Why Building a Better Mousetrap Is Not Enough

One of my favorite movies is "Field of Dreams," and its popular line, "If You Build It, They Will Come" is one of the more memorable phrases of all time.

But here's the thing--I don't really buy it.

Anyone who's ever launched a new product or company knows--sometimes through hard knocks--that it's not just about creating the best new widget. The proverbial corporate graveyard is littered with robust, high-performing offerings that didn't make it. Successful ventures must realize that their potential doesn't rest solely on their features and function laurels, but instead by disrupting their market on numerous levels.

There's a big reason why business classes teach the Four "Ps" (product, price, promotion, placement), because each one has to be functioning while supporting one another at the same time. So before entrepreneurs kick back and wait for people to beat a path to the door of their latest product or service, they need to ask these three questions.

Can folks FIND your new product?

Nothing will tick off potential customers more than when a company gets them all psyched up for a product or service only to not be able to find it. Numerous reasons may explain this, such as not providing enough inventory for distributors to meet the demand, the lack of available sales channels for people, or requiring prospects to complete an unnecessary amount of steps to buy the product or service. In any case, the organization will quickly turn from a desired and endearing brand to persona non grata.

In this age of immediate, 24/7 access to products, companies need to ensure that customers can find and purchase their widget with ease. Otherwise, prospects may just take a path of lesser resistance and buy a competing offering, even if it isn't as good.

Do folks GET your product?

Companies that believe their widget is intuitively understandable by their audience need to get a second opinion. That's not to say it isn't, but the only opinion that matters to the question is the market. Organizations have doomed themselves by looking only inward to find the answer.

Here's where the promotion strategy comes into play the most. Regardless of campaign, each initiative must clearly convey the product's value proposition and competitive advantage to the right people at the right time in the right way. The three "rights" are critical, and must come from the customer's perspective. The company has little to no say on this, and the sooner they recognize it the better.

Will folks PAY for your product?

For many organizations, pricing is the most difficult of the Four "P's" to master, and for understandable reasons. Conflicting factors often cloud the ultimate decision, including reaching adequate profit margins, pressure from the competition and cost mandates from distributors. Additional influences, such as whether to brand the product or service as a premium, value-based or discount offering, will also determine the final conclusion.

We had a similar dilemma at TV Ears; one that ultimately led to a dual pricing value proposition strategy in which a higher priced premium system was sold and distributed through hearing aid and audiologist practices and a lower priced value based system was sold through mass retail stores. Companies need to weigh all these factors and be creative before stamping the price tag on their new widget.

Above all else, organizations must come to the realization that the product itself is only one part of a business' success. For even the most compelling offering will be stymied if not priced, promoted and placed in a successful manner.