Companies often spend very large amounts of money on new products, but they quickly fail once they reach the market. In fact, the failure of new products is considered one of the worst nightmares that haunt business owners and entrepreneurs, as it may sometimes be an excellent and distinctive product that provides added value in the market, and was designed in the best possible way, and then in the end it is put on the market to be the biggest shock: the failure of the product in all What advantages!
Putting a new product on the market is very difficult, which explains that more than 30% of the products that companies put on the market fail to achieve the expected financial returns from them. Of course, there are many reasons for the failure of a new product in the market, but one of the most comprehensive reasons for the failure of some products and the success of others is the so-called balance between the “advantages of the product” and what the “market” really needs. The matter is not only related to the quality of the product, its dazzling, efficiency, and meeting the needs of the market, but rather it is related to multiple other dimensions.
Below, we will learn about the 7 most important mistakes that lead to the failure of new products in the market:
1. Failure to understand customer needs:
It is mentioned in the year 1970, the American communications company “AT&T” launched a phone that allows the transfer of images, and the company expected at that time to produce one million copies of the phone within 10 years of its launch, but the company found itself forced to withdraw it from the market after only 3 years, due to its failure to attract the attention of consumers, As the device was huge and difficult to use, and its images were very small and of poor quality, and the result was that it presented a product that did not comply with the requirements and needs of consumers, and it seemed that it did not learn from its mistakes as it launched another version in 1992, which achieved the same negative result.
2. Solve a problem that does not exist:
As in the year 1990, the “Maxwell House” coffee brand launched a ready-to-coffee drink, and the goal was to provide an innovative product that helps customers enjoy coffee immediately without the need to do the traditional preparation process, and of course coffee cannot be placed inside the microwave in its commercial packages and must be poured first Inside the cup and then put it inside the machine, which is a process similar to the process of making a drink using a regular coffee machine, meaning that the new product did not provide any difference to customers, and the company was forced to stop its production.
3 targeting the wrong market:
As in the year 2006, Microsoft launched the Zoon device to play video and audio files to compete with the iPod produced by Apple, but the product failed and the company was forced to stop its production after admitting that it was imitating the iPod copy, meaning that it did not add anything new to entice consumers to choose her device.
4. Wrong Pricing:
In 1993, Apple launched the “Newton Pad” correspondence device that works with a touch screen and is considered the first seed for the iPad, but its price was very high, reaching $ 800, which was a relatively large number at that time, in addition to that it was not suitable for the specifications, as its battery Its screen is not clear and it is difficult to read or write on it, which prompted the company to stop this product in 1998.
5. Weakness of the work team and internal capabilities:
In 2007, a Swedish businessman and another Danish established an Internet TV service. It was very promising in the beginning, but it failed due to the poor efficiency of the work team. The site was characterized by poor design and operation, so it was sold two years after its launch. The lack of competence and skill of the workers leads to a sterile product that does not satisfy the requirements of customers.
6. Slow development and delay in entering the market:
The delay in launching the product in the market may lead to its failure, as many changes may occur in the market during the delay period, such as changing consumer needs or slowing economic growth and other shifts in market data, which is what happened with the “Google Live” website that Google launched in 2008. 2008 after a long wait, but at that time the economic recession was hitting the world and it did not achieve the expected turnout, which led to its closure after only 5 months.
7. Poor execution:
In 1995 Microsoft released the “Pop” software, but it failed miserably, as it relied on advanced technologies that were not available to most consumers at that time, so the system failed, such as the “Windows Vista” program, which included many technologies that the user needed. Many people find it difficult to use it 4 months after its launch, as the company allowed the sale of devices with an older system.
In the end, launching any new product or service on the market by a large, medium, or emerging company is, in the end, a challenge that has its own characteristics, conditions, and ways of dealing with it. Good planning for the technical specifications of the product, its price, ease of use, and availability in the market means, in the end, raising the chances of its success and moving it vigorously to the category of sure profit.