The reason why Google Glass, Amazone Fire Phone and Segway failed
With the noise, the augmented reality glasses of Google froze and they want to remake from scratch. Amazon Fire Phone sales have failed. Segway developers wanted to sell 10,000 devices a week, instead they sold 24,000 in four years. What is the reason? Who is guilty? Adam Hartang, an expert in business growth, answers these questions in his article.
Fortune in low demand for the Fire Phone blames Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, the man who became the CEO of the year in 2012 according to Marketwatch, for micromanaging the design of the device, while the CEO should have paid more attention to development, production and marketing. And the New York Times blames Sergey Brin for failing the Google Glass project. Bryn, according to the publication, made the launch of the project loud, instead of listening to his own design team.
These articles blame the product and the head of the company for failure. We need to look deeper in search of a common feature of failed projects. Recall the Segway : a two-wheeled vehicle that made noise in 2002. The founders were confident that they would be able to sell 10,000 devices a week, and their company would reach the billionth sales the fastest in history. Instead, they sold 24,000 segways in four years. Was this gadget bad? No, of course - this is a cool, but very expensive thing that many have dreamed of. The problem lies in the positioning.
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US Post has tested segway to deliver letters. Police used them in Chicago and Philadelphia. Employees of gas companies checked the sensors, driving around on this device. The Chicago Fire Department gave their paramedics. But this did not lead to huge sales. Something reminds me of it ... Ah, yes - Google Glass was tested by police in Dubai and in New York . Instead of coming up with a killer feature and making the gadget as useful as possible, instead of concentrating forces in the same market and meeting the same need, the Segway founders were counting on a mass market.
The best new products change the rules of the game. These products find the need and satisfy it. They target specific audiences. It is necessary to win in one market, to create a loyal audience, which will advise all friends and acquaintances to buy a Segway for four thousand dollars.
To make a new product means to create its value for any kind of use. In the case of the Segway, this could be an attempt to present it as a golf car, a vehicle for the elderly, or for the maintenance personnel of gas companies checking the sensor readings. By focusing on one application, the Segway could win in this market, and then go to new ones.
The Fire Phone had a great chance to show its best. He had features for online shopping and for using smartphone in retail stores. But Amazon did not focus on applications for retail, did not develop an idea that could help sell the gadget to stores. Amazon entered the mass market, where he had little chance - smartphones and so full, people already have iPhones, Samsung Galaxy and Google Nexus. The audience did not notice the new phone with average characteristics in a variety of other Android gadgets.
The same problem occurred with the Google Glass project. This interesting gadget was used in the police, at airports, even in medicine - to help those suffering from Parkinson's disease . But the killer feature was not there, the glasses became just a “cool gadget”, like the Segway. And you need to be a "useful" and "necessary" gadget. Whether Microsoft Hololens is waiting for such a fate, time will tell.
Developers forget that their potential customers already know how to do the work they need, and they don’t ask for innovation. To achieve success, it is necessary to find unmet needs and direct all energy to solve a specific problem. This will help create a loyal customer base that will help to enter other markets with a different application.
Fortune in low demand for the Fire Phone blames Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, the man who became the CEO of the year in 2012 according to Marketwatch, for micromanaging the design of the device, while the CEO should have paid more attention to development, production and marketing. And the New York Times blames Sergey Brin for failing the Google Glass project. Bryn, according to the publication, made the launch of the project loud, instead of listening to his own design team.
These articles blame the product and the head of the company for failure. We need to look deeper in search of a common feature of failed projects. Recall the Segway : a two-wheeled vehicle that made noise in 2002. The founders were confident that they would be able to sell 10,000 devices a week, and their company would reach the billionth sales the fastest in history. Instead, they sold 24,000 segways in four years. Was this gadget bad? No, of course - this is a cool, but very expensive thing that many have dreamed of. The problem lies in the positioning.
')
US Post has tested segway to deliver letters. Police used them in Chicago and Philadelphia. Employees of gas companies checked the sensors, driving around on this device. The Chicago Fire Department gave their paramedics. But this did not lead to huge sales. Something reminds me of it ... Ah, yes - Google Glass was tested by police in Dubai and in New York . Instead of coming up with a killer feature and making the gadget as useful as possible, instead of concentrating forces in the same market and meeting the same need, the Segway founders were counting on a mass market.
The best new products change the rules of the game. These products find the need and satisfy it. They target specific audiences. It is necessary to win in one market, to create a loyal audience, which will advise all friends and acquaintances to buy a Segway for four thousand dollars.
To make a new product means to create its value for any kind of use. In the case of the Segway, this could be an attempt to present it as a golf car, a vehicle for the elderly, or for the maintenance personnel of gas companies checking the sensor readings. By focusing on one application, the Segway could win in this market, and then go to new ones.
The Fire Phone had a great chance to show its best. He had features for online shopping and for using smartphone in retail stores. But Amazon did not focus on applications for retail, did not develop an idea that could help sell the gadget to stores. Amazon entered the mass market, where he had little chance - smartphones and so full, people already have iPhones, Samsung Galaxy and Google Nexus. The audience did not notice the new phone with average characteristics in a variety of other Android gadgets.
The same problem occurred with the Google Glass project. This interesting gadget was used in the police, at airports, even in medicine - to help those suffering from Parkinson's disease . But the killer feature was not there, the glasses became just a “cool gadget”, like the Segway. And you need to be a "useful" and "necessary" gadget. Whether Microsoft Hololens is waiting for such a fate, time will tell.
Developers forget that their potential customers already know how to do the work they need, and they don’t ask for innovation. To achieve success, it is necessary to find unmet needs and direct all energy to solve a specific problem. This will help create a loyal customer base that will help to enter other markets with a different application.
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/285894/
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