see if the planets line up on this idea enough to give it the market viability it will need to be successful.
Those of you who know me, or have heard me speak to one of the many inventor groups around the country, will know I use the phrase “lining up the planets” quite often. I use this analogy because it helps people picture the way a set of planets would line up one behind the other in a perfect line. When that’s done properly, you can look at the front planet in the line and assuming they are all the same size, not have any idea how many plants are behind that first one. However, if they do not line up correctly, no matter how far back in the line the planet is, you can see it out of alignment simply by looking at the first one.
Now back to aisle #12. What are the planets we’re trying to line up on this bag product idea? Let’s list a few.
Competition- Does the product have direct or indirect competing products?
Workarounds – Are there other ways for the consumer to achieve the same function without purchasing our product?
Crossovers – Are there other aisles in the store where with just a small packaging change I can sell this product?
Manufacturing – Do the manufacturing processes and materials exists for making this product, and if so, are they cost prohibitive for production?
Packaging – Can I use a package style that will showcase the product to the consumer in such a way that it gets noticed?...and if so, at a price that keeps me competitive?
Display – Will I need to manufacture a display for the product to encourage buyers to take it in?
Distribution – Do a have a distribution system set up to sell into this category? Or do I have to go build one.
Retail Price – can I see from the intrinsic value, the category, and the demand that this product will support a retail price point high enough to fit into the range of automotive gadgets?
Sell In Price – Can I manufacture, design, package, distribute, sell, ship, and make a profit at about ½ the retail price?
Life Cycle – Will the product have a life cycle long enough to make this whole thing financially worthwhile?
There you have it…the 10 main planets that MUST be lined up on every retail product. You can add more if you like, but this is about the least you can get away with in product development.
So…Do they line up on our automotive bag product?. Well, I could tell you, and I will. But I would like to think about it first.
Do these 10 planets line up in such a way that all 10 hide behind number one?..... Is there going to be one that is slightly out of alignment and how far out is too far? Another thing to keep in mind.
