Existing companies often introduce new products to the market. There is a “How?” involved in doing so successfully. In an article written by Laura Patterson and published on Industry Week, she gives us some insight into how to bring new products to the market successfully.
First off, she posits that new products have a poor success rate, with only about one fifth surviving beyond the first year. This is compounded by the fact that launching a new product is a very expensive affair. As a result, massive losses are incurred as up to 95% of new products introduced to the market each year fails. Based on this scenario, the skill involved in launching a new product is a very important one. You must have a strategy for a successful launch.
As part of your launch strategy, you must first develop a competitive product that meets a need and offers a solution to your customers and you must be able to build a “believable and ownable position in the market.” From there, you invest in a launch strategy and plan. Some considerations that will help you to formulate your approach to a launch strategy include the importance of the product to your business, your customers, and your market; how your product differs from and is superior to your competitor’s product; what constitutes success for the product and the time frame in which that success will be achieved; and how you will measure the success of the launch.
The main aim of a product launch is to make sales. A launch that is done well should improve the rate of sales and the success of the launch should be measured by the rate at which the product is adopted as well as the rate at which enquiries are made and quotes given. Measures of success should be separate for the product and for the launch as these are considered as two separate undertakings. Consider also that individual products call for different kinds of launches. The kind of launch undertaken will be decided based on the reason you created the product and the role the product plays in your business. One product launch may be worthy of more effort than another.
eCornell’s Marketing Strategy program is a great place to start on your journey to successful product launches.