Ensure a successful product launching

In every business venture, getting ahead of the pack is the golden rule in attaining a substantial market share which is crucial to any organization in order to be profitable. To be ahead in the market space, Product development and innovations must be quick. However, no matter how good a product is, it is how fast it reaches the customer and how receptive they are to the product, is what defines the company’s value. This study delves into the product launch strategies that successfully captured a big slice of the pie

Introduction

When I do my groceries I am always drawn towards my favourite shop and once I am there, I automatically grab the stuff that I usually do- without a fuss, after all it is the same brand since I could remember. And I would see other people do the same. It makes me wonder why? Why are some products, brands or companies ahead of the game? Then I explored…

What makes a business, successful?

For any businessman the straight forward answer would be- It is in the ability of the organization to maintain profitability over time or maintain its operation in the case of non-profit organization. Longevity equates to successful business.

Which now brings us to the question, how to perpetuate in a very competitive world?

The answer lies in the organization’s ability to re-invent itself or innovate. There are two levels of innovation- one is the Major innovation like iPhones, iPods and Goggle, the other is Micro-innovation such as integration of current technologies, improving speed and capacities. But whatever that is, at the end of the day, it doesn’t really matter what you are building. All that matters is whether you can present it in such a way that people want to beat down your door to use it. The biggest mistake you can make is to think that your product will sell itself. You sell your product. It was Steve Jobs, not the iPhone that set the world on fire — remember that.

Developing new products or service is the way to :

1.  Maintain competitive advantage
2. Maintain and increase Market Share
3.  Bring in New customers
4. Fill a gap in the Market
5. Replace declining products
6. Take advantage of New Technology

Although much work must be done to develop a product, Product launching is as much a critical step in order to turn the product into profit. An effective product launch can make a huge impact on whether a product succeeds or fails in the marketplace. Time- to- market and time- to- profit are the key benefits of a successful product launching.

Since product launch is a segment of marketing strategy, we shall look into literatures on marketing and sales as a whole.

Literature Study

In today’s world, people are always looking for faster, bigger, more features and applications in products that we seek to support a more demanding world, thus innovations and changes happen at a rate of a speeding bullet, where product obsolescence is getting faster than we could have imagined. However, many new products/ innovations never fly off the shelves, sometime never been heard of that it fails to become of use to humanity and more sadly those companies who spent money, brain power, and effort to create a wonderful product just recoil into bankruptcy or anonymity.  Coupled with stiff competition, it is really hard to emerge above the rest. To compete by pricing alone, would mean to sacrifice profitability which is not what any corporation envisioned of. This is why a good product launch is inevitable.

Product launching is only a portion of a bigger concept which is marketing strategy. Marketing strategy is a method of focusing an organizations energies and resources on a course of action which can lead to an increased sales and dominance of a targeted market niche. In marketing strategy target market segments are identified, customer and prospects and Customer Engagements (CE) are defined and even research on competitors in the same space are conducted.

In Product launching, long gone are the days when announcing a new product was simply a matter of putting together a news release, sending it off over the wire and counting on major news outlets to spread the word. Today, because consumers are able to get information from a variety of sources and platforms, a successful product launch requires an integrated approach; one that includes traditional, social and online marketing tools.

When to start?

Product launch must be started early on. When products are already running in the line and being packaged, that is too late to start a product launch.  In order to orchestrate a smooth product launch it must be started while the product is being developed.

The key elements prior to product launching are:

1.   Branding, logos and trademark checks- Choose a good name for your product that is unique and memorable
2.  Design of the packaging- Design a unique packaging, making sure to keep it consistent with the other products your business offers
3. Sales objectives and Distribution means
4. Pricing- introductory price offers
5. Customer Service- Technical manuals and necessary trainings.
6. Marketing- campaign and sales pieces, write a number of short descriptions that could be used in marketing materials such as brochures or flyers
7. Advertising- if needed, establish a budget and design the ads.
8. Web, social media and PR- create a press plan add product details in the web and consider social media fit.

Therefore comprehensive planning and market study should be done in order to achieve a successful launch. In-line of all these, functional departments should understand their responsibilities and be committed to provide the necessary resources for the launch activities. Like any other projects a Product Launch Leader is essential in overseeing and managing the activities.

Create a ‘Buzz”

According to Jeff Walker, author of the Product Launch Formula and Jeff Pezzella, founder of the Product Launch Manager, a successful product launch is when it is turned into an event. Like Christmas or any holiday, people look forward to that event.  Before the actual product launch, is the process of building up the anticipation, making people excited and creating a maximum “buzz”. 

Jeff Walker advices in his Product Launch Formula 3:

“There are different approaches which can be used for creating a buzz. One is to trigger their interest by mystery. This means giving them small hints and information about the product without really supplying all the details. Make them want more. It would be more like teasing the potential customers and the people in the internet marketing world. They will start with curiosity and end up buying your product.
This may entail putting ‘coming soon’ in your promotional websites. Or redirecting the sites to a page where there are only minimal details.
Another approach will be to make people talk about your product through forum posting. You will provide information about your background as an internet marketer or details regarding the past products which you have launched. The idea is to make them aware of your accomplishments and establish credibility. It would also help a lot if you could make them really familiar with you that once the product is launched, people would know that you are a reliable and trustworthy person instead of someone who is just out there for their money.”

Alexander Gordon says, “For a product to really succeed, you have to promote it heavily before launch. You need to generate attention and hype for your product before you're ready to send it out the door. Use your social networking accounts to start generating hype for your product weeks, or even months before it launches. Post updates on the progress of your new product on a regular basis, and encourage your audience to give feedback on the progress of the product. If you have a Youtube account, show some video footage of your new product in action. The more you can show off the product before its launch, the better.

If you're running an affiliate program for your business, reach out to your affiliates before your product launches, and make sure they know all about it. Give them any relevant marketing materials they might need to push your product, and make sure they know how to get a hold of you if they have any questions about your product. Having a good network of affiliates can help you to generate hype for your product prelaunch, so remember to keep them in the loop.”

An Affiliate Program is an advertising program offering a monetary incentive for webmasters to drive traffic to your website or for directing business to you.

Some practical tips by Daryl Bryant on how to create the ‘BUZZ’:

• Update your Website

Before launching your product online, you should update your existing website with information about your new product. This may be in the form of a news entry, a new sales page, or an additional section to your website. Updating your site before you launch will allow you to provide additional information to potential buyers on how to purchase your product. 

•  Submit a Press Release

Getting your message to media professionals, onto the desks of the journalists and to the top of news sites and search engines should be one of primary importance. Successfully submitting an online press release will do just this. A press release is a public relations announcement issued to the news media and other targeted publications to draw attention to a specific event or product launch.
If submitted and distributed correctly, your press release will find its way into some of the top news websites such as Google News and Yahoo News as well as inclusion to some of the major web portals such as Yahoo, AltaVista, AlltheWeb and more. The exposure you will receive by effectively submitting and online press release will be essential to the success of your product launch.”

Most big companies like APPLE, MOTOROLA, HP, employ this scheme of product launch.

Engage the Customer

Now, how do we get the customers in suspense and engaged until the product launch?  This where the Customer Engagement (CE) comes in. CE actually, aims at long-term customer relationship, encouraging customer loyalty and advocacy through word of mouth. CE stimulates or influence customer behaviour. There are two means of CE- the online and offline. Online customer engagement is qualitatively different as the offline engagement as the nature of the customer’s interaction with the brand or company differs on the internet. Discussion forums or blogs for example, are spaces where people can communicate and socialize in ways that cannot be replicated by an offline interactive medium. The concept and practice of online Customer Engagement enables organizations to respond to the fundamental changes in customer behaviour. Customers go through different stages in the online Customer Engagement cycle, these are:

•  Awareness
• Consideration
•  Inquiry
•  Purchase
•  Retention

While the offline CE has become less and less effective.  In August 2006, McKinsey &Co published a report which said that by 2010 traditional TV advertising will only be one-third as effective as it was in 1990. This is because of the following:

•  Customer audience are smaller and specialized: The fragmentation of media and audiences and the accompanying reduction of audience size have reduced the effectiveness of the traditional top-down, mass, ‘interrupt and repeat’ advertising model. The adoption of new media, Forrester Research’s North American Consumer Technology Adoption Study shows people in the 18-26 age group spending more time online than watching TV.
•  Customer audiences are also broadcaster:  A company’s position is no longer just inside the consumer’s mind. As they increasingly speak their minds with the power for circulation and permanence of Consumer Generated Media (CGM), businesses lose the power of shouting over everyone else. Instead of trying to position a product using a couple of static messages that will themselves become the subject of conversation amongst a target market that has already discussed, positioned and rated the product, companies must join in. This also means that consumers can now choose not only when and how but, also, if they will engage with marketing communications; they can rely on CGM. In addition new media themselves provide consumers with more control over their advertising consumption.

Customer Engagement is a holistic characterization of a consumer's behavior, encompassing a host of sub-aspects of behavior such as loyalty, satisfaction, involvement, Word of Mouth advertising, complaining and more.

1.     Satisfaction: Satisfaction is simply the foundation, and the minimum requirement, for a continuing relationship with customers. Engagement extends beyond mere satisfaction.

2.     Loyalty - Retention: Highly engaged consumers are more loyal. Increasing the engagement of target customers increases the rate of customer retention.

3.     Word of Mouth advertising - advocacy: Highly engaged customers are more likely to engage in free (for the company), credible (for their audience) Word of Mouth advertising. This can drive new customer acquisition and can have viral effects.

4.     Awareness - Effectiveness of communications: When customers are exposed to communication from a company that they are highly engaged with, they tend to actively elaborate on its central idea. This brings about high degrees of central processing and recall.

5.     Filtering: Consumers filter, categorize and rate the market from head to tail, creating multiple, overlapping folksonomies through tagging, reviewing, rating and recommending.

6.     Complaint-behavior: Highly engaged customers are less likely to complain to other current or potential customers, but will address the company directly instead.

7.     Marketing intelligence: Highly engaged customers can give valuable recommendations for improving quality of offering.

Promote the product

Once the customers are engaged, it is time to promote the product. In this day and age, there is not necessarily one communication medium that is better than another simply because the most effective medium is based on what type of product is being promoted. There is the physical form of product promotion and the digital form, both of which require clear and concise and textual information about the product being advertised. Since the turn of the 21^st century, many companies have been trying to utilize online social media for product promotion. Some of the most popular forms of online social media are Facebook, Twitter, and MySpace. Within an online social media network, companies have the ability to advertise and promote their products to anyone, at anytime, anywhere in the world. Because of the vast popularity of social media, companies have had great success on marketing products to the younger generation who otherwise might not have seen an ad in newspaper or on TV.

However, it is important to maintain continual presence in the social media by taking part in existing conversations in order to offer useful information, not just sales pitches. Online customers believe on those whom they think are like them only. So salesperson must be very specific and down to earth to win their confidence.

Outside of online product promotion, companies still try to use effective techniques of physical product promotion in stores or on the street. To attract customer attention, companies try to use bright, attractive displays depicting excitement, relaxation or happiness. The strategy behind promoting a product effectively is knowing who the target audience is and what appeals to them, thus the earlier customer engagement comes in handy.

Judging by its cover

Although there is a saying, “Do not judge a book by its cover” it is hard to apply the same principle with products (even with books). When we see a new product especially when we have no prior idea about it, we judge it by its packaging, the color, the shape, the convenience, durability and the disposability and then we decide to buy based on what we see. Therefore packaging contributes to the overall marketing strategy. It is not only meant to contain and protect the product but as well as setting it apart from the competition.

Pre-requisites

Before getting down into the details of product launching, the following requisites must be in place and/or in progress before the actual launch event.

1.  The product prototype has been successfully completed.

2.  Production readiness review has been conducted and any potential hiccups or gotchas are identified with a mitigation plan.

3.  Actual product samples are ready for the launch.

4.  Product performance has been evaluated through testing and qualification and the product meets its defined requirements.

5.  The product and the production process have been qualified or validated and all regulatory approvals and/or certifications have been obtained.

6.  All product design documentation has been completed and approved.

7.  Technical data sheets have been prepared.

8.  User documentation, operating manuals and maintenance instructions have been completed.

9.  Engineering personnel stand ready to address any issues that arise.

10.  Required manufacturing process documentation or outputs (e.g., work instructions, CNC programs, manning plans, etc. are complete.)

11.  Production processes have been proven using either pilot production lines or actual production lines.

12.  Production workers have been trained or training is planned to support initiation of production.

13.  The product and demand forecast data has been established in the enterprise resource planning (ERP) system and ERP is used to plan and manage the supply chain and production.

14.  All suppliers have been selected and qualified.

15.  Needed materials and parts are on-order or in stock.

16.  Adequate capacity and personnel exist to support planned production.

17.  The distribution pipeline is filled with the appropriate level of product.

18.  Market receptivity has been evaluated by key customer feedback, focus groups, test markets, or beta tests prior to launch.

19.  If the product is being used by beta customers, testimonials or case studies have been prepared.

20.  A promotion and advertising plan has been developed.

21.  Advertising copy has been developed and media contracts and arrangements have been made.

22.  Promotional materials and sales literature have been developed, ordered, and are ready to distribute.

23.  Sales and distribution channels have been identified and established.

24.  Sales personnel have been trained.

25.  Sales personnel have the needed sales literature, sales support material and product samples.

26.  Product pricing has been established and approved.

27.  Final packaging has been designed, approved and ordered.

28.  The sales forecast has been updated based on the latest forecast of market demand.

29.  The website has been updated.

30.  Press releases have been prepared and are ready to distribute.

31.  Industry analysts or other influential personnel have been briefed as planned.

32.  A product release and/or general availability has been announced.

33.  Necessary support resources are hired and in place.

34.  Service and support personnel have been trained or a phased training program is underway.

35.  Frequently asked questions (FAQ's) have been identified and responses prepared.

36.  Troubleshooting guides, installation guides, and service manuals have been prepared.

37.  Spare part requirements have been planned.

Jeff Walker formula

Product launch is divided into three phases:

Phase 1 - Pre-Launch Phase - Build a list of prospective buyers in your target audience. Create and tweak your sales process until it is rock solid, creating a buzz for the product which will promote awareness.


Phase 2 - Launch Phase - Launch day is when all your influential partners will help to promote your product. Put a limit or deadline on your promotional offer so that you increase sales.

Phase 3 - Post-Launch Phase - The first part of the post-launch is to create an educational follow-up series with additional bonuses to satisfy buyers and reduce refunds. The second part is to determine how to continue increasing sales so that your site does not stagnate.

Express your unique value proposition first thing. If your users have to hunt around for it, they won’t be your users for very long.

An integrated process of research, pricing, market needs and advertisement results in a successful product launch. Attention to some critical issues affecting the product introduction will pay handsome dividends.

Market Research:

It is very important to spend time on market research, because it's the key to a successful product creation. It provides critical information, direction and identifies the needs and expectations of the customer. The customer should be given what he needs rather than what we want to sell them. The product feature, pricing, distribution channels, and motivation to buy should be based on the findings of the market research.

Target Customer:

There are three types of buyers. First, is the Early Adopter. They are a small fraction of customers who purchase a product simply because it's new. They buy out of sheer curiosity. Second, are the Late Adopters. These types of customers pick up a product only at the mature or late stage of the products life cycle. They too represent a small segment of the market. Together they compromise of just 20% of the customers and are not worth pursuing. The third and most important buyer is the Middle Buyer. They purchase the product not because it's new, but because it's better than what is currently offered. They represent more than 80% of potential customers, and should be targeted diligently. This large segment of potential buyers must be convinced on how the product is better with all necessary resources at command.

The Right Product:

Doing an extensive market research will help to determine why a customer would want a certain brand over a competitor’s product. It will also uncover those unmet needs of the customer that gives the company the opportunity to address them.

The Right Timing:

After extensive market research on market needs and manufacturing, the product must be introduced  at the right time. The promotion schedule and period of the rollout is very critical. The product should be ready for sale simultaneously. Product lags in manufacture will result in low sales and loss of credibility.

Test Marketing:

Test the new product with the features required by customers. Check the price and comfort level of subsidiary sales organizations like distributors, promoters, etc., for the right message to customers.

Distribution:

There are significant up-front selling costs in introducing new products. Good sales potential of the product assures distribution channel of profitable recovery on their investment.

Training:

Train the first line of employees or sales people effectively before the product launch as they face the potential customers.

Promotion:

A well-timed promotion program to include, advertising, seminars, trade shows, samples and literature will help in marketing the product successfully.

Making the sales letter

A sales letter is a piece of direct mail which is designed to persuade the reader to purchase a particular product or service in the absence of a salesman. It has been defined as "A form of direct mail in which an advertiser sends a letter to a potential customer." It is distinct from other direct mail techniques, such as the distribution of leaflets and catalogues, as the sales letter typically sells a single product or product line, and further tends to be mainly textual as opposed to graphics-based.  Since the advent of internet, sales letters are sent through email. Email marketing campaigns are proven to be more effective and less expensive than printed direct mail campaigns because the reader can easily click on a link and go straight to your website.

.....Good Luck.....