Diffusion of innovation - why your product launch is underperforming
The R&D guys have done a great job and uncovered a revolutionary solution but when innovation meets market, market rejects, why?
By on May 21, 2009The R&D guys have done a great job and uncovered a revolutionary solution but when innovation meets market, market rejects, why? The reasons are varied but often a part of it comes down to Marketers oversight on the subject of how innovation spreads. Many failed launches of innovationare in part due to this phenomenon.
A decade or so ago I worked for an organisation that launched an innovative treatment that delivered great results via a different route. The innovation failed because our customer targeting failed to consider customer's adoption categories as we went after so called high prescribers. Great potential, small reality, we got a wake up call! The product was promptly withdrawn as the baffled marketing team were left scratching their heads
This prompted a desire to better understand this subject.I took part in major research into this area and the findings were shocking. I found a major brand that despite relative success had not visited 50% of innovators and early adopters 2 years into its major product launch, yet we know that the early adopters in particular are major drivers to encourage adoption amongst early majority
The secret to getting more from less is in making smarter and more insightful decisions based on the fundamentals of customer behaviour. Despite increasing complexity in the market, the principle still holds.