None of us has a crystal ball, so what we do with clients is help them vet theirs and a few ideas we may come up with in an effort to identify one or more markets to explore. Yes we can help too in facilitating the exploration process, and the choice you then make is an educated one.

A product originally developed to fight Dutch Elm Disease turned out to be a solution for managing oak wilt. One can never be sure where a ‘new new thing’ may light market-wise, but a “seasoned-hand” consultant could help you spot a winner.

And, the name you give the product is everything, isn’t it – remember the original LOUIS VUITTON handbag with its ‘authentic’ LOUIS VUITTON padlock. Every woman had to have one! Consumers never forget a name either; think about the Edsel and the Thunderbird – both were cutting-edge vehicles built by Ford, but only one survived.

Some products we remember were trend-setters while others were merely a ‘flash in the pan.’ From Bell Labs in the U.S. came the Princess phone – every bedroom had to have one even though it was so light that it took two hands to operate the rotary dial. There are still clones of that phone on the market today. Yet also we remember the 8-Track – marvelous sound, but unreliable because of its endless tape design. It went the way of Sony’s Beta video system as VHS won out for consumer use! In this last example, the poorer system won out through better promotion.

As consultants, we certainly don’t have all the answers, but the combination of your insights with ours could be a winner at the end of the day. Two heads are better than one they say -- give it some thought.