From Concept to Consumer: How to Turn Ideas Into Money

In From Concept to Consumer, renowned product developer Phil Baker reveals exactly what it takes to create great products and bring them to market. Baker’s product successes range from Apple’s PowerBook to the Stowaway portable keyboard, the most successful PDA accessory ever created. Here, he walks you through the entire development process, showing how to develop products holistically, reflecting the crucial linkages between product design, engineering, testing, manufacturing, marketing, and distribution. You’ll discover what makes a winning product, and why great ideas are just 5% of the process...the easiest 5%! You’ll find practical guidance for planning, establishing teams, creating marketing requirements, avoiding “feature creep,” prototyping, protecting intellectual property, market testing and positioning, preparing for customer service, implementing the optimal distribution strategy, and much more. After you’ve delivered your first breakthrough product, Baker shows how to follow up with another winner! Optimize your entire product development process Make everything work together seamlessly: from planning and engineering through distribution and marketing  Get breakthrough industrial design without overpaying for it Deliver products that create a powerful emotional bond with your customer Time product delivery for maximum competitive advantage Make sure you don’t reach your market too late—or too early, either Leverage Asian manufacturing without falling victim to its pitfalls Successfully coordinate even the most complex worldwide product delivery programs

Table of Contents:
    Preface xvii   01 New World, New Rules 1     Build It and They Won’t Come 3     New Rules 7     Asia 10  02 Just Do It 15     Organizing for Rapid Development 15     Get Customer Input 20     Leveraging Outside Resources 21     Remembering That Less Is More 24     Don’t Get Hung Up with Perfection 26  03 The Basics of Development 31     Development 32     Marketing 37     Estimating Sales 39     Product Specs 40     Schedule 41     Product Cost 44 04 Industrial Design Matters 51     Discovering ID 56     The Industrial Design Process 64  05 Why Outsource? 67     The Rise of the OEM and ODM Model 67     Taiwan 69     Mainland China 70     Asia’s Advantage 72     Is Outsourcing for All? 73     Protection of Your Intellectual Property 75     Product Quality 76     The Chinese Factory 78 06 Selecting and Working with an Asian Partner 83     Managing the Relationship 89     Manufacturing Costs 89     Manufacturing Quality 91     Durability Testing 92 07 The Marketing Component 95     Product Definition 96     Market Testing 97     Product Positioning 102     Public Relations 104     Customer Service 107     Establishing Price 110 08 Distribution: Getting Your Product to the Customer 113     What Are Your Choices? 113     Retail Distribution 113     Distribution Costs 116     Selling Through 119     Licensing 126 09 Legal Advice: Knowing When to Ignore It 127     Patents 127     Agreements and Contracts 132     Development and Manufacturing Agreements 133 10 Now What ? 141   Epilogue: The Future of Product Development 149   Appendix A: Top Ten Rules 153 Appendix B: Products and the Environment 155 Appendix C: China—Helpful or Harmful? 159 Appendix D: A Representative List of Recommended Resources 163   Index 167  

About the Author :
Phil Baker has been involved in all aspects of product development for the consumer technology market for his entire career, with extensive experience in leveraging Asian companies for cost-effective and fast-to-market product development and manufacturing. He has a strong and varied background in business and product strategy in the high-technology sector. Phil has played key roles in developing the innovative flagship technologies and products of many leading companies, including Apple, Seiko, Polaroid, Atari, Polycom, Proxima, Think Outside, and others. He cofounded Think Outside, the company that created one of the most popular PDA accessories ever, the Stowaway folding keyboard. He received a B.S. in physics from Worcester Polytechnic Institute, an M.S. in engineering from Yale University, an M.B.A. from Northeastern University, and holds more than 30 patents. Phil currently consults to companies in the United States and Asia in product, business, and market development and writes the technology column for the San Diego Daily Transcript. Phil was recipient of the 2005 Robert H. Goddard Alumni Award from WPI for Outstanding Professional Achievement and was the San Diego Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year for Consumer Products in 2001. He resides with his wife, Jane, in Solana Beach, California. His website is fromconcepttoconsumer.com.