We all know that certain drugs or medicines have some side effects. But, did you know that similar is the case with any product or service we avail or use? As consumers in some way or the other, we are responsible for the products that we use. Each product available in the market comes with a potential side effect. While some products are convenient for us, some are not.
However, the success or failure of any product just not only depends on the acceptance or rejection of the consumers. The decisions that the company makes also affect the credibility of the product. We have seen many companies lose credibility just by making one wrong decision. This also has a side effect on the product.
How can we forget the iconic mistake made by Apple? The company admitted that it lowered the performance of the older sets to make the newly launched model of the iPhone successful in the market. This made the company lose many loyal customer bases.
To reduce the negative side effects of your product or service you should know how is market product-fit changing the market pattern?
Let us understand, how can you avoid the side effects of your product.
Innovation
When you innovate, you simply upgrade your product or service. You introduce a more feasible, desirable, and viable solution to improvise your product or service. While you get to introduce something new in the market, your customers also get a new but upgraded version of the existing product or services. Therefore timely innovations are a mandate if you plan to remain in the market for a long time.
For example, you can upgrade the packaging of your product, or introduce a new upgrade in your services.
This is needed if you want to improve the quality of your existing products and services. You need to act as a nexus between emerging technologies and consumers’ needs, enabling innovation.
Ethics are the key
Ethics should not be just discussed in the classrooms. They are required when you enter the business. We always bump into them more and more often both in our social life and work. You have to keep the environment at your workplace positive and ethical.
A healthy work environment is key to your success. Also, positive word of mouth from your employees creates an impact in the market and helps in reducing the negative side effect of your product or services.
Suggestions Matter
Your employees are your most loyal consumers. Be it designers, engineers, developers, or even an intern, they are creators of your product. They feel equally responsible for your service or product. When they have an opinion or a suggestion, you should always give it a thought. This lot of people are in touch with your consumers all day long. They get a direct review of your product or service and they loyally give you reviews.
Conduct Surveys
Conducting surveys from time to time to get a proper review from your customers is a major key to avoiding negative side effects. Also, ignoring negative reviews is a major mistake made by the company owners. If people essay that the quality of your product is deteriorating, or there is some issue with it, companies tend to ignore these comments.
In such cases, customers tend to opt for any immediate alternative available in the market.
Avoid Negative Publicity
It is said that any publicity is good publicity. When your product becomes a success in the market, your competitors try to devalue it by spreading rumors or through negative publicity. How can we forget the ‘Maggie Controversy?’
In 2015, despite all these years of trust and love showered by the consumers, Maggie was banned in India. The product was banned in the country after reports of its portfolio being unhealthy started making rounds among the consumers. This controversy took new height when a lab check from Uttar Pradesh confirmed that the noodles have a high quantity of monosodium glutamate.
The criticism was so high that it threatened the existence of Nestle in India. However, since Nestle had a very strong customer base in India, the ban was lifted a few months later, but it created a kind of uncertainty among its consumers.
Conclusion
Creating your own space among the consumers in the existing market is a tough task to do. These are some tips to product-market fit your startup. Companies take up various ways to generate demand among the users. Certain decisions made by the companies can have positive as well as negative effects on the product. It is for you to examine what decision can reduce or create a negative side effect for your product.
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