Introducing a new product or extending an existing one can feel like being at a crossroads. The opportunity might seem like it’s right in front of you, with transformative rewards on the horizon. But getting there requires significant time and investment that you can’t afford to waste. How can you bring the future into focus and avoid a costly misstep?
The backstory
Sometimes, it’s best to learn from others’ mistakes.
A few years ago, a chickpea-based snacking product was firing on all cylinders. They had a great core snacking product line (puffs), rich and interesting brand and story, and killer packaging. Distributors were banging down the company’s doors to carry it. Certainly, they occupied a position any business would love to be in.
Fueled by this success, they had a crucial decision to make. What to do next to make the most of all this growth? Should they double down on their core offering, increasing supply to satisfy distributors and keeping a big gap between them and the competition? Or should they use this foundation to enter into adjacent product categories?
That question might have inspired others. If they were to enter new categories, which ones would they be, and what about the flavors? Their packaging played heavily on the “puffs” theme. How could that extend? And overall, what kind of marketing investment were they looking at to ensure a successful entry into unfamiliar territory?
Consumer insights could have provided answers. Instead, this company chose to build the plane as they were flying it and forgo the research. They charged ahead into the dipping chips category, and the result was a crash landing.
With their brand and production split between chips and puffs, they could no longer keep up with their commitments to trading partners. What’s more, the foray into dipping chips blew back on their health-focused brand, causing consumers to reconsider their core offering, the puffs, as just another junk food. They lost the trust of their most loyal audience—not to mention a ton of money and time, as they were forced to rethink their entire brand strategy.
Research can feel like a luxury. But asking the hard questions first could have prevented the massive losses this company incurred by going in blind.
Setting the stage for success
A recent client of ours faced similar stakes, with an opportunity for explosive growth. They had a beloved core product—collaborative design software that creatives couldn’t stop recommending to their colleagues. At the same time, the client wanted to expand out of that niche with an alternative product offering that would be useful across all business functions.
As work-from-home became the new normal during the pandemic, and demand for collaborative software surged, the circumstances were lining up in their favor. Their tool could make a big impact, but who were the purchasers, and how could they talk to them?
With a focus on practical solutions and maximizing this client’s budget, we quickly identified potential buyers and ranked them by their likelihood to purchase. We wanted to understand: who could they count on as customers out the gate, and who would take a little more convincing? What we found was surprising. A chunk of influential audience members—buyers of enterprise software solutions—was interested in the new product, but not as many as you might expect. Meanwhile, a much larger group of potential buyers didn’t flag as interested, but did express a strong need for solutions to the very challenges that the client’s product was built to address.
With these insights in mind, their approach crystallized around the need to demonstrate the product’s value, positioning it as a direct solution to the audience’s challenges. This strategy dictated messaging and marketing, allowing them to maximize return on their promotional budget. The clear path forward made decision-making easy and allowed them to prioritize with confidence.
From automakers to telecom providers, the product has since been adopted by the world’s largest companies. As part of a suite of tools with millions of active monthly users, it has helped the company go public with a valuation in the billions.
Insights and agility don’t need to be a tradeoff. At PSB, we create custom research solutions that move at the speed of business. And we know from experience how powerful questions lead to smarter decisions and better outcomes. Our advice when launching a new product? Don’t be a chickpea puff—ask the tough questions up front.
Get in touch if you want to talk more.
