Cambridge Business Association
From Concept to Consumer
Book

From Concept to Consumer

How to Turn Ideas Into Money

Phil Baker
FT Press, 2008
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Editorial Rating

8

Qualities

  • Innovative
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Recommendation

Phil Baker has helped many great companies bring cool products to market. He draws on his experiences with Polaroid, Apple, Fuego and numerous others to show you what you must do with your great product idea to make it a success. Baker takes you behind the scenes and tracks how product development has evolved. His most valuable insights include an explanation of why you need partners in Asia, where to look for them, how to select them and how to manage such far-flung relationships. His appendices are excellent, including the “Top 10 Rules for Taking Your Product from Concept to Customer,” a description of the influence of some products on human health and the environment, a list of helpful resources, and a look at "China's impact on the world's manufacturing industries." Whether you are an inventor, a product engineer, an entrepreneur or a business reader interested in the topic, getAbstract recommends this clear, informative, engaging read.

Summary

Today Ain’t Yesterday

During the 1960s and 1970s, Polaroid was at its market peak. Edwin Land held hundreds of patents and his company found repeated market success turning inventions into photography-related products the public loved. Polaroid fit the model of its time. Big companies produced large quantities of consumer products and durable goods, and sold burnished brands that customers relied on for decades. These firms generated the ideas and did everything themselves: product development, engineering, manufacturing, warranty work and marketing.

This sequential production method no longer works in today’s hyperspecialized global economy, where products can make a worldwide impact and still disappear in a couple of years or even in a few months. Now, companies must conduct product design, manufacturing, planning and marketing development simultaneously. If you analyze all that goes into making a hit product, you’ll see that the initial idea is only about 5% of the mix. You must be able to identify and act on your innovations quickly before someone else develops something similar, and leaves you with nothing but a lost investment and a dead concept.

Act Now...

About the Author

Phil Baker helps leading companies bring technologies to market and works with many Asian firms. He writes a technology column for a San Diego paper.

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