MISTAKE #61: You think you’re an impulse purchase and that it’s a good thing

Don't assume an impulse purchase is a mindless non-decision or that it ultimately leads to repeat purchase.

NEW PRODUCT MISTAKESThomas TessmerOctober 30, 2014Shopper Experience, Barriers, Expectations, Competitive Evaluation, Price and Size Strategy, Assortment Optimizer

MISTAKE #60: You think purchase decisions are made in discrete category silos

Make sure you're not operating with tunnel vision, incorrectly thinking your product is an isolated purchase decision not influenced by external factors.

NEW PRODUCT MISTAKESThomas TessmerOctober 28, 2014Shopper Experience, Ignorance, Barriers, Competition, Competitive Evaluation, Concept Refinement, Assortment Optimizer

MISTAKE #54: You don’t do your homework when setting your product cost

Allowing unnecessary costs to creep into your product is not just wasteful, but puts you at a significant competitive disadvantage.

NEW PRODUCT MISTAKESThomas TessmerOctober 7, 2014Product Design, Pricing, Ignorance, Retailer Interaction, Competitive Evaluation, Price and Size Strategy, Engagement Tracking

MISTAKE #49: You aren’t preparing for war

Many products eventually fail after early success because they didn't consider the resources they needed to fight off the competition.

NEW PRODUCT MISTAKESThomas TessmerSeptember 18, 2014Competition, Risky Behaviors, Ignorance, Strategy & Planning, Popular, Time, Conversion Optimization, Pre-emptive Objection Handling, Competitive Evaluation

MISTAKE #48: You think imitation is the greatest form of flattery

It takes more than mimicking an existing product to be successful. While it is smart to copy what others have proven works, it is not enough.

NEW PRODUCT MISTAKESThomas TessmerSeptember 16, 2014Competition, Shopper Experience, Barriers, Mediocrity, Strategy & Planning, Competitive Evaluation, Principle-Based Design Guidelines, Concept Creation, Concept Refinement, Package Qualification, Omni-presence Strategy

MISTAKE #47: You focus on the wrong retailers

Pursuing distribution at the wrong retailer at the wrong time can be disastrous to growing sustainable sales.

NEW PRODUCT MISTAKESThomas TessmerSeptember 11, 2014Retailer Interaction, Prime Prospecting, Ignorance, Time, Competitive Evaluation, Retailer Prioritization

MISTAKE #46: You focus on the wrong competition

Your product will almost always need to displace an existing item already on the shelf or in search results.

NEW PRODUCT MISTAKESThomas TessmerSeptember 9, 2014Competition, Ignorance, Risky Behaviors, Retailer Interaction, Competitive Evaluation, Assortment Optimizer, Retailer Prioritization

MISTAKE #45: You don’t have healthy fear of the competition

Internally-focused greed tends to overshadow the value of having an appropriate amount of externally-focused fear.

NEW PRODUCT MISTAKESThomas TessmerSeptember 4, 2014Competition, Ignorance, Barriers, Competitive Evaluation

MISTAKE #44: You don’t study the competition

Many companies make expensive and avoidable mistakes because they are consumed with their own navel gazing, not studying the competition.

NEW PRODUCT MISTAKESThomas TessmerSeptember 2, 2014Competition, Strategy & Planning, Ignorance, Assumptions, Competitive Evaluation

MISTAKE #40: Your team just doesn’t understand retail

Make sure you're prepared with a smart solution to win at retail.

NEW PRODUCT MISTAKESThomas TessmerAugust 19, 2014Retailer Interaction, Excellence, Strategy & Planning, Ignorance, Opportunity Exploration, Competitive Evaluation, Retailer Prioritization

MISTAKE #38: Average is not acceptable

There can be a 25x difference in the rewards for average versus exceptional performance.

NEW PRODUCT MISTAKESThomas TessmerAugust 14, 2014Mediocrity, Excellence, Competition, Opportunity Exploration, Competitive Evaluation

MISTAKE #37: You’re really testing the strength of a shoestring

Consider the high price you might pay for under-funding key parts of your go-to-retail strategy.

NEW PRODUCT MISTAKESThomas TessmerAugust 12, 2014Risky Behaviors, Strategy & Planning, Mediocrity, Ignorance, Popular, Opportunity Exploration, Competitive Evaluation

MISTAKE #32: You are scared to admit your mistakes...or ignorance

It sucks to admit you're wrong...but it is a stupid mistake not to.

NEW PRODUCT MISTAKESThomas TessmerJuly 24, 2014Excellence, Expectations, Strategy & Planning, Opportunity Exploration, Competitive Evaluation

MISTAKE #31: You choose not to do it right the first time

If you can't do things right the first time, when do you expect to have time to fix them?

NEW PRODUCT MISTAKESThomas TessmerJuly 22, 2014Philosophy, Mediocrity, Strategy & Planning, Risky Behaviors, Ignorance, Opportunity Exploration, Competitive Evaluation

MISTAKE #30: Your goal is to get bigger when it should be to get better

As you seek to grow your business, consider if you're missing out on opportunities to get better at what you do.

NEW PRODUCT MISTAKESThomas TessmerJuly 17, 2014Mediocrity, Philosophy, Competition, Strategy & Planning, Popular, Opportunity Exploration, Competitive Evaluation, Price and Size Strategy

MISTAKE #29: You ignore the laws of diminishing innovation

Incrementalism is the enemy of innovation and being better is not always a good enough reason to buy.

NEW PRODUCT MISTAKESThomas TessmerJuly 15, 2014Ignorance, Features & Benefits, Product Design, Product Use, Opportunity Exploration, Competitive Evaluation

MISTAKE #26: You fail to meaningfully differentiate versus the competition

Do shoppers recognize, understand and appreciate exactly how your product is different from competitive products?

NEW PRODUCT MISTAKESThomas TessmerJuly 3, 2014Competition, Features & Benefits, Shopper Insights, Competitive Evaluation, Principle-Based Design Guidelines