Why Do Products Fail?

In my experience managing products, I often wonder why products fail. Just picture diligently completing all your preparatory work and then introducing a product, only to discover it’s a complete failure. We’ve witnessed promising product ideas shutter their operations, with some not even making it to market. It’s natural to question why this happens. Here are some factors I believe contribute to product failures.

• Product Market Fit (PMF)- simply put is the process of discovering and ensuring the existence of a suitable and paying market for your product. While your product ideas may be excellent, it’s crucial to ascertain that you are targeting the right market or risk encountering no market at all. To avoid selecting or servicing an inappropriate market, it is essential to ensure that your product meets customer requirements and that there is a sufficient number of customers willing to pay for your solution, thereby ensuring the profitability of your product. Thorough market research at this stage will significantly strengthen your go-to-market strategy.
• Customer Feedback- As a product manager overseeing the development of your product, it is crucial to bear in mind that the product is not designed for your personal preferences. While managing the product, your focus should be on the customers or users. You serve as an intermediary between the users’ needs and the actual delivery of the product. The significance of customer feedback cannot be overstated, as it plays a pivotal role in ensuring that product managers create products that not only thrive and expand but also consistently cater to user requirements. These insights are invaluable for prioritizing features and, at times, refining the overall product strategy.
• Competitive landscape- The performance of your product in the market is intricately tied to several factors, including the advantages that competitors may wield in terms of their products and market positioning. Moreover, the level of saturation within the market itself plays a pivotal role in shaping the outcome. These dynamics underscore the importance of understanding and strategically navigating the competitive landscape, as well as recognizing how market saturation can impact the reception and success of your product.

To put it another way, a product’s lack of success may be linked to situations that are not within our sphere of influence.

Please add your reasons in the comments on why you think products fail and how they can be avoided.

See you in my next read 💫