A Good Product Isn’t Enough - You Need to Have a Plan

Melissa and Doug: A Case Study

Melissa and Doug is a toy manufacturer that specializes in traditional children’s toys, primarily wood and fabric with sturdy construction. Their toys are built to last and to remain fun without becoming bogged down with batteries and software updates. In their interview with Guy Raz on the podcast How I Built This, they discuss early mistakes they made that could have sunk their company before it even really began.

Melissa and Doug didn’t start out as a toy company - their earliest product was a TV show that they filmed, wrote, sang, and cast all on their own. This project cost thousands of dollars to make and took up months of their time. It was a very ambitious project, and once they were done they looked around and realized that they didn’t have a plan to bring it to market.

Additional consequences of their lack of planning came up when they went to a manufacturer that could make copies of the tapes they had already finished. Instead of making two or three copies like they expected, the manufacturer told them that they could only make bulk copies. This situation put them at a further disadvantage because they now had to sell thousands of copies instead of the few they were expecting. 

Later they ran into a similar problem, after they drove around to independent toy stores to have them sell the tapes, people weren’t willing to buy a “mystery in a box”, they wanted to know what was going to be on the tapes that they were buying. This sentiment is especially relevant for their target demographic, which were families with children. Parents do not want to buy something that they don’t know about, because it could hurt their children. Also influencing their decision was how expensive the videotapes were, making people less likely to take a chance on their product.

Eventually, they began to advertise and design covers for the boxes, which kicked off the company enough that they could make the first of the products they are known for today. This was a fabric-covered puzzle that was designed for the customer in mind, instead of doing what they wanted without a plan.

Melissa and Doug were lucky enough to find a niche that was more forgiving than other parts of the industry. However, it is important to keep in mind that even when you have a good product, you need to know how to get it to market and into the hands of those who would like and use it. The greatest product in the world is worth nothing if no one knows it exists. Project management can help pave the way for your product to get to market without wasting your time and money.