Small Business is Not a Field of Dreams: If You Build it They Won’t Come

Small Business Dreams - Inventors Build Products that Innovate
I have had many inventors as clients that come to me for marketing assistance. They all have the same problem: the product isn’t selling. They all came up with a brilliant idea, patented it, found a manufacturer,and sunk their savings into production run of their invention. Now they are broke, sitting on a garage full of their great idea gathering dust. What is really funny is that most of the inventions seem like they would
sell. They seem like wow! This is a great product! But, no one purchases the product.

Small Business Innovations That You Build won't Always Sell
Sometimes the best inventions don’t sell in the marketplace. Sometimes the best product doesn’t sell. Consumers are fickle. They are taken by fads. They are predictable in one moment and erratic in the next. Even when the product is extensively tested in the marketplace there can be unpredictable results.

New Coke Field of Dreams - Business Innovation That Didn't Work
Just ask Coca-Cola. Remember “New Coke” formula that was introduced in April 1985. It tested well in focus groups. It was abandoned 3 moths later due to 400,000 complaint letters and phone calls that Coca-Cola received from disappointed customers. Coca-Cola has big enough pockets to recover from such a disaster; Start-ups don’t.

Bindrup’s Advice: Build a prototype, protect it, and get it in front of your market. Let sales drive the production.

PHOTO CREDIT: Alex Ford, Creative Commons License, Some Rights Reserved.

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