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Being
in the 2%
It is
generally estimated that 98% of all new products launched in
the UK market fail! The causes of this startling statistic are
many and varied. However there are some things you can do to
improve your chance of being in the 2% that succeed. Here are
some tips ...
Do
enough people really want
it?
It might
seem like a great idea to you. A new 'widget' that saves you a
lot of time or money. Or a new service that makes something
much easier ... in your opinion. Maybe close colleagues,
friends and family think it's a good idea as well. Maybe even
some of them would pay good money to buy it.
But
outside of your close circle of acquaintances, would people
really want to buy this? And by really, I mean that
they'd want it enough to forgo purchasing something else that they
are used to buying.
The only
way to prove the answer is to test the idea. Depending upon
the nature of the new product or service, it's always a good idea to
try it out on 'strangers'. If they can see that the benefits
apply to them are a) desirable and b) worth the price, then you
might well have a winner on your hands.
If the
nature of your new offer means that it won't be sold directly to the
end-users, then you'll need to test it on intermediaries (shops,
recommenders, etc.). Again, they need to see that the end-user
benefits are real and believe that, should they stock/recommend the
item, it would sell well.
Unfortunately,
it's no good just testing it on a few 'strangers'. You really need
to prove to yourself that there is sufficient volume of potential
buyers to justify the investment of bringing it to market. That
might mean testing it in a number of different geographic areas, or
in different market segments, until you are sure of the level of
demand.
During
this testing you will be able to get invaluable feedback that you
can use in your marketing as well as tips to improve the
product/service and pricing ... but only if you ask and take the
trouble to analyse the answers. And in analysing the answers
you might uncover the message that your product idea isn't as good
as you thought. Better to find out now than after you've spent
a heap on launching it to no avail.
Can
you afford to launch
it?
Assuming
that you do get good response from the market testing and that
you're convinced that there is a real demand for your new product or
service, the next area to manage is the launch process ... and the
funding in particular.The are
always options when launching something new. These fall
onto a scale ranging from 'launch with big bang' at one end, to
'escapes with barely a noise' at the other end. As you can
imagine there is a marked difference in cost between the two ends of
the scale. Don't let your ego drive where on the scale your
launch fits.Launching
is in essence the start of your marketing communication activity to
tell the market segments that will most benefit from the new
product/service of its existence, its benefits and how they can buy
it.I've seen
many marketing plans that call for a large and expensive launch and
then ... nothing much. Not surprisingly these products fail to
return the volume of sales predicted.
So whilst
the launch is the start of the communication process, it should
never be the end as well. Marketing communications is a long
haul strategy and to be successful you need to budget for continued
activity after the launch. A general rule of thumb here is 'if
you can't afford to finish, then don't spend the money to
start'. My own experience also tells me that budgets that rely
on revenue from early sales to fund subsequent marketing
rarely work. Early sales almost never come at the rate that
you predicted, which then causes a diminution in post launch
marketing which ultimately slows momentum ... completely.
Many of
the 98% of new products that fail are good products ... but marketed
without sufficient budget or foresight. Make sure that yours
is not one of them.
Memorable
marketing
Thinking
and working pragmatically like this will help you to make
your marketing work better for you in a more memorable way.
This means that your target customers will be able to differentiate
your products and services from those of your competitors and
clearly see the value in buying from you.
If you would like some advice on memorable
marketing techniques for your own business, or you know someone
at another business who might need help, then please contact us. The sooner you start, the sooner you will benefit. |
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New
Product Development
Download this handy guide which explains
how best to approach the development of new products in
order to improve business effectiveness.
Written by
the Chartered Institute of Marketing as part of
their Directors' Briefing series, this document makes easy
reading for business people of all experience
levels.
Marketing
Effectiveness Assessment
A
free service to small businesses in the Buckinghamshire, Berkshire
and Oxfordshire area, the Marketing Effectiveness Assessment
delivers a professional audit of how a business is using the tools
of marketing to communicate to existing and potential customers. It
also includes a series of simple and cost-effective marketing
activities that the business can implement immediately and at low
cost.
Download the factsheet now.
Useful
Links ...
Adduce Marketing
Chartered Institute of Marketing
Marketing UK (information portal)
Marketing Profs (free articles)
Back
Issues ...
Marketing
Memorabilia |
