What Makes Developing A Product Great?
Are you developing a new product?
Yes?? Great!!
But does it mean your product is going to be a great one?
No! Of course not!
95% of all new products (read nearly 30,000) launched in the market every year fail terribly!
Just developing a product, no matter how much hard work you put into it, does not make it great, especially if it fails to connect and attract the audience! There is more that goes into it to make product development successful.
Making your product great does not end at the “development stage”.
If the most successful companies like Google with unlimited funds can fail with their products, don’t you think the same fate can be inevitable for your product as well?
Of course, you can avoid that, though!
And that is what this article is all going to be about!
Things That Great And Successful Products Have In Common
There are some crucial factors contributing to the success of a product beyond the professional product development process. These parameters are what every great and successful product always has in common.
To make your product great, check out these parameters that boost the potential of a product becoming great and successful!
Uniqueness
Are you sure your product is unique and different from what is already out there in the market?
- Is it unique in what it does?
- Is it unique in how it is being delivered or shared?
- Does it come with unique features?
- Is it unique in how users can use it?
- Is it unique in pricing?
- Does it have a unique value to offer or more value than its competitors?
A unique product can draw customer attention and be successful in the long run. If it’s not different from what is already available in the market, users may consider it a duplicate of existing products.
Take SeedERP for an example. This smart retail platform for high-risk businesses is a one-of-a-kind product with the development of the world’s first-ever smart CBD vending machine to its credit. It is the uniqueness of the product that makes it a great one!
Market Demand
When you develop a product, there must be a market demand for it.
- Having demand for your product makes sure it becomes successful.
- If there is no demand, your product won’t sell, which means no business!
- Having a market demand for your product means there is already a potential customer base for your product whom you can target.
- Strong demand for your product can create a sense of urgency and exclusivity, which increases sales and makes it more desirable.
- Developing a product in demand means attracting the attention of investors and boosting brand awareness and profitability.
Plus, when there’s a demand for your product, and you gauge it successfully, you can accurately identify the level of competition that already exists in the market and plan your next steps accordingly.
Solves A Problem
Does your product solve a problem for which users will be willing to pay you?
A user uses a particular product, whether in virtual form or physical form because it solves their problem in some way or helps them to perform a task more easily. If your product doesn’t solve any problem, regardless of its exceptional development, it will fail!
Take CompilerX, a B2B premium data compilation, and email verification product as an example that is successful and a great one because it solves the issue for businesses trying to find and connect with other businesses from their target industry. CompilerX compiles the data your business needs from those companies you care about and helps you quickly verify emails and know whether they are fake or real!
Plus, unless your product is a freemium model, ensure the problem it solves is significant enough to make the users pay for it. If no one is willing to pay for a product designed and developed to sell, that is a nightmare!
So, keep in mind these points as well:
- Are there enough users to purchase your product so that you can make a business out of it?
- Is your product a “must-have” or falls into the “nice-to-have” category?
(A nice-to-have product is like users can take or leave it. But a must-have product means users need it!)
- Is your product effective enough to charge the users enough to make a profit?
Solid Marketing
After you’re done developing your product, then comes the marketing part. And trust me when I tell you that solid marketing is an absolute necessity for making your product development successful!
Market your product well, and it will help you create awareness around your product, generate user interest, and drive demand for it among your potential customers.
And when I say marketing, pay attention to branding as well. To start with the best and most effective ways of achieving solid marketing, here are a few things you can do:
- Create compelling content about your product
- Follow the latest branding trends
- Leverage social media (Give the top buzz marketing hacks a try)
- Implement the best SEO practices
- Use email marketing
- Try partnering with influencers or paid ads
- Monitor and measure your results
- Last but not least, partner with professionals (if you lack the team and tools to execute your marketing strategies the way you want)
Remember, solid marketing helps create awareness about your product among your potential customers, which can increase the likelihood that they will consider purchasing it.
Plus, marketing can drive your product demand, generate interest in it among your potential customers, tell them what sets your product apart from others, why they should choose it, encourage them to purchase it, establish you as a trusted brand, generate buzz which can support your product launch and more — all of which are necessary for revenue generation!
So, don’t hesitate to invest in effective marketing strategies as they increase the likelihood of success for your products and help achieve your business goals.
Revenue Generation
So, when do you call a product a great one or a successful one? Isn’t it when it generates sales and drives revenue??
Well, when the product you’re developing meets all the parameters mentioned above, there is no stopping it from generating revenue!
And as they say, revenue is a symbol of success! So, if your product is doing it, it is successful!
Take any great product that comes to your mind! Anything! The food delivery app, Seamless, you’re about to use to order your lunch, or the ride-hailing service app, Uber, you used to reach your office today — all these apps are successful because they meet all the qualities a great product must possess. As a result, you are using them!
Five Google Products That Failed And Why
- Google App Maker
Launched in 2016, this low-code platform allowed users without coding experience to build their business apps through an easy-to-use visual interface.
Why Google Terminated It
The poor usage rate of the service led to its discontinuation in January 2021.
2. Google SMS Search
Allowing cell phone users to send their queries to 466453 (Google) through text messages to get information quickly without internet access, Google SMS Search was introduced in 2004.
Why Google Terminated It
The product became obsolete naturally in 2013 as smartphone users had access to free WiFi and unlimited data, making the product an outdated technology!
3. Nexus Q
A digital media player, Nexus Q, was developed by Google to stream YouTube videos and Google Music to their TV and was unveiled at the Google I/O developers’ conference in 2012.
Why Google Terminated It
The compatibility issue with non-Google streaming platforms, the high cost ($299 in 2012), and the criticism these two factors brought forced Google to discontinue this product even before launching it commercially.
4. Knol
Introduced in 2008, Knol (inspired by the word “knowledge”) was Google’s attempt to compete with Wikipedia as a base for user-written informative articles.
Why Google Terminated It
Google was unable to monetize the site due to its poor user base, which eventually led to its shutdown.
5. Google Daydream
Google launched its VR headset Google Daydream in 2016, where users can insert their smartphones into the headset to have a VR experience from the phone’s display.
Why Google Terminated It
In 2019, Google discontinued Daydream as the product was unable to compete with superior VR headsets like Oculus.
TL;DR
Transforming your vision into an original real-life product is undoubtedly one of the biggest challenges for any business, especially the aspiring entrepreneur. But it is not the only or ultimate one!
Whether your product will be great or successful doesn’t depend entirely on the product development process but also on what you do and how you do it after its development.
Once you make sure that you’re building the right product and that there is or can be a demand for it in the market, it takes testing and polishing it, marketing it effectively, and taking care of every little thing to make the product appeal and connect to the audience to make it successful.
Remember, when it takes too long, or things get too expensive to dial in your product, and steady revenue generation feels like a distant dream, even tech giants with unlimited funds like Google kill the product.
So let’s not just stop at product development but look beyond it wisely!
For professional product development services for the most competitive prices, explore here! Exploring will cost you nothing!
