Mission creep is expanding beyond the original goals of a project, commonly used in military, humanitarian, and business contexts. In business, it involves expanding the appeal of a successful product through careful planning and research. Field testing and constructive feedback refine the campaign before relaunch. If unsuccessful, it is advisable to withdraw before significant losses.
The concept of a mission creep involves expanding beyond the original goals and scopes of a given project. Originally associated with the implementation of military and humanitarian strategies, mission creep has become a common term applied in the business community. In most cases, a mission creep is formulated and implemented once the initial goals have been achieved, and there is a desire to build on the existing momentum generated by the project.
In business terms, a mission creep strategy would involve expanding the appeal of a product that has been successfully developed and commercialized. Often, this may involve adding a new ingredient to an already successful product or promoting new applications for the product. Sales campaigns that advertise products as “new and improved” or that encourage the consumer to purchase the product to use it in new ways are excellent examples of mission creep.
Expanding a mission generally involves careful planning. When involving existing goods and services, this will involve consumer research to determine what buyers think of the product and how the good or service could be improved in some way. Often, the research findings can help a marketing department come up with different ideas on how to add certain elements to the product and make it even more desirable to a larger share of the consumer market.
After collecting the research, the next phase of the mission creep will include field testing of the improvements or new marketing approach. Getting constructive feedback on the new and improved product will help the marketing effort refine the campaign and maximize the chances of successful market share expansion. During this phase, both the product and the promotion strategy can be refined before the actual product relaunch.
Not all missions prove effective. In some cases, consumers will reject the new and improved product in favor of the original good or service. In this case, it is advisable to withdraw from the mission expansion before significant losses are incurred. At the same time, the enhanced product is very likely to catch on and achieve great success.
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