To improve or not to improve? That is the question.
One might think that every product has room for innovation and every service has room for improvement. Is this really the case? Is this really necessary? Many companies feel like they are doing a service to their customers by attempting to make a better wheel, but in the end, does it even roll the same? Or has the change made the product unpopular, useless, incorrect or otherwise shunned by it’s former customer base?
Here’s a list of product and service “improvements” that have lead to disaster over the years:
- New Coke/Coke Classic – Anyone who was around in the 80s remembers this disaster. New Coke came about, leaving a bad taste in most everyone’s mouth. After a huge public relations disaster, the Coca-Cola Bottling Company came back with Coca-Cola Classic. Supposedly the same as the old, but the damage was already done.
- Windows Vista/Windows XP – I’m sure you saw this coming. There’s a reason why Microsoft is pumping millions of dollars into the “Mojave Experiment” and “I’m a PC” ads. Vista failed. Horribly bloated product that had zero real-world improvement over the former version, Windows XP. Slow adoption combined with incompatibilities combined with general frustration over it’s use lead Vista to crash and burn. Supposedly, the new version of windows (due in 2-3 years, depending on how quickly Microsoft buries this mess) is supposed to be closer to XP, and faster. We’ll see.
- The Premier Cigarette – I remember this well because my mother switched to it (from Winstons) as a safer alternative to her old cigarettes. R.J. Reynolds dropped a billion dollars into developing and marketing these cigarettes, attempting to compete with the health risks of smoking. After a year, the product was pulled as consumer response was poor and it really didn’t do anything to improve the health issue. For the record, my mother now smokes Marlboro Menthols.
- Super Size Me – About the time that the frequency of heart attacks began to rise and diabetes ran rampant, McDonalds took the opportunity to market their “Super Size” menu. The idea was that you could take an already unhealthy portion of already unhealthy food and get more of it. It fattens their bottom line and your bottom. Everyone wins, right? Thankfully, Morgan Spurlock released his conclusive report, “Super Size Me” and McDonalds quickly cut this option from their menu.
- Levi’s Type 1 Jeans, Levi Classic – Remember the Type 1 Jeans? The idea was that they took their standard Levi Classic jeans, improved some minor style cues and marketed them as the new standard in jeans. Thanks to retailers price gouging, inconsistencies in quality and a marketing plan and superbowl commercial that flopped harder than a fat kid in a shallow pool, Levi reverted to the classic designs that held them over for the previous 150 years.
- Clear Pepsi – Do I even need to say more?
- Sony Playstation 3 – High price point, stiff competition, inability to fill orders, lack of software. This one was a mess. Even now, more than 2 years after the launch, PS3 is still lagging behind it’s Microsoft and Nintendo brothers. It’s too bad because the technology is excellent, but the implementation is dismal.
- The re-released Star Wars Movies – I can only imagine that this occured because George Lucas ran out of money, or some executive somewhere decided that an extra 10 minutes of the cantina band would win them an oscar. Either way it happened, adding extra length to an already long trifecta of classics didn’t improve the quality, just added weight to the saga.
- The mid 90s Ford Mustang – Killing 30 years of muscle in one stroke of the design paintbrush, the mid 90s Mustang was a failure that almost killed the brand. Bigger, yet less powerful motor. Hard lines that defined the muscle era replaced with smooth bubbles. Lackluster interior. Poor economy. This Mustang almost killed a legend. Thankfully, they came to their senses in the late 90s.
So there you have it. A list of products that “improved” in a way that almost destroyed their parent companies. Keep this in mind next time you do an improvement to your product. Innovation is a good thing, but never at the cost of your customer base. Sometimes, if it ain’t broke…
