There Is A Failure To Learn From Other Product Launches

This occurs when products are assigned to individual product managers and there is a lack of communications among the managers. Also, the organization may not take the cultural factors seriously and so do not emphasize this in product planning.

Impact

The same failures may recur many times before the company becomes aware of the problem and its severity and impact. After the product is launched, the firm may only look at overall sales and ignore the behavior in specific, detailed markets. This risks alienating the people in that country for other products. That is what happened with the automobile and drug store examples.

Prevention

Planning is the key. It must include in-country planning as well as headquarters planning. Focus groups and testing should be considered in specific local markets. You also cannot just test in the capital of a country. Other parts of the country may have different languages and cultures. You have to move out into the field.

Action

If a product starts to run into problems, the immediate question is whether it can be salvaged or whether it should be pulled from the market