From Concept to Consumer How to Turn Ideas

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! bull; Optimize your entire product development process Make everything work together seamlessly: from planning and engineering through distribution and marketing bull; Get breakthrough industrial design without overpaying for it Deliver products that create a powerful emotional bond with your customer bull; Time product delivery for maximum competitive advantage Make sure you don't reach your market too late-or too early, either bull; Leverage Asian manufacturing without falling victim to its pitfalls Successfully coordinate even the most complex worldwide product delivery programs

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.

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

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From Concept to Consumer How to Turn Ideas Into Money

Summary

Author Biography

Table of Contents

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