Why Your Product Isn’t Growing and How to Fix It
I’ve worked with a lot of manufacturers where a product wasn’t failing, but it wasn’t gaining the traction the company expected.
As I talked with the team, something felt off and they weren’t clear what to do next. They shared the hope they had for the product, the work that went into launching it, and how it was currently performing across channels. There was still life in the product, but it was coasting.
Here are a few signals I watch for when product growth starts slipping:
You priced it to win business, not reflect value.
You set a price that felt safe or competitive, but now it’s limiting growth.
Price can send a message, and right now, it might be sending the wrong one.
The sales team is quietly shifting focus.
They’re leaning into other products, services, or custom solutions.
Not because this product is bad, but because it’s harder to position or close.
There are no initiatives to improve the product.
There’s no roadmap or internal discussion about what’s next.
It’s being maintained, not grown.
The marketing communication is generic.
You’re trying to be everything to everyone. The messaging isn’t sharp.
It doesn’t reflect the pain points your ideal customer actually feels or the outcomes they care about. That makes it hard to create traction with your ideal customer.
When I see these patterns, I usually pause and ask the team:
- Do we know exactly who this product is for?
- Can we clearly explain the pain we solve and the outcome we deliver?
- Are we actively positioning it to grow or just keeping it alive?
- Is the problem rooted in the product itself, the communication of the product, or the sales channel engagement?
The answers to these questions start to provide clarity on what to do and how to revitalize the product.
