Brand Fail
Photo credit: Geekologie
If you are in business, you are offering a product. Whether you’re selling sneakers or your accounting skills, your customers are shelling out money in return for whatever it is you have to offer. In order to succeed, you need to understand the myriad ways you could fail. Pitfalls to avoid:
1. You’re just like the other guy
In order to be a ‘contenduh’ (to paraphrase a famous film), you have to differentiate yourself from all of the other people who do what you do. Your product needs to have a unique benefit to the customer. There may be plenty of t-shirt companies online, but how many offer professionally-designed graphic tees for toddler athletes and their supportive parents?
2. Your product is [this] but might also be [that]
Your personal trainer is not the only person who will tell you that you need definition. Your brand consultant will echo this sentiment. Without a clearly defined protocol, you could waste valuable time and money trying to develop an ill-formed product idea. Your protocol should define: a) your target market; b) what that market needs and prefers; and c) exactly what your product is intended to do.
3. You over-defined
And you took your protocol to the extreme. Your target market should be large enough to offer future growth. You want a niche, not a pigeon-hole. Don’t make all of your toddler tees red.
4. Your marketing mix isn’t mixing
When you launch a product, every aspect of the brand must be in sync. The name, packaging, price, promotion, and distribution must all deliver the same clear and concise message to the consumer. If your toddler tees are expensive, but are packaged in Ziploc-esque bags, and advertised in Car and Driver…your customer will be confused and look for another t-shirt company.
5. Your product doesn’t deliver
Key to securing your customer base is delivering on the promises you – and your product – make. Thus, be sure you invest the time and resources necessary to test your product prior to launch. Simply put: the cost of doing a thorough run-through is much less than the capital you will lose due to decreases in profits, market share, and, most importantly, reputation if your product fails after it hits the market.
6. Your missed your targets needs
This goes hand-in-hand with understanding your target market before attempting to develop your product. If your targeted toddlers play soccer in Alaska, you should probably offer them long-sleeve tees as an option.
7. Your timing is off
It’s difficult to predict the future, but it helps to be ahead of the curve (or at least on the upswing of a trend). Having to catch up to the competition right out of the gate will be a downer. Pay attention to trends in the marketplace and try to predict where things are headed. For instance, now might be a good time to start developing software to help people figure out what kind of healthcare insurance they will have to buy in 2013.* *Comments noted here do not reflect the views of Fuel Your Branding or its affiliates
8. You can’t get your product to your customers
If you rely on a third-party for access to your customers, know what it takes to make that happen. In retail environments, for example, your product must be profitable enough to the store owner to justify taking up valuable shelf space. In this instance, you must be sensitive to the needs of the retailer, as well as your customers. Hence, make sure you are targeting the right mix of both.
Partial as this list is, there are lots of ways to screw up your business. Thoughtful research and preparation can increase your chances of success exponentially.
What are your thoughts? Have you failed recently or have a “crash and burn” example? Please share – we’re all in this together!
Camille Friend is a designer who works in both 2D and 3D – print and interiors – and a sporadically productive blogger on design-related subjects. She is the founder of MIYO | STUDIOS, a creative firm specializing in design, branding, and identity projects. @miyostudios
Grab the Feed
I’d like to add the following: Not listening to your users after you launch. Because the users will define your product more than you will.
Kristof,
That is certainly a good point – I agree. Customers can provide the best clues regarding how you can successfully grow your brand and the types of products/services offered. It takes some of the guess-work out of the equation as the company manages expansion over time.
Part of serving your customers and improving your brand is having some diversity in your product line. Not that you have to serve everyone under the sun, but you shouldn’t strictly limit yourself to “professionally-designed graphic tees for toddler athletes and their supportive parents.”
You can dominate that athletic toddler t-shirt niche and also offer a broader product for all toddlers, say a onesie with a customizable pattern or picture on it.
Thanks, Kevin.
You make a valid point that I think speaks to the importance of innovation as a brand/company grows over time. To point to an obvious example, I would look to Coke. The company began by simply offering one product. They perfected it, grew their market-share and customer base, and began introducing new products into the market. As Kristof mentioned in his comment, the customers can provide good clues regarding which direction a company might go. At the same time, the customers may not know that they want your product if it is truly innovative and unique. For that reason, it is important to build trust with your customers so that when you begin to diversify your product line, they happily go with you.