weaver why products fail 20080721

5/24/2018 Weaver Why Products Fail 20080721

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1Why Products Fail

Why Products Fail

Jonathan WeaverMike Vinarcik


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2Why Products Fail

Acknowledgment

This lecture is primarily derived from the following

Cohort 5 MPD Thesis and Thesis Presentation:

A Concept Selection Tool to Extend Pugh Matrices, by

Moe Fawaz, Michael J. Vinarcik, Susan Wellman-Smith


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3Why Products Fail


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4Why Products Fail


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5Why Products Fail

Product Planning Gone Wrong

What is it?

Its an X-Ray machine used to

fit shoes

It was popular in the late 1940sand the 1950s

Then people realized that the

radiation danger outweighed the

perfect shoe fitespecially

when many machines werepoorly maintained, leaked

radiation, and were improperly

adjusted

http://www.neatorama.com/2008/03/06/shoe-fitting-x-ray-machine/


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6Why Products Fail

Definitions

Product Failure: (1) occurring whenever management

regrets the new product introduction, (2) a product failing

to live up to its company expectations in the market

Product Successes: products which met or exceeded theirobjectives


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7Why Products Fail

Some Basics

Likelihood of product success increases if the company understands

user requirements and provides market-pull type products

The most common reason for product failure is inadequate market

analysis

Surveys have shown that about 2/3 of products considered to be a

technical success are product failures

Product success requires:

correct identification of an existing demand

efficient development presence of key individuals

a clear advantage over competing products


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8Why Products Fail

Some Stats on New Products

1 of 7 new product concepts succeed commercially

the others are either cancelled or fail afterintroduction

80% of the products which fail do so very shortly aftertheir introduction; a further 10% die within 5 years

46% of resources are devoted to new products are spenton products that fail

Product failure spans all domains of products (andservices)


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9Why Products Fail

Facts About Consumers

Consumers are becoming increasingly educated aboutproducts and increasingly discriminatory

Better products dont necessarily cost more

Consumers select products closely tailored to their needsusing factors such as :

Price

Quality

Reliability Ease Of Operation

Safety


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10Why Products Fail

Facts About Companies

Established global giants are just as likely to introduce

flops as smaller, younger companies

Companies do not learn from each others mistakes (in

fact they often follow them) New products are more likely to succeed if the company

truly understands user requirements and selects an

appropriate concept which satisfies those requirements


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11Why Products Fail

Six Main Principles Of Product Failures

1. Idea Failure

2. Extension Failure

3. Public Relation Failure

4. People Failure

5. Re-Branding Failure

6. Culture Failure


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12Why Products Fail

Idea FailuresDescription Reasons for

Failure

Lessons

Learned

Main Rival

Persil Power New detergent

formula that is

supposed to

fight any stain

Formula was so

powerful that at

high temperature it

didn't only destroy

the stain but the

clothes as well

Products need to

be tested in

every

environment

they are likely

to be used

Ariel, effective

without

destroying the

clothes

The Hot

WheelsComputer

A computer

that targetedthe boys

market, had

hardware

decorated with

hot wheels

flame logo

Attempt to gender

marketing

Get designers

involved at thestart. Designers

should give

engineers input

on product

usability and

interface issues

Radion A washing

powder

It wasn't different

enough from other

popular products

Differentiate

yourself from

the competition

More expensive

and lower

quality than its

main rival


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13Why Products Fail

The Extension Failure

Extension cannibalizes sales

Divides existing pie into smaller slices

Addresses the needs and wants of the marketer rather than

those of the consumer


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14Why Products Fail

Extension FailuresDescription Reasons for Failure Lessons

Learned

Main Rival

Crest First fluoride

toothpastebrand.

Crest kept on offering

new variations on thesame theme, thereby

confusing the

toothpaste-buying

public.

Don't confuse the

customer byoffering too

many product

duplicates.

Colgate came

with fluoride,tartar control,

gum

protectionall in

one.

Heinz All

NaturalCleaning

Vinegar

A double-

strengthcleaning aid

The fact that both

vinegar and Heinz arenormally associated

with things you can eat

only made the product

more confusing for the

customer.

Products can be

expandedprovided they

remain true to

their core

identity.

Xerox DataSystems A computertechnology

and data

processing

Xerox was trying totransform itself into an

IBM-style

"information

business, but the

public was unwilling

to think of Xerox in

any terms other thanthe copier company.

It is vital to knowthe association of

the brand name

in the consumer's

mind before

introducing a

new concept.

IBM


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15Why Products Fail

Public Relation Failure

When a company doesnt provide the truth about a

negative incident of a particular product

This might lead to an automatic new concept flop

Ex. Firestone handling of the tires issue


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16Why Products Fail

The People Failure

Product ultimately depends on individuals who represent

it in order to survive

Ex. Enron, top executive acted irresponsibly


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17Why Products Fail

The Re-Branding Failure

Can undermine the companys previous marketing efforts

Tommy Hilfiger


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18Why Products Fail

The Culture Failure

The internet facilitates expansion to new markets

It is important to remember cultural differences which canaffect the products chances to succeed in new markets Hallmark cards in France (they prefer to write their own words

inside) Kellogg's cereals in India (traditionally had hot vegetables for

breakfast, cereal expensive)

Pepsi in Taiwan (Come Alive With the Pepsi Generation wastranslated Pepsi Will Bring Your Ancestors Back From theDead)

Parker pens in Mexico (It Wont Leak In Your Pocket wasmistranslated to a slogan involving unwanted pregnancies)

Vicks products in Germany (the brand name had negativeconnotations in German)


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19Why Products Fail

Some Classic FailuresProduct Description Failure criteria

Kodak mc3 MP3 player, a digital

camera, and a digital

video camera, all in one.

All in one for $ 300 came

at the cost of quality

Betamax Was regarded as farsuperior in sound and

picture quality to VHS

formats

Consumers turned theirnose up on the price

which was driven higher

than VHS largely due to

Sonys proprietary stance

Manual Typewriter A victim of technologicalevolution

Hydraulic elevators Had an alarming failure

and fatality rate in

skyscrapers and were

quickly replaced by

electric versions


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20Why Products Fail

Failures Due To Technology

Standard Photographic Cameras Vs. Digital Cameras

Polaroid Vs. Digital Cameras

Heuristic:

Concepts Based Around A Particular Technology Have AShort Half-Life


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21Why Products Fail

Bad Design Concepts

Top-loading VCR

Cant Put Anything On Top

Of It.

Heuristic: Consider The Environment That The New Product

Will Be Used In.


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22Why Products Fail

Bad Design Concepts

The On/Off Switch Can

Be Easily Activated By Accidentally

Pushing An Object Against It

On/Off Switch Is Placed

At An Angle


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23Why Products Fail

Bad Design Concepts

Most people expect to push the buttons


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24Why Products Fail

Bad Design Concepts

Difficult To Tell WhichControl Goes With Which

Burner

Controls Are Arranged In

The Configuration As The

Burners


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25Why Products Fail

Heuristics From Concepts That Flopped

Chord Of Familiarity

Radical concepts should be kept on the market forenough time or be heavily advertised

Communicate Clearly Never assume that the consumers know

Why they should use the product

How they should operate it

What its purpose may be


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26Why Products Fail

Heuristics-continued

Convenience

Consumers will select the product that makes theirlives easier

Extraneous Extras Consumers wont pay for what they dont want or

cant use

Failure Is Opportunity

Failure always presents new opportunities


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27Why Products Fail

Heuristics-continued

Ignore Office Politics

Dont be afraid of pointing out the flaws of a bad concept

Picket Fences

Share thoughts with the people your concept is targeting


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28Why Products Fail

Hot Buttons For Success In The Millennium

Convenience

Environment

Ethnicity

Fun Nutrition

Packaging

Size

Youth


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29Why Products Fail

Summary of Considerations

Creative developers must be given time to make mistakes

Innovation= 99% perspiration and 1% inspiration

No better way to success than by learning from mistakes

There is as much to learn from failures as there is fromsuccesses


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30Why Products Fail

Paul McManus - What Makes A Venture

Management Team Successful - RPI

Biotechnology Management &Entrepreneurship Seminar Series

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Documents

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requirements5242018