Challenges that threaten successful product launch
The Marketing Research Association states that only 40% of developed products actually make it to market. Of those, only 60% generate positive revenue. As an established brand, you may have already experienced a failed product launch. You can certainly learn from your mistakes and take the proper steps to mitigate potential risks with future product launches. But first, you must understand the common challenges most product launches face.
Timing
Timing is a critical factor. You cannot rush a product launch before everything is ready, nor can you wait too long and miss out on a marketing opportunity. That’s why you need to start preparing for your product launch many months in advance, using consumer data, surveys, analytics, and other forms of testing.
Customer preferences will also dictate the perfect timing for your product launch. Launching a product that perfectly coincides with a time the market desires it most will greatly improve the chances of success.
At the same time, you want to ensure that the quality of the product has not suffered just so you could release it at a certain time. Additionally, marketing and advertising must align with your target go-to-market date.
And lastly, what are your competitors doing? Are they releasing a product similar to yours? That could also affect the success of your product.
Advertising and marketing
A lack of proper marketing and advertising is another major reason product launches fail. Before launching your product, you need to identify consumer needs and pain points, discover what channels are optimal to advertise the product, and determine what type of messaging will resonate best with your audience.
Consumer needs
Understanding consumer needs is vitally important to the success of a product launch. Consider the customer journey. What touchpoints does the customer come across when researching your brand. Put yourself in the customer’s shoes and see where your own journey might lead you. This will better help you to identify failed touch points and make the necessary adjustments to better speak to and guide the consumer along the right path to a sales conversion.
Market and pricing
Many products fail simply because companies focus on the wrong market. Additionally, many brands fail to price the product based on the relationship between consumer demand, need and the ultimate value of the product. There are dozens upon dozens of factors to consider when launching a new product, and only with the development of a strong plan can you hope to achieve sales success. In fact, many experts state that it doesn’t matter how good your product is — without a strong product launch, there is little chance of success.
First, focus on the development of the plan
- Define your launch goals. Defining your goals, and following that, considering your target audience, lays the initial groundwork for your product launch strategy.
- Conduct consumer research. You need to know what features your customers will appreciate the most. You need to know which marketing channels they will be most receptive to. And you need to know how to tell a story with your product launch marketing that will resonate with them.
- Research the competition. Without being aware of competitor products and marketing efforts, you may end up launching a product or conducting a marketing campaign that just isn’t on the same level as a competitor.
Be sure not to falter on the internal communication
Communication is always an integral component of any business function and planning strategy. Several departments will play roles in the product launch, and they all need to be able to communicate effectively with each other throughout the planning stages. Keeping everyone on the same schedule and making sure everyone within the organization understands the messaging and goals will help increase the likelihood of success for your product launch strategy.
Consider your advertising
Creating a marketing plan can be just as intensive and time-consuming as developing the overall product launch strategy. The story of the product should explain to consumers why they need the product and why they should choose your product over the competition. Stay focused on customer pain points and product benefits, and you’ll be truer to the development of a viable marketing strategy that showcases your product without focusing too much on selling the product.
Holding a product launch event may be a great way to go to market
Holding a product launch event serves to build awareness as well as generate buzz and anticipation during the prelaunch efforts. You might also want to consider holding a virtual event as opposed to a physical event.
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