Having launched and helped entrepreneurs launch quite a few products and services and watched others also embark on new product launch, I have come to discover the four most important reasons why that product or service we think is success-bound, but suddenly fails to take off the ground.
1) Failing To Take The Consumer Point of View; Many times we fall victim to selfishness in coming up with new products. We develop a new service or product without as much as critically looking at things from the angle of the intended consumers. Why would people buy such products? What will the service do for them to make them want to sign up for it?
One way of making sure we know what the intended consumers think is to carry out a survey cutting across the target consuming group for the new product/service. Taking a serious critical survey is cardinal to the success of your new business offering. It could enlighten you on grey areas that would have made your idea a flop. As you probably know, business has risks and one major factor overlooked in a product could be the difference between success and failure.
A survey we took when trying to come up with a particular technology service made us realize that the new service would be more appreciated by the target consumers if accompanied with a physical component such as Video Compact Discs for better mastery. That information alone made the difference.
2) Lack of Research; Ideas are a penny a dime and thus a product we think is revolutionary and brand new may have had resemblances in the past. Research, as a vital component of Product/service Development will equip the businessman with the facts required to develop a top performing product. A well crafted research work will cover areas such as customer survey, identifications of opportunities and obstacles if any, geographical factors and cultural idiosyncrasies of your target consumers which may go a great extent in influencing buying decisions.
3) Impatience; Developing a product that will be successful and have long market life requires painstaking efforts and you can never be too careful. Big corporations being very much aware of this, invest years in Research and Development before unveiling new products or services. Time therefore has to be taken to duly collate and analyze all necessary data that will contribute to the making of a great product. That said, product development should also have a flexible time limit. It does not pay to remain in development stages forever and watch the competition suddenly come first to the market with a similar offering.
4) Insufficient Publicity; Developing an ambitious publicity plan is not negotiable if you hope to get your new product up and running. Many organizations at most do the minimum things required such as sending out a couple of press releases and throwing a few adverts on air. No amount of publicity for your new product is enough. Remember, the way and manner you make your product arrival statement will matter to the success and consumer perception it will have.
Source by Paul Chuks Eze
