History is full of visionary products that didn’t sell well. What happened? And, what can we learn to save our startup from that fate?
Frequently, new products are driven by technology advances that open the gates to new possibilities. Engineers and scientists rush in to explore uncharted territory, driven by dreams of bringing the future a bit closer. However, in the words of Dr. Ian Malcom, they are often too preoccupied with whether they could, that they don’t stop to think if they should.
Consider 8K televisions or Betamax tapes. Technological marvels that failed on the basics. No one needed as much resolution as 8K, and Betamax was launched without being able to hold a full-feature movie.
Let’s explore some additional tech products and analyze how they succeeded or failed in connecting with their customer base.
Solutions in Search of a Problem
Placing cutting-edge technology at the core of a product and relegating the user to a secondary role creates a solution in search of a problem. It makes for a good concept or showcase product, but it will hardly connect with the audience beyond the initial impression.
The following products were great technically, but missed the main needs of their users:
8K TVs (Better Resolution Than the Real World)

What is it: Televisions offering 8K resolution.
Verdict: Fail.
8K Screens provide four times more resolution than 4K and 16 times more than FullHD (1080p). After a publicity stunt during the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games, little was heard of them.
Turns out that you need a screen bigger than 100” to actually appreciate the difference.
This technology has been relegated to cinema screens for now.

Betamax, Minidisk, Blu-ray (The Sony Wars)

What is it: Sony’s physical media formats: a videotape, a replacement to cassette tapes, a higher quality replacement for DVDs.
Verdict: Fail.
All these physical media formats were bested by other alternatives soon after their launch. These alternatives didn’t offer the same quality, but they were more convenient.
For example, the original Betamax tapes could only hold up to one hour of video. By the time they fixed this, VHS had already conquered the market.
A similar thing happened to the Minidisk, which was meant to be a portable CD. By the time it became price-competitive, it had been made obsolete by the iPod and other MP3 players.
Blu-ray got to shine for a few years as the definitive physical format for movies. However, the convenience of streaming has made physical media obsolete. It still has some popularity among cinephiles.
Smart products are often the culprits in creating cool concepts that don’t solve any real problems. These are some of the most egregious examples from recent years:
Revolution Toasters (Not so Smart After all)

What is it: Smart toaster.
Verdict: On the way to fail.
They cost 10 times more than their non-smart counterparts, and they don’t toast that well. Do regular toasters work so badly that we need to reinvent them?
Juicero (And the Unnecessary $400 Machine)

What is it: Smart juice press.
Verdict: Fail.
Juicero’s business model resembled that of Nespresso. A machine that creates delicious juice, cold-pressing consumable fruit bags provided by the brand.
Once customers discovered that they could extract the bags with their hands, they felt betrayed and abandoned the product.
Humane AI Pin ( Released 20 Years too Soon )

What is it: Wearable AI assistant.
Verdict: Fail.
This wearable was promised to be an AI assistant that could replace your phone.
However, it delivered poor battery life, poor performance (taking several seconds to respond to any query), and a dissatisfactory interaction experience. All that along a hefty pricetag ($600 plus a 24$ monthly subscription) ended up burying the product.
Let’s finish this section by analyzing some successes:
Nintendo Wii / Switch (The Kings of Videogames)

What is it: Best-selling game consoles of their generation.
Verdict: Success.
In 2006, Nintendo decided that it didn’t want to compete with PlayStation and Xbox on the same terrain. They instead targeted the casual and family-friendly demographic that was being overlooked by the other consoles. The Nintendo Wii was a huge success, even my mom exercised regularly with the Wii Fit. Nintendo ultimately won the console wars of that generation.
Ten years later, Nintendo repeated the formula with the Switch. With a bonus, it was a hybrid console that could be used as a handheld and as a home console. Households no longer needed to expend double the money.
Hollow Knight Silksong (Beating all Records)

What is it: A 2D platformer (video game).
Verdict: Success.
In an era where videogame productions rival in budget with Hollywood movies, pricetags for new titles are skyrocketing beyond the 70€ mark.
Team Cherry’s Silksong has just put the video game industry’s strategy into question with a 20€, 2D platformer that has been so successful it crashed most stores on its launch. It’s a game developed by three people (in the core team) in 7 years.
Apple Vision Pro (A Rara Avis)

What is it: The First Virtual Reality / Augmented Reality headset produced by Apple.
Verdict: Too soon to say?
It introduced a new paradigm (spatial computing) that no one was asking for, at 10 times the price of the most popular headset. A risky bet that has translated into poor sales.
However, as a developer kit for future revisions, it was a success. Developers and content creators are setting up the ecosystem for a future, cheaper version.
TikTok (And the Curse of New Social Networks)

What is it: A Social network based on short videos.
Verdict: Success
It’s almost impossible to create a successful new social network. With all its flaws, we won’t abandon a social network for another unless all our contacts are already there.
Also, alternatives like Google+, Apple Ping, or Threads also failed because they didn’t bring anything revolutionary to the table.
TikTok has succeeded thanks to a strong algorithm that kept people glued to their screens, and powerful editing tools that attracted content creators.
Lessons Learned: Connect with your audience’s needs
Know your potential clients and ensure that your product addresses a genuine need. Break out of your bubble and meet people who challenge your assumptions and provide as much context as possible. Usually, the devil is in the details.
Keeping Your Message Clear
Once you have an attractive product, you may think it sells itself, right?
Well, there’s still room to screw up.
After spending a considerable amount of time developing your product, its value may seem evident to you. However, during that time you created a bubble where you and everyone around you had grown into the product. When your audience sees it for the first time they will view it with fresh eyes, and they will need help understanding how your product can change their lives.
Failing in this step is not common but it still happens, be careful.
These were great products, but were also misunderstood:
Wii U (A Console, not an Accessory)

What is it: Successor to the Nintendo Wii console.
Verdict: Fail
The Nintendo Wii U improved its predecessor in every possible way. Better graphics, better video games, and a net tablet-like controller that enabled new fun ways to play your games. You could also use the tablet controller to play your games while someone else was watching TV, which I did frequently.
However, the marketing was disastrous and didn’t highlight any of these new features. People thought it wasn’t a new console, but an expensive accessory for the Wii. Here are some example commercials:
Google Wave (Slack’s Grandpa)

What is it: Chat with interactive activities.
Verdict: Fail
Back in 2009, Google was at its peak of releasing (and killing) new services. One of these products was Google Wave, a weird mix of chat, email, wiki, and interactive activities.

It was the greatest showcase of Web 2.0 technology. But it was too ahead of its time, and people felt overwhelmed, so most users abandoned it. I feel that a more educational marketing would have made this product the definitive messaging app of our era.
Despite its failures, it made a significant impact on the industry. The interactive features of messaging apps and the collaboration in office suites all have their roots in Google Wave.
Let’s finish this section with two technological advances for screens that had a rough start but ultimately succeeded.
Widescreen (This is What you are Missing out)

What is it: A screen format that was wider than the standard 4:3.
Verdict: Success
Until the mid-1990s, the television screen remained in a square~ish 4:3 aspect ratio, tied to the format of television broadcasting. But then, the adoption of cable TV and the success of DVDs opened the door to a more cinematic form factor.

The messaging to sell this new technology was brilliant and straightforward. Showing widescreen images cropped by old TV frames, with slogans in the spirit of: “Look what you are missing out”.
HDR (It Needs to be Seen)

What is it: High Dynamic Range, an image signal that can represent a wider range of colors and brightness.
Verdict: Success
If you buy an electronic device with a screen today, you’ll probably choose one with HDR support without even realizing that this feature has a significant impact on your decision.
HDR images are more vivid and connect with us at an emotional level. Grass feels alive, you can feel the texture of clothes, and shiny surfaces like metal can blind you. However, to explain what it’s all about, you need to get very technical. It is a marketing nightmare.

So, companies have simplified it and focused the messaging around peak brightness. For example, the iPhone 17 has a peak brightness of 3,000 nits, which is seven times brighter than the original phone.
In this way, they were able to connect with the customer’s pains (You can read this screen on a sunny day), plus they gave a number that can be compared with other devices to see “which one is better” (Number big, product good).
Lessons Learned: Make Your Message Clear
Ensure that your messaging clearly highlights your product’s value in a way that your audience can quickly understand. Burst your bubble and validate your messaging with people who know nothing about your product.
Go Where Your Audience Is
Even when a product has a great message or the proper messaging, it still may fail to convey that message effectively.
Often, the marketing effort is insufficient. The product may be well-known among enthusiasts, but it falls short among the general public. Enthusiasts are eager to try new things, and if they like what they see, they will recommend your product to their close friends and family. But enthusiasts are also more demanding; if you fail to set expectations right, they will also speak ill of you.
That’s why it’s essential to engage with the right audience from the outset, carefully crafting your marketing campaigns.
If you are targeting a niche audience, consider attending their events and joining relevant groups. For example, LinkedIn is a great social network for promoting professional tools. On the other hand, people in the manufacturing industry connect via in-person events.
If you are targeting enthusiasts (and you can afford it), contact tech reviewers and work with them to set the expectations right in advance. This is a double-edged sword, as a bad review can kill your product; however, you can salvage the situation by addressing their feedback to improve your product.
Targeting a broader audience is a bit trickier, as it’s a noisier and more saturated medium. It’s especially important to ensure that your marketing actions are impactful to make the most of your budget.
The following products were technically impressive and had good messaging. However, that messaging didn’t reach the intended audience:
Google Stadia (Play Anywhere, Part I)

What is it: A streaming service for video games.
Verdict: Fail
At the end of 2019, Google announced Stadia with a clear and powerful messaging: Play your games from anywhere, no console needed. Less than four years later, in early 2023, they closed the service and reimbursed their clients. What went wrong?
The product was great, for sure. It was my preferred gaming console for a while, and it launched at the perfect time, as COVID-19 kept us at home playing video games while a supply chain crisis made it hard to buy computers or consoles.
However, they failed to reach a wide audience. It got positive reviews, and everyone I know who used it was happy. However, they were all enthusiasts. They already owned a gaming PC and several consoles.
For the target audience, casual gamers, the concept was too new and risky. They needed to see the product in action, for example, as experienced by influencers from outside the tech world.
PlayStation Portal (Play Anywhere, Part II)

What is it: A tablet controller that lets you play your PlayStation 5 games from anywhere.
Verdict: A fail for now
Sony’s response to the Nintendo Switch was the PlayStation Portal a tablet controller (similar to the one from the Wii U), which allows you to stream your PlayStation 5 games from anywhere.
This is a strong proposal. Travel anywhere, and as long as you have a decent internet connection, you will be able to game on the PS5 you left at home. Or, play from your bedroom if the TV in the living room is busy.
However, feels like Sony didn’t believe much in their product and didn’t promote it well enough. They are committing the same mistake Google Stadia did by not showing more of the product in action. I recently spoke with a friend of mine, who is tech-savvy and usually knows everything about new tech products, and he didn’t know that you can use the PS5 Portal to play your games outside your house. That’s a terrible communication fail.
Lessons Learned - Meet Your Audience
It’s essential to know your audience, where they move, their hobbies, and their motivations. So you can plan marketing actions that are effective in pushing your messaging.
You also need to be careful to set the expectations right ahead of product reviews. People will be unforgiving of the compromises in your product, so you’d better get ahead of the game, accept them, and spin the story towards your strengths.
Failing to promote your product adequately may give the impression that you don’t believe in it, passing on that energy to your customers.
Conclusion
Technology doesn’t sell products; it’s just one tiny piece of the puzzle. The key is how your product addresses the needs of your target audience. Consider the iPhone; in many areas, it may lack the latest technology, but it covers its customers’ needs exceptionally well.
You need to know your audience’s pains to create an impactful messaging that connects those pains to your product strengths.
And once you have that, you need to preach that messaging on your audience’s terrain, crafting your marketing actions carefully to make the biggest impact.
So, don’t focus on your technology, focus on your clients.

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