It has been decades since the last golden era of new product development. According to some analysts, the recent lull in creative product ventures can be attributed, in part, to overly cautious attitudes among many in the business community. Marketers fearful of the high failure rate associated with new product development often choose safe product strategies, preferring to modify already-popular products instead of inventing new ones.

In spite of the tendency towards caution found among the nation's producers, new research may cause marketers to take a more aggressive approach to new product development over the next few years. A recent study by research firm Markitecture shows consumers by a two-to-one margin enjoy trying out new product concepts. According to the study, some 76% of consumers said they weren't afraid to try new things; over half said they find shopping fun and buy new products all the time, and 44% went as far as agreeing with the statement that "new products can really make a difference in my life.''

While the findings of this research study may lead to an increase in adventuresome new product efforts, marketers will have to suppress their fear of failure if they hope to capitalize on consumer demands. The same study showed that marketers are drowning in a sea of self-doubt when it comes to product innovation. Rating their companies out of 100 in terms of their competence at selecting the most viable new product concepts, marketers awarded an average score of 32%. They gave themselves 34% for their ability to design new products, and went only slightly higher, 38%, in rating their launch marketing skills.