Six Tips for Launching New Products

Question: I’m launching a new product. It’s going to be a little different from what we offer now. I’m looking at a high-risk, high-reward situation. Do you have some advice on how we can get noticed?

Answer: Congratulations on your

new product. If your company is successful, it’s easy to stagnate. But taking risks and expanding into new markets can bring benefits beyond additional revenue.

If your product launch is successful, not only will you bring in a new group of customers, but those customers can help you discover additional avenues for growth.

Here are six ways to get your product launch off to a good start:

Ask your top customers to test it. “We identify the mavens, the trend setters, the leaders, or the most respected in our list of customers and ask them to kick the proverbial tires and provide honest feedback,” says Mary Kay Hyde, senior vice president of marketing at Red Book Connect, which makes restaurant management software. While beta-testers may set your launch back if they don’t like the product, that’s a good thing in the long run. “By incorporating your beta-test group’s feedback, you not only make your product better, you acknowledge their expertise in the industry,” Hyde says.

Gin up some publicity. “Any time a company with an existing product improves it and creates a new version, it’s something the trade press and bloggers will pick up, so PR is your first step,” says product development expert Phil Baker, author ofFrom Concept to Consumer.

Develop a marketing and advertising plan. Carey Smith, chief executive of Big Ass Fans, introduced a home ceiling fan to his industrial product lineup two-and-a-half years ago. Because the company’s brand was known for industrial fans and unfamiliar to residential users, Smith spent $2 million on advertising in consumer publications. “We looked for the commonality with our existing products” in developing the ad campaign, he says.

Sell to existing customers first. “Let them know about your new model and explain why they may want to upgrade,” Baker says. “Or, depending on the product, offer a promotion to upgrade from old to new as appreciation for their loyalty.”

Ask early users for reviews. “Your prospects, who may not initially realize why they need this shiny new thing, will certainly pay attention when someone they recognize—or is similar to them—directly and clearly explains how your product benefited them,” says Hyde. When her company launched a recruitment app recently, it identified the restaurants and job-seekers that were using it most frequently and asked for their input. They made the app better and “are excited to lend us their credibility by speaking to their positive experiences,” Hyde says.

Look for the next thing. Big Ass Fans’ residential fan unit included powerful LED lighting that customers started requesting for application in their garages. “That induced us to look at lighting in garages and to scale a light that would fit in there,” Smith says. “I would never have made that connection myself,” but it allowed the company to develop an additional product with built-in demand.

Klein is a Los Angeles-based writer who covers entrepreneurship and small-business issues.

source: bloomberg