I. Understanding the Reasons Behind Your Product’s Struggles

How can you expect that every successful business is built without any failure? The big brands emerge after experiencing multiple failures, which ultimately makes them stronger.

Launching a new product is an exciting yet challenging endeavour. Many products still fail to meet expectations despite meticulous planning and a robust product development strategy. You always prioritize the new product development process for your product as it’s crucial, and everything is based on that. According to statistics by Oxford, approximately 80%-90% of startups fail, with a significant portion unable to survive beyond the first year​​. This high failure rate underscores the complexity of bringing a product to market and achieving sustained success.

a. Identifying the Wrong Target Audience

Many products fail because they don’t address the needs of the right audience. They do not have a clear understanding of who would be their ideal customers are, and where they need to do marketing efforts that cannot be misdirected, resulting in poor sales. 

Example – 

Ever heard of Quibi?It was launched with much fanfare in 2020, this streaming service promised “quick bites” of content – short-form videos designed for busy millennials. They secured big investments, featured popular creators, and ran a splashy marketing campaign. So why did it flop?

Despite securing big investments and featuring content from popular creators, Quibi flopped. 

Their mistake? 

They didn’t read their audience more carefully. Millennials, busy and tech-savvy, already had established streaming giants with vast libraries. Quibi’s short-form content, limited platform availability, and high subscription cost didn’t resonate. 

This emphasizes a critical point: knowing your ideal consumer is essential. A recent CB Insights (CB Insights is a private company offering a business analytics platform and a global database that delivers market intelligence on private companies and investor activities) poll confirms this: 42% of entrepreneurs fail because there is no market demand for their products. 

Don’t let yours become another statistic. Focus on building a product that solves a real problem for a well-defined audience.

b. Lack of Understanding of Customer Needs and Preferences

Failing to understand what your customers truly want leads to products that don’t resonate with them. 

c. Ignoring Competitor Analysis

Neglecting competitor analysis can result in products that fail to distinguish themselves. The brand should know the competitors’ strengths and weaknesses which can help craft a product that offers unique value. According to Harvard Business Review, businesses that fully understand their competitors are 2 to 3 times more likely to succeed.

2. Product-Market Fit

a. Misalignment Between Product and Customer Expectations

If the product does not fulfill client expectations, it definitely will struggle. You must fit your product characteristics with the requirements of your consumers. According to statistics, organizations with a strong product-market fit expand at twice the rate of those without.

b. Feature-Price-Value Imbalance

Our product should include features that do not justify the cost and may turn buyers away. The strategist must ensure that the product’s value proposition is clear and convincing.

c. Product Design and User Experience Issues

Sometimes, it would become difficult for the customer to understand the product and they will easily get frustrated which will automatically drive them to competitors. Improving user experience can significantly boost customer satisfaction and retention. 

According to Mike Gualtieri from Forrester, a well-designed user interface could increase conversion rates by up to 200% in 2009.

3. Competing Priorities

a. Resource Constraints

Don’t let limited resources stall your product’s success!  

Strategic resource allocation is critical to realizing your product’s full potential. By giving crucial areas like development and marketing the attention they need, you’ll position your product for a successful launch and long-term growth.

b. Scope Creep

Without sufficient preparation, project scope expansion can result in delays and budget overruns. Maintaining project progress requires managing scope creep. According to PMI, scope creep affects timeliness and quality in 52% of projects.

c. Lack of Clarity on Core Objectives

Without clear objectives, efforts can become scattered and ineffective. Defining and implementing primary objectives fosters focused progress. Clarity in goals is associated with a 20% improvement in project success rates.

4. Marketing and Positioning

a. Inadequate Marketing Efforts

A product won’t succeed without strong marketing strategies. Investing in robust marketing and the best product development strategy for most firms is essential to reach your potential audience. Businesses that spend at least 5% of their revenue on marketing are 2.5 times more likely to see growth.

b. Misaligned Marketing Message

Your marketing message must resonate with your target audience. Misalignment can cause confusion and disengagement. Consistent messaging can boost brand recognition by 80%.

c. Lack of Differentiation from Competitors

Every brand has its distinct traits, whether they are entirely original or incorporate something new into an older edition. To stand out in a crowd, the product should be distinctive to attract customers. 

5. Customer Acquisition and Retention

a. Ineffective Customer Acquisition Strategies

Inefficient acquisition techniques might stifle growth. Concentrate on the channels that offer the highest return on investment. HubSpot data shows that organizations that use inbound marketing methods have a threefold higher ROI than those that use outbound strategies.

b. Subpar Customer Service

Poor customer service might drive away customers. Exceptional service is an effective retention tactic. Companies that prioritize customer service might raise their profitability by up to 60%.

c. Lack of Customer Engagement

Customer engagement plays a crucial role as the customers who engage are more likely to remain loyal and suggest your goods or services. In most cases, people trust WOM (word of mouth) marketing. 

Regular contact and personalized experiences are effective ways to keep people engaged. Engaged customers are 23% more likely to spend than ordinary customers.

II. Effective Strategies to Turn Your Product Around

1. Refine Market Research

a. Identifying and Understanding the True Target Audience

You need to reassess who your ideal customers are and tailor your product to their needs. This includes demographic, psychographic, and behavioral analysis.

b. Gathering and Analyzing Customer Feedback

The brand needs to do surveys, interviews, and social listening to gather insights first. This helps in understanding pain points and areas where the brands need to work. 

c. Monitoring Competitor Strategies

Stay updated on competitor activities to identify gaps and opportunities for differentiation. Tools like SWOT analysis can be beneficial to know about the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. For that, you can prefer Plan Your Saas for the whole analysis. 

2. Transform Product-Market Fit

You need to use the strategy of continuous product design (CPD) based on customer feedback and changing market trends. In many cases, people prefer to develop their products as MVPs (minimal viable products) to better understand the market.

This approach costs less initially and takes less time for both the user and the creator. For building the MVPs, you can check with Vibencode’s product development strategy. 

b. Realigning Product Features with Customer Expectations

If the product is launched or already in the initial stage, you need to ensure your product’s features match what your customers are looking for. You regularly need to update your value proposition.

c. Investing in User Experience and Product Design

Prioritize user experience design improvements to make your product intuitive and enjoyable to use. Regular usability testing can provide valuable insights.

3. Prioritize Effectively

a. Focusing on Core Objectives

Define and stick to core objectives to avoid getting sidetracked. Use OKRs (Objectives and Key Results) to maintain focus.

b. Reducing Scope Creep

You have to ensure that resources are directed towards high-priority areas that will drive the most impact, and implement strict scope management practices to avoid unnecessary expansions that drain resources.

4. Strengthen Marketing and Positioning

a. Developing a Compelling Marketing Message

Need to craft a clear and compelling message that communicates the unique value of your product. Use storytelling to connect with your audience emotionally.

b. Targeting the Right Audience Within Your Niche

Use tailored marketing strategies to reach the most relevant audience segments.

c. Offering Unique Value Proposition

You will need to differentiate your product and user experience design by emphasizing unique features and benefits that competitors do not provide.

5. Enhance Customer Acquisition and Retention

a. Enhancing User Experience

If you want to increase the appeal of your product, you must invest in enhancing the user experience overall. This can aid in drawing customers and possibly cultivate enduring bonds with your company.

b. Implementing Effective Onboarding

To build the product, you need to develop a seamless onboarding process that resonates with the new product development strategy to help new users quickly understand and derive value from your product.

c. Maintaining Engagement Through Communication

You should regularly connect with customers through personalized messages across email, social media, etc. Tailor content to their interests and encourage interaction. This builds relationships, keeps them interested, and strengthens your brand.

d. Rewarding Loyalty

You can implement loyalty programs to reward repeat customers and encourage long-term engagement with the customers. This will help in increasing customer lifetime value and foster brand loyalty.

You may turn your product around and achieve long-term success by comprehending the causes of its difficulties and putting these product development strategies into practice. Always remember to put your customers first, remain alert, and be flexible. 

Apart from this, if you need any help and an expert guide in the same field, you can directly quote a free call with us or contact Vibencode. 

FAQs:

Q: How long does it typically take to see improvement after implementing these strategies?

A: The time frame for improvement differs based on the particular problems with your digital product, but with persistent work and application of the recommended techniques, good outcomes ought to materialize eventually. 

Q: Is it necessary to invest a significant amount of money to save a failing digital product?

A: While certain tactics can need money outlays, there are several free or inexpensive ways to boost a digital product’s performance.

Q: What if I have already tried some of these strategies and my digital product still needs to improve?

A: It can be essential to reevaluate how you’ve applied these tactics, look for outside advice or experience, or think about taking more severe steps like completely redesigning or rebranding your digital offering.