Have you ever seen a need in the market for something that you are sure other people want?

But then, you think, nah, somebody probably already has a patent on it anyway.

Take the toilet for example: why do we use fresh drinking water to flush poop? Why not use rainwater or at least brown water for our home toilets?

So what if you have a great idea but do not have the time and money to pursue it? The best way is to partner with an inventor.

Inventors are a dynamic bunch. Besides being great friends to show off at a cocktail party, they impress us with their innovation and creativity. But best of all; they originate new products for the market.

Inventors who patent their ideas already put in the lions share of work. A patent costs 15-98k on average and takes about two years to get, plus all the paperwork.

But, inventors want to do what they do best – invent. So, by the time they get that shiny plaque, they are ready to go back to the drawing board. Few like hawking their new idea. That’s great news for entrepreneurs who can partner with inventors to help both parties profit.

This is where product licensing comes into play. You basically get permission from a patent holder to manufacture and sell their idea. You pay a royalty fee to inventor, which is typically a percentage of gross sales. But, before you cash in on the market with your new product, you will need to crunch some numbers.

George Brezny of GB Marketing Research Solutions, LLC says, “A dynamic entrepreneur, who had already profited by the sale of his three previous businesses wanted me to investigate the green toilet market.”

Statista has a publication site, so GB researched articles on toilet manufactures and found U.S. manufacturing had fallen from 200 to about five sites over the past fifty years. The entire industry had basically moved overseas (to China).

GB also conducted a market investigation on the supply and demand in the U.S. and found it saturated through the mid 2020’s. GB then expanded the search to the world and found out the greatest need for green toilets in, of all places, China.

The client was delighted with the information because it validated his gut feeling with numbers from Statista. This allowed him to move forward with his plans based on numbers instead of just a hunch.

With the current trend to bring manufacturing back to the United States, the client decided to research the viability of opening a plant in the Midwest.

The whole project cost him $2,500, which was excellent, coming in much cheaper than other research competitors. The client was so satisfied with the value for price proposition that he plans to continue with GB for customer feedback capabilities once his business is more mature.

Learn more about demographics concerning the market, trade, and competition at gb-insights.com.

GB & Partners provides you with data and information to help you innovate, monitor, make better decisions, and take action across the entire Marketing Continuum.

We use AGILE market research tools, techniques, and expertise to help you design and develop your business, marketing plans, and much more.

We help you answer those important marketing questions such as:

Where are the right trade areas to market my product and services? Where is my competition located? What are the key trends and demographics in my market?

Alice Verberne is a consultant for GB Marketing Research Solutions, a consortium of marketing research subject matter experts with over 30-years of experience in market research programs.