No 'strategic position' for the product. The market does not notice the product; the product is a corporate orphan, etc.

	What to do about it! This is where adequate market research is needed. One point about such research: "Use it don't abuse it." This means that a product design should be guided by, not totally designed to, information obtained by market research. Re-visit the market strategy Re-visit the product requirements; i.e. create attention, interest and desire then act. Maintain constant visibility into, and analysis of, the Market, Users, Costs and Competition. Consider aborting the product development if a viable market position can't be found.

	No quality plan. If a quantity purchaser (e.g. an OEM buyer) does not see a corporate sanctioned plan of action to ensure quality products and processes, then a purchase agreement most likely will not be signed. Even small buyers can come back to haunt a company if there is no thought at all given to product quality.

	What to do about it! Create and implement a Quality Assurance plan to show how the product's design, development, production and support are maintained to 'standards' of quality. This demonstrates: What is delivered is guaranteed to be what was promised. Company maturity, longevity and emphasis on the customer. Every product claim is validated. The following groups (among others) care about this: Canada - 'The Competition Act' (misleading advertisements)1 Fair Trade Acts; 'Truthfulness in Advertising and Marketing' for ON/OFF-line sales USA - The FTC Bureau of Consumer Protection monitors fair advertising and marketing practices for consumers and businesses. ISO-9000, CE Every PD effort needs to have a 'quality plan' to outline how the PD and production processes will be established and how their health is to be maintained. To some large buyers periodic reviews and audits of the processes, along with failure mitigation, are very important. In fact, many standards and regulatory bodies require such activities. You must understand exactly what quality means to the customer as well as to the company. In some cases "The term 'quality' has become a palette onto which people paint their own problems."2 So what the users deem as quality is critical. As far as the company goes, 'quality' must be defined, designed and validated. For more on this see Product Engineering - What's Quality Got to do with it? By Dick Haney

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¹ Online Business In Canada, by Amy-Lynne Williams
² Joe Ivers, J.D. Powers & Associates