How to Launch a Product – A Concise Guide For 2021

Introduction 

How to launch a product is a question every upcoming person in business has. Without knowledge, there can be no action. Without the customer base knowing your product’s existence, they cannot want it or buy it. Whether it’s a small or big or an improvement of an existing product, it is necessary to launch the product into the market to bring in the consumers. A successful product launch entails a checklist that must be adhered to, and the product launch steps have been elucidated below.

  1. Learn about your customer
  2. Write a positioning statement.
  3. Plan your go-to-market strategy
  4. Set a goal for the launch
  5. Prepare your team

1) Learn about your customer

It is necessary to understand a customer as the first step under how to launch a product in the market for them. Developing and marketing a product will be much easier if one can identify the customers’ goals, motivations, and issues. It will help understand the functions and use of the product that you launch should entail. Interactions with current and prospective customers will help achieve specific answers regarding the consumer’s need and wants and bring them the solution for the same through your product. Tools such as email marketing software, sampling, etc., can be used to interact with the customers. This will make the consumer the influencer of your product.

2) Write a positioning statement.

A positioning statement on a product launch should answer the who, what and why of your proposed product. The question on how to launch a new product will also require the statement to answer the market’s question. The statement should address who the target audience is and which segment of the target audience is likely to buy said product. The positioning statement should also answer queries such as brand name, product or service category, range of competitors, evidence of the product’s uniqueness, etc. This may seem clerical but is essential to the product launch process.

After establishing your position statement, it is necessary to present the same to your stakeholders and get their feedback.

3) Plan your go-to-market strategy

Your go-to-market strategy is the first method you resort to launch your product in the market. It could be any strategy, such as the funnel strategy or the flywheel approach. No matter the approach you decide on, it includes many ambits. To remain organized, it would help to use a template during a product launch process.

While planning your strategy, it would also be useful to decide on the kind of content that would attract your prospective customer during all stages of a purchase: getting to know about the product, considering whether to buy the product and actually making the decision to purchase. This, in fact, is essential to set a goal for the launch.

4) Set a goal for the launch

Pre-implementation of your market strategy requires jotting down the goals you wish to receive by this product launch. Specific goals are a catalyst to a launch’s success as keeping said goals in mind will help focus one’s efforts on tactics during the launch that will help achieve the goals with maximum efficiency and least effort. For instance, if the goal of the launch is awareness, the strategy can be focused on providing information through pamphlets. It is suggested that one should resort to the SMART goal approach while setting the goals for a launch. Essentially, the goals must be specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and lastly, time-bound. 

After setting goals, one can create promotional content that is your go-to-market template, making it easier for next time.

5) Prepare your team

The main communicators of your products good are your company, its members and other key stakeholders. They are behind the impression that your product will hold in the product. It is necessary to ensure that said members and stakeholders are in consonance with your ideas, goals and strategies prior to launching the product into the market. They should be in the loop during the product launch process.

Once you have followed the above-mentioned steps, the actual launch of the product can take place.

Conclusion

Just like planning out the operation of a business, follow up is an absolute necessity. It is necessary to understand if your go-to-market strategy was able to achieve the goals you had set for yourself in a smooth and efficient manner. Sometimes, one may have to even follow up on whether the goals were achieved at all. If the launch did not meet the expectations that had been set, revising of market strategy may be done, and adjustments can be made to it after understanding the deviations that took place during the product launch.

One can also understand what ambits of the market strategy fuels the launch, and this can be used in the future as well. A facility must be made for post-purchase redressal on the product’s quality and service. The post-launch strategy must also be able to address potential product complaints.

If you wish to learn more about Product Management, our 6-month online PG Certificate Program in Product Management with IIM Indore is the reflect option for you! Check it out today.

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