There’s nothing like the pressure of creating a second product after experiencing major success with your first. Unfortunately, many companies fall into the trap of letting that pressure push them into developing and launching new products before those products have been thoroughly vetted.
This is often called “second product syndrome.” It usually happens a few months after your first product is launched and can result from taking on a second product before the setbacks that happened as a result of the first product are fully resolved.
Don’t let second product syndrome derail your efforts. Here are a few things you can do to make sure your second product is just as good as – or better than – your first.
Keep testing
You need to make sure you test your second product as much as you tested your first. Take your time working with your prototype to make sure you have a solid design. Great design is the foundation of a great product. Conducting adequate testing will make sure any bugs are worked out before taking the product to market.
Having an experienced mentor as a product designer can help identify design problems early on as well as provide objective insights regarding your design. You’ll also benefit from their experience and moral support.
In addition to testing your hypotheses and design, you’ll also want to test the market. Customers don’t purchase things they don’t want so you’ll want to make sure your second product is in demand in your target market.
It’s important not to assume that the market research conducted for your first product is applicable to your second. Market segments for your first and second products might not overlap. Be sure to conduct appropriate and careful market research so you’ll have good feedback as to whether or not there is a demand for your product.
Stay out of your head
Fear of failure can be detrimental to any business – yet so can overconfidence. A good business development strategy can help balance these two opposing issues. A fear of failure leads entrepreneurs and inventors to minimize risk which may lead to testing on a smaller subset of consumers than necessary, not giving a true picture of market demand.
Overconfidence on the other hand, can lead a team to rely too heavily on data obtained during the first product launch. They may decide they already have enough information and neglect to conduct a more thorough, focused analysis. Here’s where hiring an objective product development team can really help.
Keep things lean
Once you have a successful product under your belt, it can be tempting to go all out and spare no expense when creating and launching your second product.
This can be a big mistake. It’s important to be just as cautious with costs while working on your second product, so that you don’t eat up all the profits from your first venture.
At Pivot, we offer many product design and development services as well as business development and market research. Contact us today to learn more about how we can help you with your second product.
