Sometimes we need to look at failures in order to understand exactly what not to do. When we analyse recent product development values we recognise the need for a much more lean approach to product development and systems that enable healthy disengagement. Sometimes we need to actually just turn to Clayton Christensen and understand the job to be done. Here are some of the most notable product flops from the last decade:
What it Was: Augmented reality glasses aimed at integrating technology into everyday eyewear.
Why it Flopped: High price, privacy concerns, and limited practical use. The "Glassholes" stigma didn't help either.
Impact: Google halted consumer sales in 2015 and pivoted Glass towards enterprise use.
What it Was: A $400 juicer designed to squeeze proprietary juice packs.
Why it Flopped: The packs could be manually squeezed by hand, making the expensive machine redundant. High cost and lack of necessity.
Impact: Juicero shut down operations in 2017, just 16 months after launch.
What it Was: A smartphone with unique 3D interface and tight integration with Amazon services.
Why it Flopped: High price, lack of differentiating features, and poor app ecosystem.
Impact: Amazon discontinued the Fire Phone in 2015, taking a $170 million loss.
What it Was: A high-end smartphone praised for its design and features.
Why it Flopped: Battery defects causing some units to catch fire or explode.
Impact: Samsung issued a global recall and discontinued the product, costing the company an estimated $5.3 billion.
What it Was: Google’s attempt to create a social networking platform to rival Facebook.
Why it Flopped: Low user engagement, complicated interface, and several privacy issues.
Impact: Google+ was shut down in 2019 after multiple failed redesigns and security flaws.
What it Was: A blood-testing startup claiming to run comprehensive tests with a few drops of blood.
Why it Flopped: Inaccurate and unreliable test results, along with fraudulent claims about the technology.
Impact: The company dissolved in 2018, with founder Elizabeth Holmes facing criminal charges.
What it Was: A subscription service offering unlimited movie theater access for a low monthly fee.
Why it Flopped: Unsustainable business model leading to huge financial losses and frequent policy changes alienating users.
Impact: MoviePass shut down in 2019 after burning through hundreds of millions of dollars.
What it Was: A line of pens "designed" specifically for women, featuring pastel colors.
Why it Flopped: Perceived as unnecessary and sexist, leading to widespread ridicule.
Impact: The product became a viral joke and a case study in misguided gender marketing.
What it Was: Two-wheeled, self-balancing scooters that became a short-lived craze.
Why it Flopped: Safety concerns due to frequent battery fires and lack of regulation.
Impact: Many models were banned and recalled, leading to a rapid decline in popularity.
What it Was: Sunglasses with built-in cameras for taking and uploading videos to Snapchat.
Why it Flopped: Limited functionality, high price, and lack of consumer interest.
Impact: Snap Inc. took a $40 million loss on unsold inventory.
These examples highlight the challenges and risks involved in NPD. Despite significant investments and initial hype, these products failed due to various reasons, including market misalignment, technical issues, and poor execution.
The past decade has seen its fair share of high-profile product development failures. From Google's ambitious but ill-fated Glass to the ill-conceived Juicero, these flops provide valuable lessons for businesses aiming to innovate successfully. Here are three key lessons drawn from these failures, emphasizing the importance of Lean Product Development, Healthy disengagement, and Jobs-to-Be-Done (JTBD) frameworks.
Lesson: The importance of testing and iteration before scaling up.
Many of these failed products, such as Google Glass and the Amazon Fire Phone, suffered from a lack of iterative testing with real users. Lean Product Development focuses on building a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) and continuously testing and improving it based on feedback. This approach could have helped identify fundamental issues early on, such as user acceptance and practical utility, before a full-scale launch.
Example: If Google Glass had undergone extensive beta testing with a broader audience, the feedback might have highlighted privacy concerns and the stigma associated with wearing the device, allowing Google to make necessary adjustments or pivot the product's direction.
Lesson: Knowing when to pivot or kill a project is crucial.
Healthy disengagement is defined as the capacity to objectively evaluate and, if warranted, decisively end projects that fail to meet predetermined benchmarks or objectives. This concept involves a systematic review to determine the viability and strategic alignment of a project within its intended market. Flawed ventures, such as Juicero and MoviePass, illustrate the potential benefits of conducting timely and candid assessments of both feasibility and market compatibility. For example, Juicero continued pushing its expensive juicing machine despite clear signs that the market wasn't interested in the product. By setting clear checkpoints and planning thorough evaluations during the development process, Juicero could have recognized the lack of necessity for their product earlier, avoiding further financial losses. Persisting with a failing initiative due to emotional investment or the sunk cost fallacy merely exacerbates and extends financial and reputational damage. Effective checkpoints and honest evaluations allow companies to acknowledge, "We had a bad idea, but we've learned from it," preventing further resource wastage and guiding them towards more successful ventures.
Example: Juicero continued to push its expensive juicing machine despite clear signs that the core value proposition was flawed. Early realization and acknowledgment of this misaliment ment could have redirected efforts towards a more viable product or market segment.
Lesson: Focus on the core job your product is hired to do.
The JTBD framework emphasizes understanding the specific tasks customers are trying to accomplish when they "hire" a product. Many failed products didn't accurately address a significant or unfulfilled need. For instance, whilst the hoverboard had potential to take off, it's lack of reliability meant that it was not a product you could hire on to get palces on time.