| New
Product Launch
Planning
A new product has
been conceived, researched, tested in
prototype and made it through all the
hurdles of the process. The time has come
to launch it in the marketplace. What
happens now?
According to TEC
new product development experts Mitch
Goozé and Nick Webb,
the seeds for the launch phase should
be sown back at the very beginning.
"In the most
successful ventures, planning for the
new product launch starts along with preliminary
design and development," Goozé
says. "Positioning, sales channels
and distribution, advertising and public
relations all need to be addressed and
should be given as much time and energy
as the development and design stage. Synchronizing
marketing activities with product development
is critical for success."
Among the key components
included in a strong product launch plan:
- Clearly defined
sales objectives
- Assured sales
channel readiness
- Promotional
functions in place (public relations/marketing/advertising)
- Resources
to track, monitor and account for execution
"Launch projects
often fail because companies don't manufacture
adequate quantities of the new product
and make them available to prospective
customers," Webb says. He suggests
creating a launch team with responsibility
for, among other things, ensuring that
all levels of the company are prepared
to handle demand for the product and to
train staff in its use for customer support.
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Positioning
"Positioning
is not about features and specifications,"
says Goozé. "It's the core
message that differentiates your product
from everything else in the marketplace.
A unique product identity strengthens
the market's perception of your product
and in turn reinforces your company's
overall positioning."
To make sure everyone
is working toward the same goal, certain
milestones should be established:
- Have we identified
all necessary launch channels?
- What number
of new products do we plan to sell by
a specific date?
- When will
the product be ready to launch at a
national trade convention?
- Are sufficient
stocking orders placed with key distributors?
- How can we
grow the product into a 5-10 percent
market entrenchment by a specified date?
"Break down
every conceivable launch component,"
Webb says. "Identify customer databases
where appropriate. Send new product samples
to industry and trade publication reviewers.
Do everything necessary to create a strong,
functioning life-support system for that
product."
Planning for these
activities should be as simple as possible,
he adds. "We're not talking about
writing a 50-page launch overview document.
These tasks should facilitate the most
favorable deployment of the new product
-- that's all."
Approaching the customer
with the new product can be the most delicate
situation of all, which is why "having
your ducks in a row" is so important.
If existing customers encounter design
flaws in the new product, they may forgive
and forget (particularly if their relationship
with the company is strong enough), but
it's unlikely new customers will feel
the same way. Also, the new product may
not be the right "fit" with
all of your current customers. Preparedness
reduces the risk that the company's credibility
may be damaged by missteps at launch time.
"In order to
establish the new product's identity in
the marketplace, the core message must
be repeated over and over again,"
Goozé notes. This requires consistent
positioning within all of the company's
marketing communications, including:
- New and current
product literature
- Press releases
- Product specifications
- Sales presentations
- Internal communications
Goozé draws
a distinction between advertising and
public relations. Public relations presents
the new product as "news" which,
he says, "is viewed as impartial
and more reliable than advertising --
even if the news is only a company press
release printed verbatim."
Advertising, on the
other hand, is aimed at presenting the
product (specifically, its features and
benefits) in the best possible light.
"These promotional
tools are most effective when used in
tandem. The goal is having each activity
reinforce each other to influence the
market and your customers."
Beyond issuing press
releases, look for unique angles to interest
industry opinion leaders, or try placing
stories about how the new product benefits
customers in trade publications. "Exposure
to your product via both advertisements
and public relations generates greater
mindshare and higher perception in the
marketplace," Goozé says.
"Success breeds success."
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Execution
How will the new
product reach customers? Are your established
sales channels (sales force, distributors,
dealers, etc.) up to the new challenge?
"When introducing
a new product, you need to step back and
assess its fit with existing channels,"
Goozé says. For example, if the
new product is a features-reduced version
of an existing product that is being targeted
to a mass market, there are some questions
you should ask:
- Do our existing
distributors serve mass marketing retail
outlets?
- Does our current
pricing schedule take factors like mass
market competition into consideration?
- If we lower
our price, how much can we afford to
spend on the sale of each unit at this
lower price?
- Can we reach
this market with our current sales force?
"Determining
your pricing strategy and reviewing your
sales channels should be happening while
the product is being positioned, as these
factors will have a definite impact on
the positioning message." Goozé
says.
In situations where
one company partners with another to introduce
a new product, Webb advises strict due
diligence before the execution
phase -- thus ensuring that each partner
is fully committed to the process and
has the necessary financial resources
and familiarity with the marketplace.
"Whatever the
circumstances, have clear-cut performance
objectives in place and be ready to measure
them carefully," he adds. "Use
the launch team to track progress and
make it responsible for communicating
results to senior management."
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Additional
Resources
Below are links to
more best practices as defined by our
expert panel:
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