Archive for Product Launch
Interview with Jack Stack
Posted by: | CommentsExcerpt From the Interview of Jack Stack by Bo Burlingham, Inc. Magazine
"What should CEOs be thinking about if they want to emerge from the crisis stronger than when it began?
If your sales are down and you’re losing money, you’re crazy not to be investing in repositioning. ……
……In a down period, while you may not have cash to invest, you do have excess people capacity. Most companies reduce it by having a layoff. That’s what I call cutting to the bone. You wind up weaker as a result."
I use this excerpt for 2 reasons. One to support a theory of mine that you should seriously look at re-launching your product many times during its lifecycle. It will be way of extending it and finding new sales channels.
However, seldom do people mention the other side of the coin. It is ok to find new markets but make sure you do some very good market research. Many people just think that if they find a market for their product that people are there waiting to buy it. Seldom will you find a market waiting for your Ipod, if you have one. The best source are customers that have adapted your product for their use. If you can tap into that as a resource, you will already have a built in resource or community to assist you in marketing your product.
When I walk someone through the Spider Product Launch , a Re-launch practically has the first step completed:
See
- Define the opportunity
- Build Customer buy-in and input
- Customer relationships and commitment
- Build Customer persona
Never minimize this step. I believe it is the most important. By yourself, it is difficult to change perception. With a small group you can change the world. A good example of that is a small tea party in Boston a few years back!
Does your product stink or is it the recession!
Posted by: | CommentsThe answer, your product stinks! Why, it has to work in the times that were in(period). So you need to reevaluate and maybe repackage or even re-purpose it. Here’s a great little test to see how viable your product, actually is…
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Is your product under advertised?
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Can there be a broader target market?
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Do you have certain disadvantages that you could turn into advantages?
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Do you have any unused byproducts?
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Could you be selling your product in a more compelling way?
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Is there a social trend to exploit?
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Can you explain your distribution channels?
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Can you build volume and profit by cutting the price?
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Does the product have new or extended uses?
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Have you completed a win/loss sales analysis of the product?
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How old is your last referral for the product?
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How are your salespeople compensated for selling the product?
These are just a few of the questions that we go through when were getting ready to do a product relaunch. What is so important in a relaunch is that you do have a community built around the product. I am not talking about someone that believes in the cause like a nonprofit, but actually I am talking about a customer that would advocate the product for you. Relaunches in today’s marketplace, must have the ability to garner direct customer support.
Take a product that is not doing so well right now and see if you would be in that marketplace today, if you are just starting out. If you would not, can you stop? Can you sell it to someone else? I’m amazed at how many resources are lost in products that have absolutely no return on investment. So if you really are thinking about leaning your marketing, I would look at how I would relaunch every product category that I have. Then ask why am I not doing it that way and the investment to do it. And if I cannot afford to do it cannot afford to stay in that product category?
Sometimes, the best re-launch is no re-launch at all!
Improve your production forecast by 50%
Posted by: | CommentsActually most people tell me the their marketing is working, they just don’t have the time. Or, they would like to make it more professional. Or, maybe I could help them with start a blog. Very few people ever admit to a marketing problem. Even the better organizations that have built a great bran
d will leverage it as well as they should. And the single one thing that stops them is understanding their ideal customer, or the term buyer persona. They even spend little time on the process he uses to purchase and the expectations he has of the product.
The most used the excuse I see in developing a buyer persona is that the buyers vary too much. Okay, let’s just try to segment a portion of your customers. Maybe it’s only 10% or if your lucky as high as 50%. But creating some channel will facilitate in mapping out that buyer persona. If we look at how will the purchase was made and determined by that group, it will lead into some very insightful information. But I would encourage you to really try to understand the compelling reason they chose you. That reason alone can clarify your marketing your sales processes, and improve your production forecast.
I know that may sound silly over just one statement but look at it this way. If you could know the compelling reason that 50% of the customers buy from you, what would that mean to your bottom line?
P.S. A quick check to validate this, would be to talk to a few prospects that you lost. Ask them what their compelling reason, not to buy from you.
We use our Lean Marketing Assessment to see where you stand and how well you leverage your core message and it is at the basis of our Product launch strategy. Learn more about these two products.
