5 Best Practices for New Product Introduction - LinkTexting

Before launching a product, you not only need to know why someone would buy it, but who would buy it, as well. Make a point of describing your ... Pressentertoseeresultsoresctocancel. SujanPatelinProductMarketing  June4,2018  0Comments 5BestPracticesforNewProductIntroduction Approximately80%ofnewproductsfail. That’saworryingstatisticforanyoneintheprocessofdesigninganddevelopingone. Needlesstosay,therearemanyfactorsthatcontributetoaproduct’ssuccessorfailure:thefinancialsecurityofthecompanybackingtheproduct,howwellit’smarketed,andwhetherit’ssomethingconsumersactuallywant. Theelementthat’softengivenlessattentionthanitdeserves,however,isaproduct’sinitialintroductiontothemarket.Gettingtheproductlaunchrightisessential.Getitwrong,andtheoddsofyourproductbecomingpartofthe20%thatsucceedfallsignificantly. Hereare5fundamentalbestpracticestofollowforasuccessfulnewproductintroduction. 1.DetermineYourUSP Successfulproductsalmostalwayshaveonethingincommon:theyhaveanattractiveuniquesellingproposition.There’ssomethingaboutitthatmakesitstandoutfromthecompetitionandcompelsconsumerstochooseitoversomethingsimilar. Figuringoutwhatmakesaproductspecialaheadofitslaunchisessential.Youneedtoknowwhysomeonewouldwanttobuyyourproductinsteadofacompetitor’s. Isitsimplertouse? Isitabettervalue? Doesitofferafeature(orfeatures)thatsimilarproductsdon’t? Ifyoucan’tpinpointaUSP,oddsareyourproduct’snotreadyforlaunch.Somethinghastochangetogiveyourproductauniqueedge,andyourtargetaudienceareasontobuy. TakeAmazon’sFirePhone. ImageCredit ItenteredasaturatedmarketwithaclunkydesignandanunnecessaryUSP–a3Ddisplay.(Italsofrustratedconsumerswithitsmanyflaws.) Don’tmakethesamemistake.Ensureyourproductnotonlyhasauniquesellingproposition,butausefulsellingproposition,too. Onceyouknowwhatthisis,yournextjobisdecidinghowyou’regoingtoarticulateittoyourtargetaudience.Typically,yourUSPformsacorepartofyourmarketingmaterialsandstrategy.Youuseittohelpinformyourbrandmessages,whenwritingtaglines,andinadvertisements(whetheronoroffline). Inshort,makesurethatwheneverandwhereveryou’retalkingaboutyourproduct,you’reemphasizingitsUSP. 2.DefineYourTargetAudience Beforelaunchingaproduct,younotonlyneedtoknowwhysomeonewouldbuyit,butwhowouldbuyit,aswell. Makeapointofdescribingyourtargetcustomer(orcustomers)inasmuchdetailaspossible. Thismightinclude(butisnotlimitedto): Age Gender Location Jobrole Disposableincome Likelypainpoints Likelyhobbies Familylife Websitestheyvisit Socialmediasitestheyuse Unfortunately,whilethereareplentyoftoolstohelpyouunderstandacompany’sexistingcustomerbase,paintingapictureofanaudiencethatexistsonlyintheoryismuchmoredifficult. Yourbestbetistodiscoverwhatyoucanaboutwho’sbuyingyourcompetitors’products. SimilarWebisincrediblyuseful,offeringupdatalikelocation,audienceinterests,referringanddestinationwebsites,andtopsocialnetworks.There’salsoaveryhandyChromeplugin. Followoffersdetaileddemographicinformation(andmore)forwebsites,buttogetthemostoutofit,you’llneedtheplugin. YouGovProfilesalsofeaturessomeprettyusefuldata–notjustonbrands,butonpeopleandthings,too.Limitedinformationisavailableforfree,butyou’llhavetoforkoutforapaidaccountifyouwanttoaccesseverything. Anotherwaytogatherdemographicdatapre-launchistoaskthesequestionsaspartofyourmarketresearch.Whetherit’sviaasurveyorafocusgroup,makesureyou’requizzingparticipantswhoexpressaninterestinbuyingyourproductabouttheirlifestyle,interests,andwhatmakesthemtick. Youcanusecreativelicensetofillinanygapsinthepicture. Whodoyouthinkwillbealikelybuyerforyourproduct?Thisisabest-guessscenario,whichisn’tideal,butisanecessaryevilwhenyoudon’thaveanyactualcustomerdatatodrawfrom.Youcan(andshould)revisitthislaterdowntheline. 3.GetYourWholeTeam’sBuy-In Thepeoplebehindaproductplayacrucialpartinitslaunch.It’sessentialthateveryoneinvolvedintheproductbelievesinit,andthatyoucreateaproduct-drivenculture. Areyouunabletogetthebuy-inofeveryoneonyourteam?Thenyouhavetoaskyourselfwhy.Ifit’sjustoneortwoindividualsthataren’ttotallyonboard,itmayjustbethatthey’reapoorfitforthecompany.Ifafeelingofnoconfidenceiswidespread,thequestionofwhyremains.Isthereaproblemwiththeproduct?Orhaveyoujustfailedtoeffectivelyarticulateitsadvantagestoyourteam? Assumingyourproductisn’ttheproblem,youneedtotakestepstogetthebuy-inofthosewhoaren’t100%onboard.Hereareafewideas. Letyourownenthusiasmshow.Excitementiscontagious.Ifyou’renotoutwardlyexpressingyourownbeliefinyourproduct,howcanyouexpectyourteamtoshareit? Getyourteamusingyourproduct.Dependingontheproduct,thisisn’talwayspossible,butifyou’vecreatedsomethingyourteamcanuseorconsume,givethemthemeanstodothis,andencouragethemtotakeadvantageofitasmuchaspossible. Coachyourteam.Providemotivationaltrainingsessionsthatteachyourteameverythingthereistoknowabouttheproduct.Thesesessionsshouldbeexecutedinamannerthatgetstheteamfiredupnotonlyabouttheproduct,butalsoaboutthepartthey’veplayedindevelopingitorwillbeplayinginpromotingit. Providesharesinthecompany.IntheUK,everyemployeeofretailoutletsJohnLewisandWaitroseownashareinthecompany.Theresultishappierstaffthatworksharder.Youcanboostbuy-inandemployeeinvestmentinyourproductandbrandbyadoptingasimilarprofit-sharingmodel. 4.TimeYourLaunchRight Soyourproductisreadyforlaunch…shouldyoubitethebulletandintroduceittothemarketrightaway? Whileeveryproductandcaseisdifferent,probablynot. Timingcanmakethedifferencebetweensuccessandfailurewhenitcomestointroducinganewproduct. Istheproductseasonal?Launchwheninterestwillbeatitshighest. What’syourpromotionalbudgetlike?Isthereenoughcashinthebanktosufficientlysupportthelaunchandgettheproductofftheground? Ifyou’veoverspentatthedevelopmentstageandareconsequentlyshortoncash,considerraisingfundsbeforegoingtomarket.There’sverylittlepointinlaunchingifyoulackthebudgettopromoteyourproductproperly. Andlastbutnotleast,areyouinapositiontomeetdemandshoulditbehigherthanexpected?Failuretofulfillordersisfarfromthemostcommonreasonanewproductfallsflat,butitcananddoeshappen. Don’tmakethemistakeMosquitoMagnetmadebyfailingtoplanfordemand.Thecompanywasforcedtomakeamovetoamass-productionplantinChina,whichwasfollowedbyadropinquality.Asaresult,thecompany,whichwaspreviouslygenerating$70millioninrevenueayear,wassoldforjust$6million.Theproductisstillmakingmoneytoday,butnotforthepeoplewhofoundedit. Beforelaunching,createacontingencyplanthatwillallowyoutomeetdemandshouldyoufindyourselfinthecould-be-a-disaster-but-doesn’t-have-to-bescenarioofinterestinyourproductfarexceedingexpectations. 5.DiversifyYourMarketingStrategy Thesecondyourproducthitsthemarket,youneedtobegettinginfrontofasmuchofyourtargetaudienceasyoucan.Thismeansdevisingastrategythatensuresyourproductisseeninasmany(relevant)placesaspossible. ThiswillprobablymeanpostingtoProductHunt. Itmightmeanworkingwithaninfluencerwhosharesyourtargetaudience. Itcouldentailsponsoringorsecuringaboothatanindustryevent. Itwillalmostdefinitelymeaninvestingindigitaladvertising,whetherthat’sonGoogle,socialmedia,orevenalesser-usedsearchenginelikeBing. Dependingontheproduct,youmightevenwanttohitthestreetsandhandoutflyersorfreesamples. Howeveryoudecidetogetyourproductinfrontofthepeoplewhowillpotentiallybuyit,planningproperlyiskey.Youneedtodecideexactlywhatyou’regoingtodoandwhen,andworkoutallyourcosts,beforeyoulaunch. Doyouknowofanyotherbestpracticesthatyou’dsuggestfollowingwhenintroducinganewproducttomarket?It’dbegreatifyoucouldsharetheminthecommentsbelow: 0Comments WrittenBy SujanPatel Sujanistheauthorof100DaysofGrowth,agrowthhackingbookthatsoldover40,000copiesandtheco-founderofGrowthmarketingagency,WebProfits.Inhis13yearsinmarketinghe’sledthedigitalmarketingstrategyforcompanieslikeSalesForce,Mint,IntuitandmanyotherFortune500calibercompanies.Sujan’sgoalistohelpentrepreneursandmarketersscaletheirbusinesses. Tags MarketingproductdevelopmentProductmarketing Comments LeaveaComment Cancelreply Message*Name* Email* Website* RecentPosts 5DaySprinttoStartYourProject 6ElementsofaSuccessfulProductMarketingPlan TheUltimateProductLaunchStrategyChecklist InternalTeamFeedback-HowSales&CustomerServiceInfluenceaBetterProduct 5TipstoBeingaSuccessfulProductMarketerin2018 Categories Marketing ProductMarketing SocialMedia Uncategorized