Avoiding Product Failure: 7 Mistakes That Will Sabotage Your Success

Intuition assumes that developing a superior product will automatically drive customers to purchase. The reality is that excellent products can fail in the marketplace without a well-researched marketing strategy to educate customers about the benefits of a product. Appropriate marketing strategies are essential to generate interest among prospective customers. Below are seven of the most common roadblocks to new product success.

Exaggerated Customer Need

Subjective attachment to an idea can often drive decision-makers to ignore research that can reveal limited market potential for a product. The original creator of an idea often perceives the market research process as a hurdle to clear. Biased research can lead to unreasonable investments in products that have poor prospects for success in the marketplace. Businesses can minimize their chances of investing in unmarketable product concepts by conducting impartial market research.

No Marketing Plan

Many innovative businesses ignore the essential importance of marketing to facilitate sales. Customers only come to a business when marketers implement strategies to build excitement about a new product. Prospective customers have no way of knowing about a new product unless marketers find ways to communicate the benefits of what the product has to offer. Businesses should ensure that they make a marketing plan top priority during the product launch process. A balanced focus on both product development and marketing strategy can result in favorable business outcomes.

Lack of Differentiation

Customers and retailers alike are unlikely to perceive a compelling reason to switch from existing suppliers when a new company offers an identical service. In most industries, customers and retailers are unwilling to consider a new supplier unless an offer introduces a compelling incentive to switch. Differentiation is essential to capture a segment of an existing market. Businesses should tailor their offering to cater to the specific needs of targeted customers. Product differentiation can be achieved with affiliation, design, quality or price. Successfully differentiating a product in the marketplace can result in long-term success with a loyal customer base.

Customers Unwilling to Pay

Limited business opportunity exists when customers are not willing to meet the required price point for profitability. For example, the music industry has had various segments of difficulty selling songs to online customers. A large number of users would rather download pirated content or stream free music online. The Segway experienced a price point obstacle in another way, while they had (and still do have) an amazing product that everyone would love, its price point makes the marketability difficult.

Offering Fails to Meet Customer Needs

Customers often have very specific expectations about the products that they purchase. Some business models depend on generating marketing buzz about the potential for new products to solve outstanding needs in the marketplace. As a result, early adopters expect a new product to solve their needs before telling others about the offering. New technologies can fail when early adopters publish bad reviews about how a product fails to meet their needs. Businesses must ensure that innovative products are capable of solving customer needs before launching.

Poor Market Positioning

Even the most innovative products can fail if marketers unsuccessfully position their product. Businesses must ensure that the market segment they target is willing and able to purchase. Businesses can improve their chances of success with a new product by conducting adequate market research to determine an appropriate positioning strategy.

Perceptions of Limited Innovation

Product concepts that rely on new innovation as a primary competitive basis must prove their technological advancements. Failure to deliver on the promised significance of an innovation can prevent products from becoming widely adopted in the marketplace. Marketers should be realistic about the magnitude of advancement that a new product represents. Exaggerated claims can result in unhappy customers that tarnish a brand's image among the target market. Customers are more likely to be satisfied with new innovation when it delivers more than the initial promise.

Minimizing Risk of Failure

Many product failures are preventable by conducting impartial market research and encouraging collaboration between product developers and marketers. Being aware of the reasons products fail can significantly reduce the chances of a product development team making decisions that deviate from the needs of customers. An appropriate marketing strategy can help guarantee the success of an excellent new product.

I am regularly discussing business life, strategies, and decisions with other entrepreneurs. Whether you facing an existing obstacle, or perhaps an ongoing concern, sometimes an outside viewpoint that otherwise may not have been considered may be the difference of where your company will be headed tomorrow. The approaches to making decisions and strategizing your business is almost unlimited. If you would like further ideas or guidance, feel free to contact Jim Schmitz for additional information by submitting this contact form. Jim will be in contact with you promptly.

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