Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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26 of 27 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
probably the best book on new product development, August 8, 2000
This is probably the best book on new product development... for the entrepreneur (those with a great idea, and somewhat limited budget). I ordered this book from Amazon after I read another of his books, Infilitration Marketing). I thought the previous book was A+, and I give that score to this book as well. I have also ordered his Marketing Plan book, but haven't read it yet.I put this book up their with those of Barry Feig (Straight to the Heart, The New Products Workshop). But this book, Bringing Your Product To Market, is the best overall book for product development - more encompassing. It has lots of marketing material, but also lots of new product development ideas, how (and if, when) to license, how to manufacture (mostly contract manufacture). His book is the best over all book... and thus would be that one book to buy that includes it all. Unlike other books on new product marketing, he doesn't go endlessly on about how to patent your product, how to hire a lawyer, and other side issues. This is much more practical: it presents a phased plan of new product development, market research, market testing, etc. Contract manufacturing, patents and licensing (excellently done) is then discussed in terms of this phased approach. The purpose of this book is to get you away from developing a monument to yourself and to control urging of your ego to not listen to what the market is trying to say. His checklist and phased approach almost forces you to spend less on the front end than you normally would, and to constantly check the market's reactions. In this regard, the book is EXCELLENT PLUS. I have not seen any other book that is so practical, yet filled with marketing insight. I would say that if you followed his advice, you would triple your odds of success. Every page oozes with practical experience (he consults with new product developers). He gives ratios and rules of thumbs for many subjects... again, based on his experience. He also provides lots of examples that illustrate his points. I would recommend that you order any of this guy's stuff. His marketing book was great, and I look forward to reading his marketing plan book. I would also recommend your reading Feig's book, which goes into more detail in the market research and product idea development phase. Oh, one last thing, I underlined about 60 % of just about every page in this book. I've filed it under the Dewey Decimal System of "A+". John Dunbar
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12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A no-nonsense detailed guide to product development, January 15, 1999
Over the years I have often perused the business sections of book stores in search of a detail-oriented book on developing product ideas and bringing them to market. There have always been dozens of books promising sure-fire riches that are about as informative as your average "Make Millions in Your Basement Selling Pocket Lint" infomercial. So, imagine my surprise when I came across this little gem of a book. Finally a book with details, tons of them. Finally an author who isn't afraid to let the reader know the intimidating chances of success, and equips them with all the information they could possibly hope for without actually getting their hands dirty.The author makes the distinction of ideas developed by individual inventors and those of major corporations. Because of our lack of capital and connections, we (the individual inventors) are at a disadvantage and must compensate with product ideas that meet higher standards. These standards relate to ease of distribution, product uniqueness, simplicity, obviousness of product benefits, and the cost of manufacturing relative to perceived retail value. With these "tenets" in mind, the author lays out assorted plans to help the individual develop their product and bring it to market as cost- and time-efficiently as possible. All along the way are details, check lists, do's and dont's, and helpful anecdotes. I was particularly impressed with the level of detail the author provides for almost every step of the development process. As an example, not only does the author mention the range of materials that can be used to build prototypes, but actually recommends plastic tooling materials (among others) by name. It is with this eye for detail that the author covers all the subjects in this book. The one understandable exception is the patent process itself which is beyond the scope of the book. However, the author does explain the role of the patent in the development process. Additionally, product licensing is covered in-depth. One other thing I thought was very helpful was the author's identification of key "go/no go" decisions. That is, identifying if your product is ready for the next step, and if it isn't, either making changes to make it ready, or abandoning it altogether and cutting your losses. Needless to say, I can't say enough good things about this book. It really shames all the other books I have read on the subject, and has given me a tremendous amount of confidence by answering so many questions, many of which I hadn't thought to ask.
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12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Not everything made out to be, but definately worth a read., November 14, 1999
This man is a salesman, which means first he sells himself,which he does quite succesfully in this book, a bit to the detrimentof the book. It makes it appear that anyone can go to people with a pretty good product and have it sell. It may sell, but a years worth of 60 hour work weeks isn't worth $10,000. Found his little tricks like counting competitive products on the shelves, and other stuff, very useful. Resources are OK but have a larger variety as compared to other invention books. Throughout the book he stress low cost and investors, which to me seem contradictory, although his information on both is good. Not much of what makes a good product and clear steps to bring items to market. For those I recomend Marketing Your Invention by Mosley and Winning At New PRoducts by Robert Cooper. Overall this book is worth buying and reading.
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