We’ve all experienced those moments, the true zingers, when you know you’ve hit on a truly great product idea. For the chosen few, that’s a daily or even monthly occurrence. But for most of us, we need a process to form those 3:00a.m. brainstorms into something that has application. With a little work, you can turn those lightbulbs into actionable, honest to goodness innovation.
Lightbulbs- little flashes of fabulousity in the midst of everyday life. Here’s two quick questions to help you take the very first steps in turning a lightbulb moment into the next big idea:
- Does your idea satisfy a need?
Ask yourself this ground floor question to get an initial feel for your target audience. No audience, no sales. If you’ve got an idea for a way to improve a current product, offer a better price or add features to speak to a current trend, skip to Question 2. If you’re struggling with how to answer this question, take some time to think about who would need your product and why. Begin with the end user in mind, always.
- How can you gather more information to support your answer to question #1?
Breakthrough products are as rare as unicorns, but “doing it better” is a very real and opportune path. Remember, fortune does not always favor the first to market.
Do your research on your target market, the competitive environment and various distribution channels. Look at touchy feely factors as well as price positioning. Tiny nuances are not lost on you!
Solid research is key to helping you fine tune your next steps and 99.9% of the time will show you options you didn’t think existed. Be open, ask questions and soak up as much information as possible.
