New studies show that nearly one in two marketable innovations ends in failure, incurring significant costs in human resources, time, and finances. A true nightmare for any business, is commercial failure predictable and thus avoidable? What makes an innovation successful, and how can we ensure it achieves the expected success when commercialized? Because no: not all good ideas are created equal, and some are forever doomed to become textbook examples of the most resounding flops in marketing history. And no product has a priori any desire to end up relegated to the shelf of commercial fiascos. But what exactly is a flop? On our team, we have a little mnemonic trick to remember it... The word FLOP could be an acronym for "Failure inLaunch, Operation or Premise," initials that represent the 3 main reasons for commercial failure:
FAILURE IN LAUNCH – The first type of failure, related to product launch, occurs when the product is well-conceived (hooray), meets a need (perfect), and has satisfactory functional and aesthetic characteristics (what else, George?). But – and this is where the problem lies – the product's commercial launch is poorly executed. In this case, it's probably because the sales and marketing team hadn't had enough coffee when defining the commercialization and communication strategy. Mistakes in timing, target audience, pricing, positioning… Therefore, it will be necessary to be extremely careful (literally) during the next product launch, to avoid repeating the same errors.
FAILURE IN OPERATION – The second type of failure relates to the product's operationalization. The product is – once again – well-conceived, meets a need, and has satisfactory functional and aesthetic characteristics. However, parameters related to its performance or reliability are lacking. In short: the plan was perfectly executed, but the product didn't deliver on its promises. With the consequences being a probable avalanche of disappointed consumers and negative buzz on social media… In this case, this type of failure falls more within the purview of production and quality professionals. Our best wishes to customer service.
FAILURE IN PREMISE – The last type of failure, finally, relates to the premise (we'll let you look up the definition of the word in the dictionary, because it's not super easy to explain). This time, the product is operational and high-quality, the commercial launch shows real success, but sales suddenly cease after a short period on the market. Why? Simply because the product didn't fulfill a real need and probably only appealed to novelty aficionados, gadget geeks, and a few nerds looking for products they would be the first, or even the only ones, to own. Here, it will be up to design professionals to rethink their approach.
While the first two can sometimes be remedied with corrective actions, the last often requires returning to the initial point (namely, the very genesis of the idea). The good news? By studying the expectations and needs of future consumers as early as possible, there's still time to correct the trajectory. A FLOP can therefore potentially... turn into a TOP!
While the first two can sometimes be remedied with corrective actions, the last often requires returning to the initial point (namely, the very genesis of the idea). The good news? By studying the expectations and needs of future consumers as early as possible, there's still time to correct the trajectory. A FLOP can therefore potentially... turn into a TOP!
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