Remember the New Coke experiment or Qwikster from Netflix?
They are just two of many products that entered the market with such buzz and hype, yet ultimately made a quick exit. The reality is it is inevitable that some products will fail; actually, the majority of new product launches will fail. Failure isn’t a bad thing, it’s often the precursor to success, but it isn’t that great either, so how do you dodge failure?
A great way you can dodge failure is by staying agile. A key characteristic to success is agility. Zoomph, our social media display and moderation product born out of MetroStar Systems’ Star labs was created out of demand from a product, originally named myStanly. Zoomph follows principles of agile product development. In this we stay agile to market factors by creating new features in small batch cycles, that way we avoid being cornered by market factors. Again, most of these situations will be out of your hands, so your best bet is adapting to goods and services met by the customers and produce in small batches; always be ready to pivot.
With many of projects at MetroStar Digital, we follow agile product development. Here are some factors to be aware of to help you shape the product. By monitoring these factors you can stay agile and improve your product through its life-cycle: market factors, product factors, and institutional factors.
Market factors of product fail:
- Actual market demand is lower
- Changes in environmental factors
- Changes in consumer taste
- Demand captured by competition
- Margins shrink with higher than anticipate costs
Product factors of product fail:
- Products not distinct enough to capture attention
- Features not attractive
Institutional factors of product fail:
- Poor Delivery (mismanagement, poor resources)
- No leadership (products can atrophy)
While you may have little control over market factors, you do have control over the way you respond to them. It is important to test, build and verify what you have learned by producing in small batches so your product and business is agile and ready to pivot if necessary. Zoomph illustrates values of agile product development. Zoomph continues to grow and succeed is our ability to push new features in small batches catered to demands of clients while having it out on the market.
Lastly, have a team you can rely on and a leader who knows how to manage a team under ever-changing factors and galvanize a team to react. Do not let product failure deter you from trying again. Business can be like a game of good chess, as long as you learn why you lost the game; you become a better player for your match. Good luck!
Thoughts, questions, or just want to talk about whatever happened to MC Hammer? Tweet me at @Zonozi