I tried to make snow the other day, but much to my surprise, I failed.  I couldn’t believe that my exquisitely designed system of a leaf blower, hose sprayer and duct tape did not produce the wintry landscape that is absent this year.  Instead I got an icy coating on the brown grass and frozen fingers.  This similar situation befalls companies that have a “great” idea, spend a year or more turning it into a product, only to get a tepid reaction from the marketplace.

I had spent several months thinking about my snowmaking system so where did I go wrong, and how can you be more successful with your new products?  Here are a few suggestions.

• Talk to the snowmaking guys.  I had skied by dozens of experts on the hills, but never stopped to ask them some basic questions about turning water into white stuff.  Be well engaged with your target customers – understand how they work, what’s in their way, and whether your product will improve their world.

• Test the snowmaker before you are in need of covering your lawn.  Getting your product in the hands of customers before it is launched is very important.  Like me, you have great ideas…but are they really going to benefit the customers as much as you think?  Better be sure on this.

• Know the environment.  I had assumed that below-freezing air temperature was enough, but what about humidity, wind, etc?  No idea.  Look closely at your market so you are not surprised by unexpected barriers in the way of your success.  Are there regulatory issues, are your prospects funded, is the market large enough, what are the alternatives to your offering?

• Build a better snow maker next time.  I did learn quite a bit from my failure.  Next time I will use a finer spray, colder temps, and drier air.  If your product stumbles out of the gate, all is not lost.  Be on the lookout for this early feedback and be ready to re-tool, re-position, or re-price before your product becomes maligned in the market.  View the launch as the midpoint, not the end-point of product development.

So long before you send your product out into the marketplace, be certain you really understand how well it will fit with your customers.  The alternative is thin icy cover, frozen hands, and wasted duct tape.

Markets are not static – they evolve, grow, shrink, disappear, and are built. The challenge is to know when this may happen so you can be ready to take advantage of the new sustenance. Here are a few things that you can do to be sure you don’t end up like the squirrels.

• Having a deep understanding of your customers’ situations is the best starting point. After all, they have the problem and the money (usually). For instance, if you are selling 96-well screening thingamajigs and your customers have big backlogs, then there is an opportunity for you (or your competitors…)

• What is everybody else doing? I’m sure the squirrels quickly surmised that all their brethren were fighting them for the 3 acorns that fell on their acre. If your competitors are fiercely throwing all kinds of effort (and VP’s) at even small business opportunities, then something is afoul in your market.

• The good news is that markets do not tend to vaporize; the problems that were being addressed often just shift to new solutions. Similarly the squirrels are now all rushing to get sugar maple seeds stashed away. Capillary sequencing, HPLC, and shrink-wrapped software are in the process of being supplanted by NGS, UHPLC, and SAS. (next-generation sequencing, ultra-high pressure liquid chromatography, and software as a service, in case you were curious). People still need to buy stuff, just not the old stuff.

• The easiest way to get a sense of market reorganization is to look at some external factors. If the squirrels had realized that last year’s super-abundance would be followed by a lean year, they could have been better prepared (though this, of course, is beyond their walnut-sized brains). Trade show attendance, funding agencies’ programs, M&A activity, and capital raising are all good indicators of where the action is… and isn’t.

So when your dependable sources of nutrition are disappearing, be sure you know where to find your next pile of revenue. Like the trusty annual crop of acorns, things will change and you will need to adjust your diet.

For me, a homegrown tomato is the pinnacle of summer – supremely tasty, available any time, and the fruits of my efforts. I bet you wish you thought the same way about your latest products – loved by customers, demanded constantly, and the result of your hard work. Maybe you have this perfect situation or … maybe not.

If we look at tomato growing, we can learn a bit about bringing tasty products to the market.

Earth – Staring with deep, rich earth is clearly the best approach. Adding some fertilizer is also helpful. Basing your new products on a sizeable market with pressing needs is a key foundation. Without this you will have poor yields

Water – Keeping the soil moist definitely hastens the march towards perfect red globes. As you develop your product, it is important to continuously add new information from the marketplace regarding the changes in customers’ situations.

Prune – Occasionally errant shoots need to be hacked back. They would only take energy away from the plant and slow the growth of the fruit (I know – but it’s still a vegetable in my mind.) Activities and efforts that are not directly aimed at the goal should be stopped. Yes it’s great to be able to satisfy “all” the customers, but it’s never possible. Be selective and ruthless about wasted efforts.

Squash the bugs – The most destructive thing I have ever seen is the tomato hornworm. Undeterred they can reduce a 6 foot plant into scrawny stems in a few days. Similarly you need to fight the growing threats – new competitive products, changes in spending habits, aggressive price wars.

Weather - Sometimes bad things happen to good plants. Two years ago, late blight (phytophthora infestans for inquiring minds) wiped out all tomatoes within a hundred miles. The debt “crisis,” industry consolidation, and decreased funding are all hard to battle. All you can do is trim your goals and re-evaluate what you expect to accomplish – not easy, but doable.

So if the weather has been sunny, you watered your plants and kept the pests contained, you are now enjoying the bounty of summer. With focused efforts and a little luck from the environment, you too can be enjoying the fruits of your labor – tasty products that customers can’t get enough of.

ps. that tomato in the corner was indeed very tasty…

Stepping into the flight chamber, I was astonished at the unexpectedly strange sensations. As I attempted my first indoor skydive, my mind was trying to reconcile the noise, the wind, the pressure on my limbs, and the hand signals from my instructor. A similar cacophony of signals often occurs when you are bringing new products into the marketplace – noise, forces, opinions, and speed are all at play trying to upset your planned trajectory.

Processing all of this at once is critical to entering the market and actually getting the results you want (usually $$$.) Granted you aren’t trying to float in a 100 mph wind, but things do move quicker than you would like.

• Noise – Nothing is more disruptive to a good product launch than too much noise. This can be due to a poorly-focused effort or because lots of other things are occurring around you in the market. Having a good process, a well-vetted strategy, and committed people will help you rise above the fray.

• Odd forces – Like the wind trying to deflect my arms behind my head, there will be responses from the customers and competitors. Being prepared for the possible reactions will definitely help you weather these forces. Run a few scenarios to help you plan for the buffeting.

• Heeding the signals – Trying to comprehend signals and act on them in this environment is tricky. When you first enter the market, signals will come flying back at you. Some people like your product, some hate it, some don’t care. Sales people sell version X but not version Y. Paying attention to this early feedback is critical. Though your plan was perfect, you often need to heed the market signals and make adjustments to be really successful

• Speed – Moving quickly can give you a big advantage over your competitors. Once you see that you need to make some adjustments, doing this quickly and effectively across your organization and market is important. Slowly adapting to the feedback has killed many good products; so keep your foot on the gas. As the Valeant CEO, Michael Pearson, recently said, “Time is the enemy, in my mind. Speed has proven to be a real competitive advantage if you look at our history.”

So when you are getting ready to parachute your products into the marketplace, take a few lessons from the skydivers. There will be new, unexpected forces at work. Paying attention to them will lead to a successful and controlled dive into your new flow of revenue. Not paying attention can lead to a very unpleasant landing.

ps. in case you’re wondering, that is indeed yours truly in his first flight.

I’ve seen so many snowstorms this year that I have lost count. However, the one the other day was the most impressive, not for the drifts or the depth or the wind, but for how it covered every surface with white. The entire landscape was blanketed, much like the methods some companies use to market their products – let no potential customer go untouched by their messages.

This common approach is taken by companies large and small, and usually with similar results. Sure, some sales will result, but efforts to get the customers will be large, and it won’t be clear what part of your offering is the most valuable to them.  You will end up following some opportunities that look exciting but yield few sales.

Though an inefficient process, carpet bombing the marketplace may have some use for very early technology. Sometimes it’s not clear where the best opportunities lie, so you need to explore a variety of applications and markets. This is fine, but must be undertaken as part of a larger strategy – that means exploring specific segments for a limited time. Then decide on where to focus your valuable time, money and efforts.

Crossing this divide between exploration and focus is a tricky one and often leaves a hollow feeling in the pit of your stomach. Here are a few ideas that can help you sleep a little better when you are attempting the move away from the sticky snow approach.

• Spend time to really understand the segments. What are the groups of customers that are attracted to your product? What do they have in common? How do they differ?

• Be sure to look around the corner and not just at the last couple quarters. Having a reasonable idea of what your customers will be needing (and how many of them) is the basis for a believable forecast.

• Understand which message in your blanket of snow is sticking. What gets the customers excited enough to shift from “that’s interesting” to “I need that”

• Lastly and most difficult is sometimes saying no to revenue. Though customer x is very interested in the PCR product you are selling for diagnostics, he wants to look at primordial soup — so you need to walk away. You will need to support this approach across the organization so no one gets crucified for missing a sale.

This is not an easy situation, but a critical one if products are to become truly successful beyond the few dozen enthusiasts who buy anything that is new. Be conscious of the point when focus is needed to really grow the business. Tempting as it is to chase everyone who likes your product, like the wet snow on the trees, soon the excitement will melt away. Before this happens, you need to make the choice on where your future lies.

The other night, I bolted straight up in the darkness to the sound of people screaming for mercy. After a few seconds, I realized that it was not Charles Manson loose in the neighborhood. It was the wailing howls of a bunch of amorous coyotes.

They reminded me of the unrequited calls that some companies make toward their potential customers. All making the same appeal – choose me, choose me. A few companies do stand out and succeed in building the needed relationships, but others end up fighting a fierce battle for the few remaining opportunities.

So what’s the difference for those that walk off with the prize mate? The first thought is that the winner must have the loudest call or the smoothest tones. While that may help, the voice (aka message) is only a small part of the equation and is usually the final piece.

More importantly the alpha coyotes don’t just have a pleasing serenade, but have demonstrated that they walk the talk. They have fended off other pack members and learned what it takes to win.

• So how can you be the “alpha” business? Spend the time and work with the customers and understand their real needs, where they want to go, and what would help them get there. Secondly craft products and services that truly solve customers’ problems, and big ones at that. Keep a close relationship with them so when the product is ready, it is a clear winner.

• The head of the pack surely had some battles with their competitors in their rise to the top, and likewise all life science markets are very competitive. Even when no other competitor is in sight, customers usually have some sort of remedy to their problem. Moving them off this is often a daunting task. You will need to fight to show them that your offering is faster, smarter, more elegant, and saves them more time/money than the other guy’s.

• After you have the right products for your customers, then you can howl about it. Your call will sound different and be heard above the others. You have the products and the muscle to back it up.

So get your products right, join the pack and howl away. You too will earn the ear of the desired one and beat back the competition. And you probably won’t wake the neighbors either.

I went timber cruising last weekend. No, this is not aimlessly driving the back roads of New England, but rather, walking around the woods selecting trees for next year’s firewood. I take little pink ribbons and tie them around the trees that will eventually keep us warm during the blizzards of January 2012.

Though the forest has over 100 trees per acre, I don’t just pick the first 30 trees I see. I have another objective beyond just cutting firewood – I also want a healthy and robust forest that supports a diverse range of wildlife. I actually see many companies in a similar situation – an overstocked portfolio of products and applications, and struggling to support and grow them all. For those folks, it is time to apply some well-directed timber cruising.

The starting point for the selection process is actually in the future. Ask the question, “where do we want to be in 5 years” (or pick your favorite horizon.) For the East Woods, I am looking 10 years down the road at big trees able to fend off beetles and ice (see Dec 2008.) Similarly, your business first needs to define its long term goals, be they top line growth, strategic partnerships, near-term profits, market position, or exit.

Once you have the bar set, it is somewhat straight-forward to go through your opportunities and find the ones to pursue. There are a few big slices you can take that will get you well on your way.

• First which applications have a sizeable market that the product can address? When I size up a tree I prefer to take a fatter one that will yield much more wood with only incrementally more effort that a skinny one. Also, a red oak will produce heat much better than a white pine.

• Second, can you actually get your products to the customers who will benefit from them? Though I may find some nice oaks way out in the woods, if I can’t get them to my house without a Herculean effort, then it is a lost cause.

• Third does your offering solve a problem that is really important to the customer? Many nice-to-have products have sounded great only to languish on the shelves. When I plan to take down a tree I always consider how much more light and nutrition will fall on its neighbors if this one is removed. Energy and food, along with water, are the primary currencies of growth in the forest.

• Lastly, will your selection make the company better off in the long run? Can you leverage this product for follow-on applications and build the company around this. When I look at the trees, I always select the weaker, crooked trees and leave the strongest and straightest. They will grow faster, produce more nuts (offspring, food), and look nicer.

So while you ponder all the wonderful products and opportunities you have, remember that if you cull out the weakest, the strongest will flourish from the additional sunlight (resources) and nutrition ($$). With this accomplished, your woodlot of products will be strong, robust, and fast growing, just like the East Woods.