90% of new FMCG products launched will fail. But what are the main reasons for failure?
We break the reasons for failure down into three sections
1) people, processes & structure – how well-intentioned people can derail innovation with narrow opinion led views, and the structures of organisations help embed those views, resulting in products with little to no consumer breadth being launched.
2) data, metrics and testing – traditional innovation only really has verifiable consumer metrics after launch; it never seeks to understand if the product can be sold. The mentality is “Build it and they will come”.
3) budgets & resourcing – great innovation requires resources, and frequently we see a lack of resources whether its time, investment, or capabilities.
There are many structural reasons for innovation failing or not driving growth to the extent a business expects, systematically working through these three areas can drive improvements. This is what Agile Innovation seeks to do.
Key Takeaways
- People, processes and structure can be huge drivers or inhibitors of innovation in an organisation.
- Lack of data, or the wrong data and testing tools, can make Agile Innovation almost impossible to implement and lead to failure.
- Budgets and resources need to be carefully planned, supported and implemented if innovation is to succeed on a long-term timeframe.
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