Market Failures -- Another Perspective

In my presentation on "Researching Research," I point to the five weak areas of market research that need improvement and the four root causes of the weaknesses as the possible explanation for the high failure rate (90%) of new market introductions. After reviewing my work during the past five years with over thirty major manufacturers, I believe there is another area that contributes to the poor success rate of new products.

Looking back at how products were developed early in my career and how they appear to be developed today, I find a striking difference. The culture under which I developed my appreciation for consumer and market research is dramatically different from what I see today. Is it that times have changed, or is it that P&G had, from my point of view, a competitive advantage in the way they developed new brands, line extensions and repositionings?

The culture I grew up in stated that you research all the components of the brand to ensure that they worked in harmony to convey the "reason for being" of the brand. In this way, the brand was given the best possible chance to succeed. For instance, you would not only maximize the performance of the formulation of the brand, but you would research the sub-components such as form, color, odor or any other physical characteristic that would enhance the image and position of the brand. In package research, we would not only research the functionality of the package, but also colors, graphics, instructions and dimensions.

Each of the main components of a brand (product, package, positioning, price, promotions and the public) would undergo sub-component development.

In discussing this observation with some of the people involved, the dominant reasons for not doing this type of research is time and money. These same limitations were present at P&G in the early 1950's. Our solution at the time was the founding of the "Home Performance Testing Group," discussed in my Views dated June 18, 1995. While the formation of an HPT Group in many companies is not practical, I believe the Elrick & Lavidge "Scope" project offers many of the same advantages for obtaining more consumer feedback for your research dollar.

If you would like to discuss the HPT concept and/or the Scope Project, please call.