Launch a new product easily: The no-fuss 6-step way

It’s one thing to have a mind-blowing product, but do you have a plan to get a product into the market? Many start-ups get sucked into the trap of focusing on the ‘fun and creative stuff’ when they launch a new product. The reality is, start-ups with this mentality don’t make it past the three-year mark. The key to success is a top down business approach.

A top down approach is the strategy of visualising the end goal for a product and working backwards. During my four year journey building my business Giselle&I and launching the product Soothe Me Baby tea, I met numerous businesses with perfectly created products. Similarly, in this time, I also saw the fall of many of these products because of simple mistakes. Businesses commonly partner with the wrong suppliers and manufacturers, forget to patent names and ideas and don’t have approval from the appropriate licensing bodies when they launch a new product.

The no-fuss 6-step way to launch a new product

My simple six step top down strategy check list to launch a new product alleviates the risk of wasting time, energy and money when launching a product. Here are my tips on how to implement a top down approach.

1. Think of where you would like to see your product

This is where you envisage your target market buying, consuming or using the product. For example, if you visualise your product being sold in pharmacies and selected health food stores, think of what your product needs to be able to be sold in these locations when you launch a new product.

2 Research licences and qualifications before you launch a new product

All products have specific guidelines, safety checks and standards that need to be met. Research into what licensing bodies you need to go through in order to have your product approved. Ensure you know the product inside and out and understand the requirements of the licensing body in order to get the product approved. Only then are you ready to put forward your product.

3. Find a relevant industry manufacturer, wholesaler or contractor

Speak to numerous manufacturers and choose one that aligns with your product and your vision. Make sure they meet the safety and legal requirements needed to correctly produce your product. Ensure you only agree to terms and contracts that you are comfortable with.

4. Brand your product

Once you have established a relationship with your manufacture or supplier and they are contracted to work on your product, it is time to think of a name for you to launch a new product that makes an impact. Come up with an original name that makes your product stand out and captures the essence of the product. Check what names are already taken to avoid disappointment later on.

5. Trademark and patent your idea, product and name

As soon as you have an established product idea and name, trademark and patent it straight away. This includes patenting any innovative methods, formulas or procedures that could be easily copied by a competitor. Remember to also file your ABN number.

6. Design is key to launch a new product

Once you have completed all the previous steps, only then are you ready to get into the fun, creative stuff. Think of your product design, packaging, price, logo, flyers, business cards and banners. Don’t forget to target your marketing and creative designs to your target market.

When the product is ready to go and the manufacturing processes are in place, you are ready to engage consumers. Create brand awareness and networks by attending exhibitions, engage your target market through traditional and social media channels and always ask for feedback. This exposure can lead to distribution deals, direct consumer sales and supplier contracts.

Process to launch a new product

Success to launch a new product depends on the one hand on how well the product definition and corresponding product development succeed. On the other hand, it depends on how well the market launch process is organized and rigorously processed.

In many companies, the process of product development is now well structured and documented. The actual product launch process, on the other hand, is often not given equal consideration. It takes revenge if neither the organization nor the market were prepared well and in good time for the introduction. Then documents or approvals are missing when the product is launched, sales are not trained or production cannot meet delivery times.

1. Put together a team to launch a new product

First, the team is put together for the market launch. As a team leader, you need a responsible person who controls the product launch process so that the process runs in a coordinated and structured manner.

Ideally, a project is set up here, which is led, for example, by the responsible product manager and in which representatives of all departments important for the market launch are involved. These will primarily be sales, marketing communication, the service department and, if necessary, production and purchasing.

2. Develop a market launch concept

The next step to launch a new product is the joint development of a market launch concept. In the best case, the conceptual thoughts for the introduction of the product have already been put on paper in the product conception phase. Then they just have to be updated in the team and structured in terms of time.

A market launch concept describes exactly which strategic focus should be selected in the market launch. Here it is determined whether, for example, certain priority target groups should be addressed first, whether the international rollout takes place successively or simultaneously, which pricing policy or which communication measures are expedient for the introductory phase.

The following questions should be answered in a market launch concept:

• When is the right time to launch?
• Which target groups should be addressed in the market introduction phase? Define priority target groups (for example, industries) for the market launch so that sales have a sense of achievement with the new product as quickly as possible.
• Who are the innovators or early adopters who should be particularly wooed as part of the market launch?
• What is the particular benefit of the product for the target groups?
• How should the target customers perceive the product (product positioning)?
• Where does the product fill a gap in the range?
• How does it differentiate itself from the competitive products?
• To what extent should marketing activities be carried out in advance of product availability (external launch)?
• What information should be made known when and how in the company about the new product (internal launch)?
• In which regional markets should the new product be launched in which order?
• What obstacles can stand in the way of the diffusion of the product?
• How should the marketing instruments (product, service, price, distribution, communication) be designed specifically for this phase?
• What indicators should be used to measure the success of the new product?

3. Create a go-to-market plan to launch a new product

The specific measures for the market launch are derived from this market launch concept. These measures, such as the implementation of training courses, are presented in the next step in a project plan – the market launch plan. Here, all individual measures, calculated back from the time of the planned market launch, are presented in a chronologically coordinated manner. The measures should be scheduled and agreed with the responsible specialist departments and implemented and controlled using this joint project plan.

Depending on the degree of novelty of the product, the lead time for building up certain know-how, for example in service or sales, can take a relatively long time. It also sometimes takes a long time until certain documents and permits are available for individual countries. That is why it is not possible to start early enough to plan and schedule the market launch in all individual steps in a team.

4. Prepare sales for the new product

Only an enthusiastic sales team will be able to inspire your target groups. First and foremost, sales need security and trust that the new product will keep what it promises and that there will be no subsequent problems for the customers. As the first internal customer, the sales department should understand where the new product closes a gap in the existing portfolio or which trend and which needs of the target groups are covered with this product.

The sales department needs documents and background knowledge in order to be able to tailor the benefit arguments specifically to the target groups and their processes. This is especially true if the product was designed for new target groups. Even with products that achieve their unique position through additional services, it is important to give sales security with regard to the argumentation. You can use the following steps to instill confidence and security in sales.

Put together a launch package

Put together a launch package for sales that summarizes all important information about the new product, such as benefit arguments, price lists, reference lists, competitor comparisons or customer presentations. Ideally, you should make this information available on the Share-Point so that the sales department can access it at any time and download the relevant presentations for the respective target groups.

Support with tools

Wherever possible, you support sales with tools that facilitate the argumentation of cost savings or cost comparisons with existing solutions directly at the customer. This can be, for example, Excel tables for calculating the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) or potential savings in process optimization.

Use a sales app

A sales app can be a practical and useful support for sales, in which all information about the products is clearly presented and therefore quickly accessible.

Offer training

Create entertaining and inspiring training courses. Do not give PowerPoint monologues or fire a “feature avalanche”. Let the sales force play with the products, give them the opportunity to ask questions and design the training with as many activating elements as possible. In the end, sales should know the three to five most important benefit arguments and the most suitable target groups.

Put together success stories

Put together reference projects and success stories for sales. Nothing is more motivating than seeing that the new product works and is being used successfully by the customer.

Accompany sales during customer visits

Plan the support of the sales department during customer visits in the first few months in your schedule.

Create short videos about the new product

For the international branches and agencies, short, simply designed videos about the new product and its handling can transport the most important information even to distant regions.

Create FAQ list

Create an FAQ list for all newly emerging questions after the introduction that you regularly send to sales and trading partners. That creates security and trust.

5. Build up knowledge to launch a new product in the market

The newer the product, the higher the investment in building knowledge about your product and its uses. And the longer it takes for the target groups to reduce the skepticism and insecurity that may exist about the new product. A systematically developed communication concept can be of great service here. In your communication measures, also remember to communicate about your product internally in the company at a timed level. The following key questions help to develop a communication concept:

• What goals do you want to achieve with your communication measures on the market?
• What knowledge do you want to build up in the various target groups and markets?
• What exactly should be communicated with whom?
• How can uncertainty among the target groups be reduced?
• Does an advance notice for your new product make sense (depending on the duration of the customer’s decision-making process)?
• Are there opinion leaders in the individual target groups and regions? Can you use these opinion leaders in your communication?
• Which new media can you use for customer communication (e.g. YouTube videos or an app)?

6. Check the success of the measures to launch a new product

The last important success factor is not to let up in energy after it has been launched on the market. Depending on the product and the duration of the customer’s purchase decision process, it can take up to two years before the first sales for the new product can be measured. During this time, the product manager responsible should have early indicators at his disposal, such as agreed sales visits to his new product, in order to be able to monitor whether the introduction is going as planned. If this is not the case, he should investigate the causes and take appropriate action. This requires regular feedback from back office and field staff as well as from the communications department. Only when the product is well established on the market is the product launch a real success.

Conclusion

The top down business approach to launch a new productleaves little room for error. It is not the only way to do business, but it most certainly worked in my favour and I hope it works in yours.