The innovators and entrepreneurs among us know that a great idea for a product sometimes fails to realize its potential. Anyone who has come up with, designed, or developed new products knows this only too well. The product may function precisely the way it is supposed to; it might look great and fulfill a useful purpose; but if the marketing campaign used to promote the product is flawed, the product may as well be relegated to the dustbin — or to an advertising museum dedicated to fabulous flops.
You may say that this hardly seems fair, and you’d be right. Why should a great product fail simply because the advertisements used to market it fail to resonate with consumers? Are faulty packaging and promotion really enough to derail an otherwise superior product?
You bet they are. Just ask the people behind Betamax.
Why Product Launches Fail
It’s easy enough to visualize a small company having this kind of difficulty. Smaller companies generally do not have the deep pockets of larger organizations. As a result, their advertising and marketing budgets are smaller and they are less able to saturate the market with news of their brilliant innovation. Maybe they don’t have the funds to do adequate market research before launching their product. Perhaps they skipped earning a marketing degree for other, much less educational exploits. Whatever the case, smaller companies should never shy away from their innovative ideas. The product they develop may very well become the next big thing, and if it doesn’t they will be in very good company.
Product launches too often resemble firehoses. Good marketing communications more resembles dripping faucets.
I’ve been a part of lots of product launches. Over the past six years, it’s safe to assume I’ve helped launch more than 50 new products, and about the same in campaigns, promotions and sales initiatives. Most companies focus on the launch. They pour months into it, resources into it, and hopes into it. Then, [...]
Since starting my new job with NCH Corp. back in July, I’ve primarily had one major responsibility: The Skeeter Defeater Mosquito Defense Unit. I haven’t been able to fill any of you readers in on it until now, so I wanted to take the first opportunity I had to introduce you to the best mosquito [...]
Steve makes three solid points that are Post-It Note worthy. It’s an excellently succinct philosophy. The one that made me really stop and digest was this one: Perfection does not exist . . . only chasing it does. I’d add to it that you can’t possibly know what perfection to even chase until you’re in the middle [...]
If you’ve ever read much Seth Godin, you know how much of a fan of Little Miss Matched socks he is. And he writes about them here in a way that can really clarify the beauty of a niche and the danger of mass popularity. His key points on product marketing/development: The product is the [...]
Found a great new blog today with a post focusing on “Is find a need and fill it bad marketing advice?” This post really takes the same slant as my Need vs. Want post from a few weeks ago, but I think it might clarify the point a bit more. Here are my favorite points: [...]
It is much harder to market something people need versus something people want. For most people, need isn’t enough to convince them to get what you got. They must want it. And it works best when it’s their idea that they want it. If you can make a product that people already want without you having [...]
Do you notice how often we love to respond to situations with “No news is good news”? Discontinue a product, turn over a creative brief, launch a new product, write a press release. Then, after talking to your sales force or customer service folks, you find out you really haven’t received any feedback, and, more [...]
If your new product, new service, new book, new blog post, new whatever can’t make someone respond with “Holy Crap!,” then don’t expect big things out of it. Does that mean you shouldn’t launch it at all? Lots of times it does. But not always. If it doesn’t ellicit a Holy Crap moment from your [...]
