The competition is a source of ideas for new products that often is overlooked. Knowledge of the competition's products often stimulates ideas that lead to the development of products that have superior features and that meet a definite marketplace need. Trade shows and professional meetings are far more than marketing opportunities or social events. They are places for people to learn and to share thoughts. They enable people to make new connections in their minds and to come up with ideas they never would have thought of otherwise.
Trade shows are often good places to learn of customer response to newly released products.
Suppliers, especially large ones, are good sources of ideas for new products. Because their sales people travel widely among their territories, they have an excellent idea of marketplace trends and competitor plans. Setting up a computerized data base of ideas can be a helpful way of increasing the chances that a good idea will not be lost. Most companies have a number of ideas that were considered at one time and, for any of a number of reasons, were found to be unacceptable. These shelved ideas, if retained and re-examined periodically, can be a potential source of ideas for successful new products.