Entrepreneur.com, a popular blog that posts regularly about things relevant to entrepreneurs posted this article in the beginning of October this year: 7 Patient Strategies for Growing Your Business Online. The reason that this article piqued my interest is that I have recently been very into Shark Tank, a show about passionate entrepreneurs trying to go far in their business endeavors by pitching their products and ideas to well known and successful entrepreneurs in hopes that they will get an investment and partnership, and observing the correlated qualities of failed products.
These are the seven points that were made:
- 1. Stop copying other entrepreneurs.
- 2. Be clear about who your core audience is.
- 3. Keep it simple.
- 4. Don’t rely exclusively social media.
- 5. Focus on what’s important.
- 6. Don’t be afraid to charge a fair price.
- 7. Keep pushing towards your goals.
A good example of a failed product on Shark Tank that did not follow the guidelines of a successful product would be in one segment where two doctors introduced their app, Rolodoc. Rolodoc is a social media app designed to be used by doctors and their patients. However, the Sharks argued that it wasn’t a real service or business and was overly complicated with complicated terminology and slang. In hindsight, they have broken many of the fundamental successes of a successful product/service.
Mark Cuban (Shark) congratulating Rolodac entrepreneurs on having the worst pitch for a product. http://static4.businessinsider.com/image/551eadceeab8ea3e75a43755-480/mark-cuban-shark-tank-rolodoc.jpg
Firstly, they did not keep their app simple. The amount of overcomplicated slang and new terminology that a user of Rolodoc had to learn was ridiculous. For example, messages instead of being called messages was called a ‘Blimb’, and the homepage was known as ‘The Waiting Room’. The learning curve to use the app was simply unappealing for consumers to even consider using. As the article states, ‘’Don’t fall victim to information overload because it can easily keep you from making progress’’.
Relating to the complexity of the app, the second problem was that the developers did not exactly have a clear purpose for their app. The blog post states, ‘’Learn the biggest struggles your target audience is facing. Create products and services that help solve those problems. Rinse and repeat’’. However, all it offered was a messaging service and a homepage where Doctors could post their schedules. It was ultimately an over complicated Facebook only available to patients and doctors which accentuates another point from the article that you shouldn’t copy other entrepreneurs. Why would consumers use this app when they could just use a platform that they’re already comfortable with?
Rolodoc Logo
http://gazettereview.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/1-7.jpg
Evidently, a successful business that will flourish and grow will take advantage of all the guidelines stated by the blog post, however, even a couple of mishaps will prove to be detrimental to the entire success of the product.