The launch of a new product is a critical point for the success of small businesses. If the launch is successful, you have secured new income and a path to new markets which help your business grow. To successfully launch a product on the market, we need to identify success factors and create a detailed plan. You can sell absolutely anything, provided you know how to target the right target group and convince them that your product is exactly what they need.
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You can sell anything
You Need a Plan
Bringing a product to market is a team effort. Designers are responsible for user experience, but the success of products on the market is due to a number of other factors. Suppose that two very similar products are launched on the market at about the same time. What contributes to one of them experiencing a real boom, and the other staying in the shadows while being unsuccessful?
A plan.
Poor planning is one of the main causes of new product failure.
Who is your target market – who will buy your product
Tell your story – find a problem then solve it
Research your market, your competition, the buying habits in your industry, where do they buy the product from, what advertising prompts them to buy
Who is your target market?
Narrow your demographic, who will buy your product? If your product exists today then look at who their demographic is. If it’s a brand-new idea then ask your friends and family what they think.
- What will the product be used for
- What problems does it solve
- Who has these problems the most
Tell a story about your product
Nobody wants your product, no one really wants any product, consumers want a solution to their problem, to satisfy their needs, it’s not about you, it’s about them.
Imagine selling a fine silk women’s blouse, a woman wants to experience glamor, she wants to feel special, refined and modern. Offer her a luxury experience and you will have a loyal customer.
If you only talk about the features and benefits of your product, you will miss out on great opportunities, you are selling on emotion, the story, not the product.
Market research
To be successful, your product must meet the needs of your customer.
Will a product be attractive to the market, in which direction are the needs of the customer developing, is it a me-too product following the coattails of another successful product, or the first of its kind.
Your product must offer a solution to a wide range of consumers problems.
Your product may offer technical characteristics and performance levels that are superior to any other similar product on the market, but if this performance is not important to the customer, you will encounter poor response.
Carefully research the market to gain insight into the needs of consumers and their priorities. Interact with potential consumers to adjust your plans.
Product quality
Quality and differentiation are vital as the strongest determinant of product success; according to this Criterion, products that are in the top 20 have a success rating of as much as 98%. Those from the rear pass with a success rate of 18.4%.
The Criterion for determining is relatively simple.
- Does the product provide unique content that has no competition?
- Does the product meet customer need better than competing products?
- Is the product of better quality than similar products on the market?
- Does the product solve the problem the customer had before with a similar product?
- Does the product reduce costs for the customer?
- Is this the first product of its kind on the market?
Online presence
Online positioning is very important.
87% of today’s customers use electronic search before deciding to buy, while 77% shop online.
71% of consumers who have had a good experience with a product will recommend it to others via social media.
72% of e-commerce takes place from mobile devices.
There are numerous online channels, determine first what your competition is doing, consider the type of product, the target market of your competition for the specific product, what online tools do they use?
Digital marketing is changing fast, following technical innovations and changes in the behaviour of online users.
For instance, if your product is for the older generations, your competition likely uses Facebook, you must also use Facebook. If your target is young then consider social media TikTok for your social media focus. Gary V has been a big promoter for TikToK, he claims that it’s best to focus on one, or two and do really well on those platforms. He argues that being on all social media isn’t going to help you if you aren’t going to do a fantastic job on all of them. You can do better on one, or two with full focus.
Your website must be the central place where your product is advertised, social media must lead users to your website. The product does not necessarily have to be sold online, but it must be constantly visible and easily accessible to the consumer.
Motivation
The commitment of your sales team is a key success factor in launching a new product. Sales representatives must have the motivation and product knowledge to sell a new product with confidence. Careful selection of sales team members, good training including product knowledge and plenty of market opportunities will ensure efficient sales. Align marketing and sales to complement each other with collaboration on valuable insights each side learns, results will motivate them to work as one unit.
Gaining market
Gaining market share is a critical factor for the success of a new product. You need to quickly win over customers at the very start of the campaign.
Strategic Marketing relies on various tools
Consumer psychology is one of the key foundations of product launch. Highlight the benefits of your product in an elegant, natural and unobtrusive way.
- Be 100% honest
- Use humour
- No tricks and manipulation
- Communicate with the customers
- Don’t fall into the trap of competing with the competition.
You may not have millions to invest in the campaign. It is, after all, the privilege of big, successful brands. But you can use these principles and techniques to create a winning campaign that will be similar to expensive campaigns.
Find examples of the best marketing campaigns and research the biggest failures.
Distribution
Another critical point for the success of a product is its availability. If you sell a product through distributors and retailers, you must always make sure that they have enough stock to meet demand at all times. Make a strong relationship with distributors, keep them well informed about your new product, introduce them to the details of your strategy.
Offer merchants incentives and promotional material to use during the promotional campaign.
Finally, the success of a product is a plan for the long term, it is possible to manipulate the customer, to hype them up, you can have great sales, but it will be short lived. They will buy a product only once and never again, they won’t share it with friends and family. This is certainly not your intention because it is not worth the effort or resources to burn out prematurely. Maintain a strategy and change things up till you find the right system, then replicate it with the same level of excellence. Subscribe for more business, sales and investing posts.
