Knowledge and awareness in the stages of turning an idea into a profitable business is one of the most important ways to deal with challenges and solve them. When you know what the commercialization process is and what path you should take to offer your products or services to the consumer market, you will not deviate from the right path and you can achieve the goals you have set for your business.
What is the commercialization process?
First of all, you need to know what commercialization is. Simply put, commercialization means finding an idea that meets one of the needs of all or part of society. Then convert it into products or services that can be offered, market it, and finally sell it and make a profit.
The definition we provided earlier also explains the commercialization process. This process includes the steps you take between developing an idea and selling the product or service and even after-sales service.
Commercialization Process for Different Businesses
Commercialization methods vary depending on the type of business. For example, the path of a business that is supposed to sell a new invention that has not yet existed in the consumer market to its audience is completely different from the path of a business that presents an existing product in the market in a new way. Let’s examine this difference further by giving an example.
Digikala was the first major online store in Iran and introduced the concept of “online shopping” for the first time in Iran. Before Digikala, people made their purchases in person and it took a long time to convince them that online shopping has more advantages than traditional methods. But Snap was the first online taxi in Iran that offered agency and taxi services online. Before Snap, people used telephone agencies, and Snap met this need in a new and online way. Therefore, people accepted it sooner and it became widely used. Commercialization was done in two different ways in Digikala and Snap.
In the following, to make this issue clearer, we will examine the commercialization methods for different businesses.
Commercialization of an Idea
Idea generation is the stage of forming the embryo of a business. If you are still in the idea generation stage, you are at the beginning of the commercialization process. First of all, you should check whether your idea is feasible or not. If the answer is yes, you should assess whether you will achieve the results you want after implementation. The final question is, after implementing the idea and preparing the products or services to enter the consumer market, will the members of this market welcome it?
The idea commercialization process answers the above questions and clarifies the path of turning an idea into a business. Below, we explain the steps of the process you must take to turn an idea into a commercial product or service.
The target market needs an assessment
Idea generation to meet the needs of the target market in a new way
Conducting necessary tests and validating the idea
Developing a prototype of the product or providing a service on a limited scale
Developing a business plan
Providing resources and developing a financial justification plan to attract investors
Developing a product or service
Marketing and sales
Reviewing feedback from the target market and updating products or services
Providing after-sales service
Commercialization of inventions and technologies
Inventions and technologies are usually one step ahead of ideas and have become an implementation solution to meet a need. Inventions and technologies are divided into two categories. The first category is inventions and technologies that help develop and advance larger complexes such as industrial units and factories. The second category is inventions that are directly related to people’s needs and are themselves considered final products or services and are made available to customers. Commercialization methods are different for each of these inventions and technologies.
If you intend to offer an invention or technology to industrial units, the following are the steps you should take on the path to commercialization.
Research and needs assessment
Evaluation of the invention and its adaptation to the needs of industries
Patent registration and intellectual property
Provision of capital
Product design and production engineering
Marketing and development of communications with managers of factories and industrial units
Workforce training and human resource provision
Evaluation of results and optimization of the invention or technology to better suit market needs
If the invention or technology you are interested in is intended for direct supply to the consumer market, the steps in the commercialization process will be as follows:
Assessment of the needs of the target market
Adaptation of the invention or technology to market needs
Patent registration
Limited supply to the market
Reviewing feedback and implementing necessary changes
Developing a marketing strategy and starting this process
Providing financial and non-financial resources
Product production
Marketing and sales on a large scale
Providing after-sales service
Inventions and technologies usually need to be updated in line with changes in the world so that they can meet the new needs of customers. Sometimes it is even necessary to completely update the current product and start the commercialization process over again.
Commercialization of products and services
The process of commercializing products and services that have similar examples in the market is simpler. Because you do not need to familiarize the target market with what you offer, and by introducing competitive advantages, you can attract their attention to your product. Of course, not everything is easy for this type of business; all startups have strong competitors from whom they must take a part of the market to succeed. This is one of the complexities of the commercialization process of products and services that must be considered.
Below we have listed the steps of the product and service commercialization process.
Need assessment and target market research
Investigating technologies and finding the simplest and most creative way to meet the target market’s need
Evaluating the idea and its applicability
Converting the idea into a product design
Designing a prototype and launching it on a limited scale
Measuring the response of target market members
Securing the necessary resources and attracting investors
Product production
Marketing and sales
Product review and providing after-sales service
An important point to note is that the above are generalities about the commercialization methods of different businesses. Your business or idea may be slightly different from what is mentioned in this article, depending on the strategy or commercialization models you have chosen.
Where do we start to commercialize a product or service?
After finding an idea, choosing commercialization models is the first thing you should do. When we look at the commercialization process from a comprehensive perspective, all businesses have gone through an almost similar process. But when we get into the details, the differences become more apparent. Commercialization models are scientifically defined and specify the different stages of this process. When you choose the right model for commercializing your ideas, products, or services, you will have a roadmap that will guide you to the right destination.
The final word; Commercialization requires professional advice
Many businesses successfully pass the initial stages of the commercialization process. They conduct needs assessment, market research and even perform well in launching a prototype, but when they scale up their business, they fail. What we have said in this article was a comprehensive and theoretical explanation of commercialization methods. This process has more details in practice, ignoring them will lead your business to failure.
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