In 2009, Consumer Reports magazine published an article that debunked myths about three expensive exercise machines:
Ab Rocket ($100), which promised the body of your dreams;
Rock-N-Go Exerciser ($230), which claimed you wouldn't feel tired from your workout;
Red Exerciser DX ($175), which promised buyers rapid volume reduction.
In each case, the machines “helped” develop the muscles just as effectively as without them, or even less effectively.
The promise of great results is the only difference to customers, but you have to deliver on it. Today's consumers will read reviews on Amazon and other websites and see how well your product works. A promise without delivery will only keep your company afloat until the market figures out the benefits of your product.
However, you don’t have to deliver on your specific promises, but you do need to show the value of your product. For example, the title of Tim Ferriss’ book “The 4-Hour Workweek” sounds incredible. However, the content of the book will not tell you how to fit your current job into 4 hours a week. However, it will give you a plan “to escape the 9-hour workday, live wherever you want, and join the rich.”
And the market finds Tim's book quite interesting.
Bottom line: Marketers need to make promises to make people hungry for new things. But if your promise is false, you're in big trouble.
7. Failures pass quickly, move on
Trying to find a market for your product before you know a market exists is a recipe for failure. Many marketers do this because they believe in their product. Unfortunately, they never test the market.
One such product made a lasting impression. Renowned inventor Dean Kamen code-named his product “Ginger,” and the project is now worth $500,000,000, despite its disastrous failure. Kamen was rumored to have “decided to create an alternative to automobiles.” He triumphantly predicted sales of 10,000 units per week. And the product had a hefty price tag of $5,000.
Instead, the product shocked both consumers and investors. In the first five years, about 24,000 units were sold. Or about 38 units per week. Guess what that product is?
Today he helps police in shopping malls protect shoppers:
Yes, it's a hoverboard. It's one of the most epic marketing failures of our time. Police departments, city tour guides, and warehouses are now buying them for less than $5,000.
Well, at least it has a market, right?
A culture of innovation is important. If you want to succeed, consider building a culture like that of innovative manufacturing company 3M, which was founded in 1902 and is now worth $114 billion.
If you don't know about 3M, they have over 100,000 patents such as:
cellophane tape (late 1920s);
waterproof sandpaper (early 1920s);
first magnetic tape for recording sound (late 1940s/early 1950s);
stickers (1980);
super sticky notes (late 1990s/early 2000s);
Scotch tape (late 1990s/early 2000s);
optical films for LCD television (late 1990s/early 2000s);
Scotch-Brite, the first disposable toilet brush with built-in bleach (2007);
respirators for general use (2009);
Solar Mirror Film 1100, the world's largest aperture for concentrated solar power.
John Ruppel, vice president of global business operations, latest phone number database represents more than 90,000 employees in 70 countries. He says the company automatically shares its discoveries and technologies throughout the organization, so that no one unit owns a specific technology and serves naturally through business relationships in support of 3M's broader purpose.
He also said the company:
listens to any new product concept, regardless of the employee, his position or absurd idea;
gives each employee 15% more free time to explore new ideas;
maintains a diverse workforce in terms of thinking, culture, gender, ethnicity and experience.
The company takes failure lightly: Employees won’t be fired for failed product launches. In fact, they celebrate it. Kurt Beinlich, a technical director at 3M, said this about a failed heat-shielding coating designed to protect car paint from burning during welding. “When we learned about it, we celebrated that we had found something that was innovative and had its place. And we said, ‘OK, let’s move on.’”
Takeaway: Want to make innovation part of your company culture? When trying new things, be prepared for some of them not to work. And that's okay.