Research has posited that about 70-90 percent of new products fail within the first year of launch. These figures have been disputed over the years but it still comes to bearing that lots of new products do not become market leading products. To be fair, this is the case with so many “firsts” in life, there is no guarantee of success. The failure of new products is a moment of disillusionment for product led businesses because everyone assumes they know exactly what their customers want. Like human wants are insatiable, customer needs are constantly evolving and a failure to evolve with them is a recipe for disaster.

Recently, Daily Mail published an article, about an influencer mum from Arizona who shared a viral video on the popular social media app, Tiktok, criticising Target’s latest shopping cart design. In her own words, “you can definitely tell that they did not consult one single mother while redesigning these carts”. She affirmed that she liked the bucket seat for the toddlers added to the cart, but the addition and placement of the cupholder made it too easy for her toddler to grab her iced coffee. She went on to say that a tray like that with small holes was an impending disaster as kids like to stick their fingers in stuff.

While this case study is not an example of a failed product, it just proves the point earlier stated, about customer needs constantly evolving. Thanks to social media, we now live in times where disparaging remarks about your products can go viral and have people coming down hard on your products. As discouraging as this might seem, this is the essence of product design and development. Customer sentiment should be the main driver of your product design and development initiatives.Which brings us to the number one reason products fail, amongst others.

Why Products Fail

1. Being the expert on what your customers need

Lots of products have come and gone because of false assumptions made on what the customer needs. Even in iterating on existing products, needless iterations have been made to “well as is” products because of an assumption of what is best for the end user of the products.

2. Ideating around the wrong problem statement

A problem statement is the clear and concise description of an issue you want to solve. It usually highlights what the problem is, why it’s important and who it impacts. It is very easy to fall into the trap of creating solutions to the wrong problem because you were not asking the right question in your research or because there were not enough users with that problem. Does your customer really want a newer model of that product or they just want the model they already have to function better?

3. Not collaborating cross functionally

When developing solutions that you want to instill in your product, not consulting with everyone who will be involved in the fruition of the product goals is not a wise decision. The “everyone” in this context can range from the engineering team, to manufacturing and operations, business analysts, sales and marketing, etc and every stakeholder relevant to the product development.

4. Focusing on the wrong success metrics

Without any doubt, it is necessary that every business venture, in this case developing a product, is financially beneficial. It is very easy to get carried away focusing on the returns you want to get on your financial investment, rather than the most important outcome of every product development, which is customer satisfaction.

5. Wrong positioning

Products have tendency to fail when you are targeting the wrong audience, or putting out the wrong brand message. Trying to make products that pleases everyone, while ambitious, can be foolhardy. This in turn leads to churning out brand messages that don’t quite connect.

While it is never a 100% given that your new products might be the next big thing, there are proven methods that ensure that your products have a fighting chance. Incorporating these methods in your product design and development will give you the much needed edge to scale the possibilities.

How to Deliver Fail Proof Products

1. Invest in the Emotional Experience of your Consumer

Focusing on the emotional experience of your consumer is a process that begins with empathy. Put yourself in the shoes of your consumer, understand their pain points, be curious in wanting to know what, how and why.This can be done by interacting with the users, observing them in their natural habitat, also known as primary research. It is very important to design with your users and not just for them, carry them along the process of your design. Be very keen on consumer experience, Your consumers need their interaction with your product to be fulfilling.

2. Having a solid value proposition

There are high chances that your product has similar offering to a handful of other products out there so why choose you? What makes your product stand out? When doing your product positioning, be very clear on what makes your product stand out. Whether it is in pricing, in the quality or in the customer experience, make sure you are selling a “different experience” in your messaging to your target audience.

3. Tolerate failure

Ideally consumer feedback should be incorporated at every stage of your design and development process. When testing the product with potential users, and the feedback from the consumer is not the expected outcome, you should be willing to go back to the drawing board to analyze and restratigize. Following through with the launch because you don’t want all the efforts and resources exerted to be in vain, is not the way to go. Embrace your mistakes and learn from it. It doesn’t have to be a one and done process, be flexible and willing to make adjustments.

4. Start Simple

Understand that your product doesn’t have to cure cancer, solve world hunger and ease geopolitical tensions all at once. There is no need to add on a million and one features and functionalities to your products, or hold unto it till you believe it has reached a stage of perfection. Ever heard of the word MVP? It means Minimum Viable Product, it is the simplest version of a product, built to attract early adapters who in turn give you feedback for whatever adjustments you need to incorporate along the line.

5. Avoid the experience trap

Get rid of all the ideas or opinions you have formed in your mind prior to your customer research. Keep your mind open, be curious, as this is an uneven playing ground in which your customers wield all the power. Be willing to be proven wrong, keep your assumptions checked and be an attentive listener to your customer.

Conclusion

So many widely successful brands like Tesla, Coca- Cola, Microsoft, amongst others have had their fair share of failed products. But you know what they did?They learned from their mistakes and developed even better products, so trust that you are in good company. The most important thing is to stay flexible, curious, teachable, and passionate about the customer experience.