Why The Previos Products Failed

There are numerous reasons new products fail when introduced into a product market. In fact one study estimated that as many as 80% of new consumer packaged product fail, 90% of all new products fail within 2 years, and only about 40% of new consumer products are around 5 years after introduction. The reasons for product failure could consist of overestimating the market size, product design problems, costs of product developement, incorrect pricing or positioning, poor marketing research, timing, competitors, or many other various reasons. The point I am trying to make is product fail and there isn't a lot you can do about it. There is however ways to making the chance of failure less and that is doing your homework. Test your product, introduce it at a fair price and don't introduce a high priced item when the economy is low. Products fail everyday so make sure you decided when where and how you are going to introduce your new product.

Ben-Gay Aspirin

Ben-Gay a manufacturer of rubbing ointments used to soothe aiching muscles, introduced their own line of aspirin in the mid 1990s. A company dealing in pain relief already believed this to be a great way to expand their product line to a new segment of users. However, this product did not accomplish this goal in any way shape or form and was on the market for less that two years. The reason this product failed was because consumers had always made a connection between ben-gay and a menthol smell that can be sensed from a mile away. Consumers had the idea that when they would consume the new aspirin it would taste the same as the rubbing ointment smelled and consumers could not bring themselves to purchase it.

Buttermilk Shampoo

Buttermilk company introduced a new product called buttermilk shampoo. Now buttermilk is well know for producing butter spreads for food, not bathroom products. Personally when I first heard about this the first thing that came to my mind was washing my hair with a yellow oily substance, and aparently that was the idea most consumers created. Buttermilk shampoo lasted less than three months in production and on store shelves. Consumers who have trusted a product for the qualities it obtains do no want to see that product name on a totally different type of product, it hinders the reliability the consumer holds in that product.

McDonalds' Arch Deluxe Sandwich

In 1996 McDonalds introduced the Arch Deluxe Sandwich. A sandwich that contained 560 calories, 32 grams of fat, 11 grams of saturated fat, 960 milligrams of sodium, and that was without the optional bacon. The sandwich cost McDonalds 100 million dollars in ad campains, and a 300 million dollar set back in a time when consumers were starting to eat healthy. McDonalds made the fatal error of introducing a product with more calories than ever before in a time when consumers were becoming concerned with the health and well being of the American public.

Crystal Pepsi

As you know the pepsi brand is extremely well known accross the world. In 1992 and 1993 the pepsi company introduced crystal pepsi. It was the clear alternative to normal colas. It was their intention that consumers would make a connection between clearness and purity, this did not occur. As consumers tried the new product from a company they had trusted for so long, mixed reviews began to arise. Many people said they did not like the taste, and others found it to be too similar to regular pepsi. The idea of it being clear really had no impact on consumers, in fact many were asking the question of why would I pay more for a product that tastes the same just because it is clear. Pepsi made a mistake in trying to make consumers perceive a quality that the product did not have. There were no actual benefits to the pepsi being clear, and the taste was nearly the same. This was not a good marketing decision for pepsi.

The Ford Edsel

In 1957, the Ford motor company planned on introducing a new car into their vehicle lineup, it was to be called the Edsel. Ford put 400 million dollars into the development of the Edsel, more than it had ever put into any of their other models at this point. The concept of the Edsel was great, more horsepower, very spacious and increased luxury. The price on the other hand was a lot higher than that of the competition. Ford had put so much money into researching what consumers wanted in a car, but failed to gain any information about what consumers would be willing to pay for these attributes. Ford had set a sales goal of 100,000-200,000 cars for the 1958 model. The truth of the matter is, Ford only sold 100,847 Edsels in the three years the car was in production. Ford lost huge amounts of money, but they gained an important lesson.

Examples of Product Marketing Gone Bad

In the next few posts I will discuss some failed products introduced into the market in the past. Products including the Ford Edsel, Crystal Pepsi, McDonald's Arch Deluxe Sandwich, Buttermilk Shampoo and Ben-Gay Aspirin.