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Why 95% of new products miss the mark (and how yours can avoid the same fate)

Nearly 30,000 new products are introduced each year, and 95% of them fail according to Clayton Christensen, a professor at Harvard Business School. And no business is immune to this harrowing statistic, which includes misfires from companies like Google, Coca-Cola, and Colgate. The tech giant’s Google Glass project received millions in investment but quickly disappeared from view.

Nearly 30,000 new products are introduced each year, and 95% of them fail according to Clayton Christensen, a professor at Harvard Business School. And no business is immune to this harrowing statistic, which includes misfires from companies like Google, Coca-Cola, and Colgate. The tech giant’s Google Glass project received millions in investment but quickly disappeared from view. New Coke was launched in 1985, switching out regular sugar for high-fructose corn syrup, but fell flat soon after. And the oral hygiene giant introduced Colgate Kitchen Entrées in 1982, its series of precooked meals—a product line it eventually brushed aside.
These large organizations can afford the luxury of a multimillion-dollar misstep in their product development. Ultimately, any innovation roadmap consists of a long trail of trial and error. However, for startups or small businesses that offer just one unique product, this type of error can be lethal. If the product fails, so does the company. In fact, 92% of startups fold in their first three years for that same reason.
But how is it possible that only 5% of new products survive? Svafa Grönfeldt, faculty member for MIT Professional Education’s online program Designing High Impact Solutions with MITdesignX—offered in both English and Spanish—explains that “many innovations fail because they introduce products or other solutions without a real need for them. There’s no market for the solutions they’ve created.”
Many organizations don’t take their customers’ needs into account when launching their products. “Some of these failures arise from a lack of empathy on the part of the organization, with those in decision-making positions not taking the necessary time to study and understand the customers’ true needs. Without putting themselves in their shoes, it’s often too late when they realize there’s no market for their solutions,” she affirms.

To read the article published in Spanish on La Razón:

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