What a gas leak can teach us about launching successful innovation

Last weekend I noticed a smell in my new house- you know the one. It smells like rotten eggs. Did you know the gas company adds that smell to the gas on purpose?

So, I called the gas company and they promptly came out, turned off my gas and told me I need to get a “pressure test” to determine where the leak was coming from.

Pressure testing my gas lines allowed me to find the leaks and eventually fix them. What if all new products were pressure tested before launching? Could we catch all the “leaks” and fix them before spending millions on a new product launch? (and avoid the 80% failure rate)

Transactional testing new products is one of the ways to pressure test innovation. Having products sell in a small number of retail stores for 12-20 weeks while tracking the qualitative reactions to the product and marrying those up to the quantitative data can be very insightful.

Did the packaging stand out on shelf? Did the product deliver when the consumer took it home and experienced it? Did the marketing plan create enough awareness and effectively communicate a solution for an un-met consumer need? Was the retailer excited about the product? Did it drive incrementality to the category and increase market basket? Did the average weekly movement achieve benchmarks?

The Mission Field approach to transactional retail testing encompasses 5 different data sources to pressure test the crucial elements of successful innovation. After 3+ months in market, you can understand where all the leaks are, fix them and create a viable and successful launch.