A product that isn’t selling might not have a product problem.

In this episode of The Inventory, Reid Morris is joined by Brian Cole, Marketing Strategy and Operations Leader, and Theresa Goodall, Creative Director at Element Three, to talk about how brands can determine whether a struggling product is facing a product issue or a deeper brand challenge.

Across industries like RV, marine, and other OEM-to-dealer markets, companies are often quick to blame the product when sales slow down. This episode explores how awareness, differentiation, positioning, customer satisfaction, and buying behavior all play a role in diagnosing what is really preventing a product from succeeding.

The conversation breaks down practical ways teams can find the answer—like talking with dealers and sales teams, understanding whether customers buy at the brand or product level, evaluating market and portfolio performance, and creating stronger alignment between product, marketing, and sales.

You’ll learn:

• How to diagnose whether a struggling product has a product problem or a brand problem
• Why customer buying behavior reveals where awareness and positioning issues exist
• How sales, marketing, and product teams can align to better understand product performance

Things to listen for:

(00:00) Why a failing product may not be the real problem
(00:59) How customer buying behavior reveals the root issue
(02:00) Why brands need to look beyond the product
(03:20) How to identify a brand awareness problem
(04:00) What dealers reveal about how customers buy
(05:00) Why market context matters before blaming the product
(06:00) The power of differentiation across the portfolio
(07:00) How marketing materials reveal brand clarity
(10:00) When customer satisfaction becomes the real issue
(12:00) Why product, marketing, and sales need earlier alignment
(15:00) What marketers can do to diagnose the problem quickly