This Element is an excerpt from From Concept to Consumer: How to Turn Ideas into Money (ISBN: 9780137137473) by Phil Baker. Available in print and digital formats. Maximize your new product’s chances of success by optimizing the role of marketing throughout the entire product development process. The role of marketing is to help products succeed through a variety of activities: influencing product design, positioning the product and company, conducting market research, promoting the product, and understanding and communicating with customers. An excellent marketing plan revolves around the relationship between company and customer and consistently begins with respect for that customer.