Do You Update Your Product, or Your Outlook?

May 14, 2019

What can we learn from microwave popcorn and address labels?

A friend mentioned that she doesn’t enjoy microwave popcorn as much these days, because it always tastes overcooked/burned. I told her that modern microwaves are more powerful than the ones that were popular when microwave popcorn came on the market, and advised her to pop the corn on Power Level 8. She was very pleased with the results.

It seems that nobody in this situation has kept up with the times: Not the microwave popcorn makers, who still tell consumers to pop the corn on high; or the consumers, who know that their popcorn is overcooked, but who haven’t figured out how to make the adjustment.

I get address labels from the charities I donate to. They are marginally useful as stickers on casseroles for a potluck, or for putting on moving boxes so the movers know which ones are ours (the address is wrong, but the name is still good); but since so few people mail letters anymore, they’re more of a gesture of goodwill than a useful Thank-you gift, and I imagine that most of them go into the trash. Again, the charities aren’t taking into account the electronic communication and online bill-paying culture in this regard.

Is your company keeping up with the times? There’s nothing wrong with making the same widgets you’ve always made, if the widgets still work. But are you looking for new ways that they can be used, and letting consumers know about them? ("Let us tell you about great ways to use these address labels.")

If sales are slumping, someone may tell you that you may need to tinker with the secret formula or make other drastic (and expensive) changes. Before you do that, take a good look at your product. It may not need updating, or to be New and Improved. It may just need to account for changes in the world, with new directions. (“Set your microwave to Power Level 8.”)

(Look at the awards shows on TV. They spend a LOT of time and money trying to make the shows more glamorous and draw more viewers; when all they need to do is to stop trying to be humorous, and limit acceptance speeches to 30 seconds; because people have more entertainment options these days than they did when the shows first started airing, and they don’t want to spend time listening to other people blathering on.)

On the other hand, maybe your product is outdated. Maybe address labels, however inexpensive they may be, are not an appropriate Thank-you gift for charities to send. (Does the world need more trash?)

So, what need updating, your product, or your outlook? Don’t rush into expensive changes if you can use common-sense ones and still get the job done. Do make sure that your product is still useful.