Why does product launch fail?
Attracting customers’ attention to a newly released product is a big challenge. Let’s explain 5 factors causing product launch failure and how to avoid them.
In a company whose specialty is Launching new products, in most cases, entrepreneurs and brand managers are calling regularly for help with their “revolutionary and brand-new” products.
They listen and then ask to provide evidence of research of their claims. What do you think they are saying in response to request?
It’s quite obvious; the old and recurring answer: “We have not yet explored, but we know that our ideas can be effective and there is no danger.”
Companies have long been responding to such calls, so after a conversation, they can tell if this new product launch can be successful or not.
Take a look at the product launch statistics
Most product launch processes will not be successful.
According to a leading market research firm, about 75 percent of packaged consumer and
retail products (FMCGs) will not be able to earn even 7.5 million dollars during the first year
of their launch on the market.
The reason for this is partly due to the customers’ uncompromising buying habits.
A consultant named Jack Trout notes that American households are
always buying 150 items of goods, accounting for 85 percent of their family needs;
it is hardly possible to find new items in their shopping cart.
Even Procter & Gamble is always lying about the launch of a new product.
Less than three percent of new packaged consumer goods sales in the first year is
more than fifty million dollars. This amount of sales is considered to be
a very successful offer of a product to the market.
Also, products that are sold very well from the very beginning of the market
may have problems with their success:
In the “Most Important Products Released to the Market Between 2002 and 2008” study,
over 70 percent of Top-rated products were surveyed.
A large number of them are not always available on the market.
Several factors can break the supply of a new product to the market.
The most important reason we have been facing is the lack of preparation:
Companies are so focused on designing and manufacturing new products that
postpone the difficult task of getting ready for their marketing, so
they are far behind in the game of market competition.
5 Weaknesses that Cause Product Launch Failure
Here, there are five other devastating weak points that are repeated frequently.
#1 Product Launch Failure; First Weakness:
The company can not support the rapid growth of the product
Product Launch Failure; Solution:
Have a plan to grow and grow your product if you succeed
Example: Mosquito Magnet
In 2000, We were working with the American Biophysics Company, on Launching its new product, Mosquito Magnet,
which uses carbon dioxide to draw mosquitoes into traps.
The timing of this product was perfect: the fear of (transmitting) the virus of the West Nile by mosquitoes made
people’s perceptions about the insect change from an intruder to a carrier that threatens their lives.
Mosquito Magnet quickly became one of the best-selling products in the Frontgate and Home Depot.
But the American Biophysics has proven to be more skilled in killing mosquitoes rather than
directing a growing company in consumer products.
When the range of work of the company was transferred from low-speed production on the island of Rad to
a mass production plant in China, the quality of its products declined.
Hence, consumers were angry and the product that saved the lives of humans left the market.
The American Biophysicist, who once earned seventy billion dollars, was bought by Woodstream for six million dollars.
Currently, Mosquito Magnet is making money for Woodstrom, but shareholders who
initially invested in the production of this device did not see much of their late achievement.
#2 Product Launch Failure; Second Weakness:
The product does not comply with the claims and is therefore highly criticized
Product Launch Failure; Solution:
Launch the product to the market so late that it really is ready
Example: Windows Vista
The failure of the Windows product launch in 2007, when Microsoft launched the Windows Vista,
the media and the general public were expecting a lot.
The company itself had a lot of expectations;
Hence, it allocated $ 500 billion for marketing, and predicted that fifty percent of users
will launch the original version within two years.
But in terms of performance and compatibility, the operating system had problems that
even bothered Microsoft’s loyal customers.
Vista was defeated and Apple in a propaganda campaign set it up to mock Windows Vista (I’m a Mac);
This has led many consumers to suspect that Windows Vista’s problems are much worse.
If Vista were to be released today, it might have been far worse for Microsoft because of
the growing popularity of social networks.
With increasing social media and user reviews, only the power of negative feedback increases, and
more and more, it requires that products be prepared in any way before launching the product.
Do you remember any of these short-term successes?
Every year, “The Most Innovative New Product Launches Research” introduces products that are best suited to the market.
But even for brands that rank as top ten brands, there is no guarantee of long-term survival between those brands.
These products “successfully” flocked between 2002 and 2008 and disappeared from the market within two years.
#3 Product Launch Failure; Third Weakness:
Product features are not attractive to the customer
Product Launch Failure; Solution:
Test the product to make sure its differences affect the buyers
Example: Coca-Cola C2
Since the coca diet, this is the most important product that has been marketed.
Coca-Cola identified a new market: men aged 20 to 40 who liked Cola’s taste (of course, did not like their calories and carbohydrates), and
also loved the non-calorie cocoa aspect (the taste or mental image of being feminine weren’t interested).
The C2, which contained half the calories and carbohydrates and all the original cola flavor,
began to be introduced in 2004 and launched its $ 50 billion advertising campaign.
However, even with the allocation of this budget, it could not ignore the fact that
the benefits and benefits of the C2 did not differ much from other products.
Men did not like this combination drink; they were looking for a full-fruity drink without calories or carbohydrates,
not half of their calories and carbohydrates.
Also, it turned out that this tendency with low carbohydrates is not long lasting.
Why were not these issues raised before the launch of the product?
Occasionally, market research is useless by asking false questions, distorting, or lacking a realistic look at the results.
In an organization, new products can have a distinct identity and fall so tightly on the tongues that there is no way back.
Finally, Managers considered Coca-Cola C2 a failure. In 2004, the volume of interest in buying these three beverages
around the world grew by only two percent (and their growth in North America was steady);
This suggests that the low sales of C2 were higher at the expense of the original Coca-Cola sales and diet.
However, the company learned from this mistake; one year later, Coke Zero was introduced to the market,
a non-caloric, full-blown product that can now be found on store shelves in the hands of men.
Example: Now you hear my voice? !!!!!
One of the most important issues we ignore.
When the secret agent, Maxwell Smart and his boss wanted to have a private conversation in one of the sixties comedy called Get Smart,
they took the key and a “cone-shaped silent enclosure” fell from the ceiling.
Forty years later, when mobile phones caused people to be intrigued at restaurants and other public places,
Anthony Frantia felt that there was a real need for a real silent room so that
those who want to talk with the cellphone could be in private hands, Their words do not hurt their neighbors.
In 2006, he built the prototype of a “Cell Zone” and unveiled it at the “restaurant fair”,
where the invention became a great success.
He called on Schneider Associates to advertise their products, and soon it appeared on the major networks.
But with all the excitement of this product, rarely, an individual was willing to order a product at $ 3,500.
The restaurants did not even want to lose an impression of their business space, and night clubs were not interested in buying it;
The reason for this was partly due to turning their customers into SMS instead of making voice calls.
Franthee tried to sell advertising on the stalls, but it was useless. So far,
Franta has sold less than three hundred of its products (one hundred to university libraries) and
the company has lost more than $ 650,000.
For a small entrepreneur, paying such a price is far from unpredictable because of
the inadequate understanding of the market before the launch and delivery of the product to it.
#4 Product Launch Failure; Fourth Weakness:
Defines a new product class which needs basic consumer education, but no training is provided.
Product Launch Failure; Solution:
If the consumer is not able to quickly figure out how to use the product, the product is doomed to failure
Example: Febreze Scentstories
The Febreze Launch Failure In 2004, was a perfume air freshener that launched on the market,
which was similar to a CD player, and every 30 minutes, its fragrances were poured in the air
(the product contained $ 5.99 discs and titles such as “Relax in NNO “was inserted).
The company hired a reader, Shania Twain, to launch programs in the Product Launch market.
This puzzled consumers, and many thought the device was playing music and freshening the space, and
this vagueness caused Scentstories to fail.
If a product is really new and revolutionary, recruiting spokesmen and celebrities can be more harmful to them than
any kind of benefit. A strong educational promotional campaign can be a better way.
The product features provide messages that make a brand-specific impact, so that
R&D teams, foreign experts, and consumers can help them test and love the product.
#5 Product Launch Failure; Fifth Weakness:
The product is completely new and revolutionary, but there is no market for it
Product Launch Failure; Solution:
Do not overlook the fundamental questions: “Who buys this product at what price?”
Example: Segway
When about a dozen months before the product launches, a product called Ramsey Ginger and
well-known inventor, Dean Kamen, found a leaked press release,
Everyone was aware of the existence of such a product.
The news indicated that Kamen had found a replacement solution instead of a car.
When investors and the general public realized that in fact, this invention was nothing but
an advanced motor scooter, they were amazed.
The ad was showing that people riding a motorcycle scooter, sitting like circus performers,
were sitting on top of their strange chariots, and their pricing labels (for $ 5,000) did not work.
Unlike Camell’s prediction, instead of selling 10,000 units a week, during the first five years, only about 24,000 Segway units were sold.
Currently, much less is sold to police forces, city tour guides and warehousing companies, not the general public.
If there is a product that can reject the obvious “if you have made a good product, customers come to it”, it will undoubtedly be the Segway product.
A Successful Product Launch
Some of these problems are more resilient than others. The first and second weaknesses are largely related to the timing:
If the launch of the Mosquito Magnet and Windows Vista products were delayed,
then issues related to production and quality could be solved.
Although, companies may even market their products in a given date or season,
But if they expect their success to increase, they will delay supplying their products.
Weakness three, four, and five require less skill and accuracy, because they directly relate to the product itself.
Managers must learn from the beginning of the work, the knowledge and information of the branding team as well as
marketing, sales, advertising, public relations and network professionals;
By doing so, they will receive valuable feedback that can help them navigate or launch the product or, if necessary, abandon it.
Listening to opposing opinions can be painful, but pain is not as inadequate as an outbreak of pain for a market or product launch when it’s not in the market.
Tell us what you think about this article.
Source: HBR
Leave A Comment