Questions about electronics industry - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / beginners

author: stanigator
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: June 12, 2012, 12:59:28 am
content: Hey there,I have an interest (I studied electrical engineering in college and have been building electronic projects on and off since I was a teenager) in getting into making electronics gadgets commercially. However, I don’t know who the typical customers for those tools are. Are they usually infrastructure, health care, or mining projects, or everyday people trying to save their time and frustration automating a certain task/problem?Thanks in advance for your advice!

author: w2aew
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 12, 2012, 01:11:10 am
content: Without knowing what kind of gadgets you're typically making, it really isn't possible to talk about who your typical customers might be. Tell us more about your projects, and then maybe we can then figure out the best target customers.

author: stanigator
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: June 12, 2012, 01:12:35 am
content: Thanks for the reply. I don't have a product yet. However, I'm trying to find out the general trends, and niches in which there could be demand for solutions in the form of an electronic gadget. Now knowing the context, do you have any examples?Thanks in advance again.

author: codeboy2k
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 12, 2012, 01:56:25 am
content: Quote from: stanigator on June 12, 2012, 01:12:35 amYou want us to tell you what your market is, and who your customers are going to be ?It seems like you have an interest in electronics, and basically just fishing for ideas.Here's an idea... study what you already know, an industry that you are already familiar with, and determine if there is something in that industry that you can improve upon, or something you can provide that will make something else easier, faster, better, more useful. Start there.

author: free_electron
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 12, 2012, 03:39:50 am
content: make a flux capacitor. the market for those could be really large. you could singlehandedly reinvent the travel industry...

author: vk6zgo
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 12, 2012, 04:11:55 am
content: There as many niches as there are industries.Obviously,the "big bucks"are in Mining,but there are other niches.Two brothers working in their back garage in Perth, Western Australia,started up Immersive Technologies which now is a major supplier of Mining equipment simulators throughout the world.They saw a niche market,& went for it!On a smaller scale,is the other WA company which produces Electronic Farming aids (can't remember their name).Unfortunately,the world won't "beat a path to your door",just because you can make gadgets--you need to do your own research on what industry requires what.Not quite in topic,but I have noticed over the years,that many different types of industry use similar products.Some are supplied as "specialist" products,so firms will pay a premium,without realising there is an alternative (often cheaper) source,supplying another industry.In one case,an alert Tech saved a TV Station a lot of money by realising that the soft tyre material used on the wheels of Camera Dolleys was the same as that used in Hospital equipment.All the cameras in a studio had their tyres replaced for the same cost as getting one Dolley's wheels done by the manufacturer in the UK.If you did some research,& connected suppliers & customers for a small fee,if they could make substantial savings in time or money,it would be a reasonable niche business.OK,people can look on the Internet for themselves,but they don't always know the alternative identity of the product,so will usually go with the known,expensive or slow source.

author: stanigator
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: June 12, 2012, 04:45:11 am
content: Quote from: vk6zgo on June 12, 2012, 04:11:55 amI suppose I just gotta keep talking with the DIY hacker community, along with the industries that I'm already familiar with to find ideas. Thanks for the detailed advice.

author: DrGeoff
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: June 12, 2012, 05:21:43 am
content: Get a job in the industry or end user of your niche-market gadget and understand what the problems really are, and what solutions are currently used, who the competitors are and why the current systems are in place. You will also know who to talk to about your gadgets in the industry then.