This is a shout-out to every entrepreneur with a great idea. First, we’re constantly surprised by people who think that because they like something everyone else will, too. Second, an idea is only as good as your ability to share it. So, it’s vital that you can present your idea to investors, partners, and clients in words and visuals. If you can’t share it, people can’t get on board. 

Too often we’ve watched entrepreneurs take their idea and jump into creating a logo (of course, you know that a logo is not a brand), and then buy thousands of boxes and bottles and labels, create tracking mechanisms, do testing, pay employees to get it on the shelves, and then have it bomb. “‘That’s fine,’ these entrepreneurs say, ‘we’ll just fix it up and try again.’” 

Wrong. You never get a second chance to make a first impression. (Repositioning takes longer and is more expensive than launching something correctly the first time).

And, these entrepreneurs don’t know why their product failed. Did it bomb because of the packaging? The flavors? The name? The colors? Was it because the recommenders didn’t promote it? People didn’t know about it? It wasn’t displayed properly?  You’ll never know.

Fact 1:  Unless you have thousands of clones (of yourself, that is), you are not your consumer.

Fact 2: Consumer research saves a ton of money.

Building it does not mean they’ll come. Your prospective customers don’t know your product (and they don’t care...yet). They may not have the same problems and desires you have. Even worse, if they tried your product before, and didn’t like it, you will have an enormous hill to climb. “New and improved” won’t cut it.

So how do you connect with consumers during a pandemic?  

The same way CPG companies have done it for decades – except over video (Zoom, etc.) or other tech: 

• Turn your ideas into “ads” with visuals, headlines, copy, etc., that you can share 

• Create 20-40 ads with your ideas and your competitor’s ideas - and show them to target audiences for feedback

• Include naming, packaging, flavors, headlines and subheads on your ads

• Identify the ads that do best, and then try to beat them 

• Find target audiences to engage with

  • Professional services find participants, or you can do it yourself if you have access to lists of diverse potential consumers in the right geographic areas

  • Create audience groups so you can compare responses (e.g., newbies, experts, weekend warriors, etc.)

• Convene with the groups over Zoom and show them your ads

  • Hire a professional moderator who can solicit feedback and knows how to remain neutral and encourage disagreement

• Know what you want to learn from the research

• Analyze results and apply to everything, from the logo to colors, products, and packaging

It’s important to remember: consumer groups do not constitute quantitative research (which seeks to acquire numerical data). Consumer groups provide qualitative research to help you understand motivations, attitudes, habits, beliefs, etc., to guide your decision-making. You’re not looking for how many individuals “like” something - you’re looking for key insights into critical success factors. As in life, know that you’ll learn more from what people don’t like than what they do.

When we took on a cannabis beverage project at the height of the pandemic, we thought that our understanding of the cannabis beverage market would likely boil down to an equation something like this:  Form + Dosage = Occasion. We were right. The key is discovering the role your product will play in your customer’s life.

Outfront Solutions has extensive new product development experience. It costs a few dollars up front, but that is quickly amortized by reducing mistakes, saving on expensive manufacturing, supplies and the wrong go-to-market strategy.  You’ll save thousands on the back end, but the most disturbing part is that you might have a winner waiting to happen, but you’d never know if you don't explore what benefits and features your customers will respond to. Don’t be “that guy/gal!”