Are Products Failing Because Businesses Fail to Understand Their Consumer in the Innovation Process?
Have you heard the story about the Moths of Manchester?
You might have been taught it in school as part of the lessons around evolution, but I’d forgive you if you’d forgotten it.
It might not seem it at first glance but it’s incredibly relevant to business today.
But first a disclaimer: I’m not here to discuss evolution. I’m not a scientist and I’m not providing irrefutable evidence as to its existence.
Rather I like the story as an analogy.
In the early 19th century the peppered moths of Manchester were predominantly white with black speckles. This was so that they could be camouflaged against the lichen on trees.
However, during the industrial revolution when soot covered every surface, the white on their wings suddenly exposed them to prey. Over the course of several decades, a predominantly black variant grew to represent 95% of the peppered moth population (from 10% originally.)
The peppered moth was once again camouflaged against the surfaces on which it sat – soot.
WHY IS THIS STORY RELEVANT TO BUSINESS TODAY?
BUSINESSES NEED TO BE ABLE TO SEE THE CHANGING TIMES AND ADAPT THEIR WAYS, RATHER THAN BEING LEFT BEHIND OR, TO USE EVOLUTIONARY PARLANCE, NATURALLY SELECTED OUT.
The soot, for me, can represent a number of external factors:
Competition
Changing consumer behaviour
Political and changing regulations
The economy, especially in relation to consumer spending such as inflation and unemployment
Technology
Environmental – policy, weather patterns and consumer attitudes towards it
These are out of the business’ control, but a business that is going to survive needs to keep an eye on what is happening now, as well as what is coming.
ONE OF THE REASONS I SEE NEW PRODUCT LAUNCHES FAILING IS THE FAILURE ON THE BUSINESS’ PART TO HAVE DONE THEIR DUE DILIGENCE EXPLORING ONE OF THESE EXTERNAL FACTORS: THE CONSUMER.
They have done all manner of economic and commercial viability evaluation, having spent tens of thousands of pounds on it, and based on that, in conjunction with their own business objectives, have gone away and generated a series of new ideas. With any luck they’ve tested those, screening the weak from the better, and then gone away and optimised those further, possibly returning for more data and feedback.
And yet, often the concept test numbers still don’t ‘look good enough’ to launch.
So back to the drawing board they go to generate more ideas or optimise existing ideas further.
These are the businesses who value market research.
There are others who skip the screening and concept test stage altogether and based on the commercial studies they’ve done, generate an idea that’s inline with business objectives, go away and produce it and launch it.
95% OF NEW PRODUCT LAUNCHES FAIL.
So there’s a good chance that product will fail, after huge expense producing and marketing it.
But I believe this can be changed by doing more due diligence into target consumers higher up in the innovation process, going right back to what they need and want right now. If you don’t understand this, how can you possibly develop products that they are going to buy?
IDENTIFY YOUR SOOT AND SEE HOW CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR IS ADAPTING – TO TECHNOLOGY, THE ECONOMY, THE ENVIRONMENT, AND THE COMPETITION – AND BUILD YOUR APPROACH FROM THERE. IT MIGHT MEAN DEVELOPING BLACK WINGS, BUT A BUSINESS WILL ONLY THRIVE IF IT’S DYNAMIC.
And to the naysayers who want to quote Henry Ford (“If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses.”), then I have one rebuttal for you: I’m not talking about asking them explicitly what they want. I’m saying go out and find out about their lives, painpoints and experiences. People are very good at describing that and very good at talking about their problems. Had Henry Ford done that he might have learnt people wanted to get places faster. Unfortunately, coming up with a solution is still your job.
Don’t let your new product ideas be a sitting duck for prey like the peppered moths of Manchester.
