8 Steps to Launching your first product - PART1
Looking to launch a product can be challenging. In the first blog of a three-part series, we’ll run through the key information you need.
Launching the first product is one of the most exciting times for any business owner. It’s the reason you got started in the first place, but before you press ‘go’ here are a few considerations that could make the difference between success or failure.
According to Harvard Business Review, 95% of newly launched products miss their mark. More than 30,000 new businesses come online each year, and the vast majority will not be a complete success. Not even the likes of Google, Microsoft, or Coca-Cola are immune (remember the new Coke?).
Failure can be caused by anything from poor planning to weak marketing, so in this three-part series, we’ll give you a few pointers about what you should bear in mind to make sure your first product launch is the raging success you always dreamed of.
1 – Market research and identifying your target audience
For any product to succeed, it needs people who are going to buy it. As such market research and audience targeting are crucial. History is littered with great products that either didn’t have a clear market or were aimed at the wrong people.
To do this, you need to put yourself in the customers’ shoes and think about their wants, needs, and aspirations. It’s about much more than asking people what they want. It’s about understanding what they need. No customer surveys would have told Steve Jobs people wanted the iPad. We had no concept of it at the time. Instead, he spotted a need and developed a brand-new product that met it.
A good exercise revolves around the four P’s of price, placement, positioning, and product. Together with the idea of company, customer, and competition (the three C’s) you’ll be off to a great start. Begin by gathering data on your target market such as audience demographics, buying history, trends, and behaviors. Get an idea of the competition so you can see what you’re up against and if your product has space.
AI tools such as Get Why can produce valuable insights to power your marketing efforts. Technology such as this makes this process faster, more efficient, and more effective than ever.
Once that’s done, think about what your audience wants. Organize surveys and carry out focus groups and one-to-one interviews to gauge what people are thinking. Free survey tools such as SurveyMonkey help you quickly develop and send survey tools out to your audiences. This information can help you refine your approach and may often come up with surprising results. It’s amazing how often people make assumptions about their audiences. This data gives you clear, objective insights that can point you in the right direction.
Competitor analysis is also important. If there are too many in this space, then there might not be room for you. Alternatively, if there are none, it might be an indication that your product is either groundbreaking or there’s no real demand for it.
Analyzing your competitors is a great way to benchmark your efforts. You can see what they are doing, what they are not, and how you can improve. You can learn from best practices while also seeing what strategies have succeeded and what failed.
This is a perfect way to set you apart and give you a point of difference. If you replicate what competitors are doing, your audience will stick with what they know rather than try something new. Give people a real reason to change tack.
2 - Creating a compelling product and value proposition
Once you know who your target audience is and what they want, you need to give them something they want to buy. For that, you need a truly exciting product that addresses their pain points and stands apart from the competition.
The first point of the call is your unique selling point. What do you and your product offer that nobody else can? According to a HubSpot report, companies with a strong USP were 53% more likely to be considered market leaders.
Think about these questions:
What makes your product special?
What does it do that others can’t?
Does it solve a particular problem?
Why is it relevant for your target audience?
Communication is vital. Keep messaging, clear, precise, and to the point.
3 - Developing a marketing and launch plan
Communication is only half the story. It’s no good to make bold promises if you can’t follow through. Establishing a USP sets expectations with new customers and if you can’t meet them, they won’t follow through.
Before you go to market, you need to be certain about the strength and value of your product and for that, you need product testing. A recent survey from Bowling Green State University suggests that good product testing is more likely to lead to favorable customer reviews.
Testing can happen in-house but for a much better sample size, it can be worth getting it tested directly by customers. Try using marketing surveys or offering user testing with free products to gather feedback. Not only can this guide improve your product, but it can also generate buzz around your launch.
Good packaging also helps your product pass the eye test. This reassures people that your product is high quality and premium. You need something that is functional and protects your product, but also something that reinforces your brand identity. Data from the International Journal of Consumer Studies found that good packaging increased neural activity in those parts of the brain that are linked to impulse behavior and rewards.
As with anything in life, planning can be critical.
Define goals: Set out what you want your marketing campaign to achieve. For example, do you hope this will lead to a certain increase in revenue or sales?
Set targets: Establish clear, and achievable metrics on which you’ll judge success. For example, are you only interested in sales, or are you looking to raise brand awareness?
Develop your strategy: Build a clear strategy that can help you meet those goals. Think about what tactics you might employ such as search engine optimization, pay-for-click, social media, or traditional advertising.
There are many ways to reach your target audience and the web is full of useful marketing tools such as:
CRMs: Platforms such as Salesforce help you keep track of all engagements with clients. It provides a real-time view of your customer relationship helping you deliver a more effective and personalized service.
Email marketing: Platforms such as MailChimp help you develop professional and effective email campaigns sent out to a predefined list of contacts.
Social media aggregators: Tools such as Zoho help you post and view activity across all social media channels.
A good timeline helps you establish goals and milestones leading up to the main launch. He helps you put all the building blocks in place to generate buzz and make sure your product is in front of your target audience by the time it hits the market.
Traditional offline activities such as hosting launch events, going to major trade events, or building marketing agreements with local businesses are all great ways to build awareness and create momentum in your brand. These can be time-consuming and expensive and a badly run event can torpedo your reputation before your product has even hit the shelves.
Online marketing such as brand videos, great web content, emails, customer testimonials, and podcasts can extend your reach even further. These can be expensive, but they can be worth it.
Most importantly, launching a product is an iterative process. You are introducing yourself to the market, generating awareness and building trust. You may see yourself as a future brand leader at the start but every product–even those from well-known brands–has to earn that status.
One option can be to give people a perception of getting a good deal. For example, you might try to start low and incrementally build your price. However, it’s important to make sure customers don’t associate your brand with that low price. If they do, they will not be willing to pay more. A study by William Poundstone, “Priceless: The Hidden Psychology of Price” suggests people are more likely to pay $25 for an item valued at $50 than for the same item that is normally $25. Another study by Dan Ariely, “Predictably Irrational” explores how people perceive value and make buying decisions.
For example, you could start with a discount signaling that this product is normally at $50 but until a certain time customers can get it at half price.
One thing to remember–a successful product launch doesn’t just depend on the launch day. It’s about everything leading up to it and what happens beyond. Get that timeline right and you’ll be well on your way to success.
About the Author
Jeff Jarchow i s a passionate marketing leader with expertise in guiding evolving, growing, or transitioning companies to strategically align their planning, people, and processes for optimal growth and opportunity capture. Jeff empowers collaboration to seize opportunities in dynamic marketplaces and maximize resource utilization. His leadership style fosters innovation, propelling brand and product portfolio growth through visionary strategies and effective utilization of creative resources. Jeff is based in Denver, CO.
About Brian Timothy and Associates LLC
Brian Timothy and Associates, provides medium sized businesses with fractional expertise to help them grow and improve. Using our expert consultancy, we’ll bring focus, experience and proven results to help take you onto the next better. Unlike other companies we are transparent and follow through on our promises. We don’t bill endlessly. We don’t pass the baton and we won’t be opaque in our pricing. You’ll see clearly what you get and what you pay for.
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