Commercialization is a multi-faceted process, commonly mistaken for sales[3], marketing, or business development. It involves the methodical progression of an idea or product through various stages, from conception to market launch. This process, often described as a funnel, includes identifying potential profitable products or businesses, setting specific objectives and milestones for each stage of development, and involving key stakeholders such as customers early on. Critical decisions during commercialization concern the timing, location, target audience, and strategy of product launch. These decisions can be influenced by factors like potential market cannibalization, product enhancements, and prevailing market conditions. The success of commercialization largely hinges on a well-planned action plan, an effective marketing mix[1], and the identification of a primary consumer[2] group through research and test marketing.
Commercialization or commercialisation is the process of introducing a new product or production method into commerce—making it available on the market. The term often connotes especially entry into the mass market (as opposed to entry into earlier niche markets), but it also includes a move from the laboratory into (even limited) commerce. Many technologies begin in a research and development laboratory or in an inventor's workshop and may not be practical for commercial use in their infancy (as prototypes). The "development" segment of the "research and development" spectrum requires time and money as systems are engineered with a view to making the product or method a paying commercial proposition.
The product launch of a new product is the final stage of new product development – at this point advertising, sales promotion, and other marketing efforts encourage commercial adoption of the product or method. Beyond commercialization (in which technologies enter the business world) can lie consumerization (in which they become consumer goods, as for example when computers went from the laboratory to the enterprise and then to the home, pocket, or body).