Mike McMillan,
Introworks Branding
and Marketing
Communications:
952.593.1800
www.introworks.net
Aim, momentum
are crucial to
successful launch
LAUNCH. Perhaps nowhere in business are the stakes so high-and the success rates so low.
It’s gotten so that markets and product life cycles change faster than you can keep up. In the race to out-pace and out-innovate competition, new products, services and businesses are introduced frequently and, at times, seemingly with abandon.
As a result, most launches have very poor success rates-often as low as five to 10 percent. How come? The reasons are many. It could be the product itself; inadequate or inappropriate research; shortsighted project parameters or inappropriate market orientation.
More likely, it’s a lack of early attention to launch mechanics in the product development sequence or basic deficiencies in the actual launch planning and execution.
An effective launch requires absolute cross-functional teamwork in lockstep with a defined commercialization process. Sound daunting? It is. That’s why we thought it would be helpful to share a few simple concepts we’ve found very beneficial when thinking about launch, what we call launch trajectory. Not dissimilar from an actual rocket launch, trajectory is defined by aim and momentum.
The right aim
It is not uncommon for a company to use tremendous energy and resources to introduce a product only to find it’s not adopted in the market. Usually this means a company hasn’t done its marketing homework. To avoid this:
Build a business case on customer needs. A company can become enamored with an idea or a technology and neglect the necessary customer input at the outset of commercialization. Market analysis is necessary and critical.
But markets don’t buy products, people do. Often companies do a fantastic job on the logic end of the research: segmentation profiles, statistical analysis, financial modeling, etc. However, from experience, why a company thinks (logically) someone will buy its product is typically not the case.
What’s missing? The “human being” factors, an intimate understanding of the underlying emotional needs, personal motivations, aspirations and beliefs that impact decisions and sales.
It is critically important to understand your audience. Get inside their minds. Understand the human being factors and build that knowledge into your business case.
Base your positioning on emotional needs of the audience. Too often positioning statements read like functional descriptors. Remember, the battle takes place in the mind and your true aim is meaningful differentiation there. We say, drive the brand there with emotion-based positioning.
No matter the business objective, from stealing market share to developing all-new markets, you need to shift perceptions, motivate people and affect behavior. So, if possible, elevate your message above feature or functional benefit to emotional need.
Expressed as feelings (in control, freedom, confidence) emotional needs are universal and they are powerful. Above all else, they are motivating, and motivation drives behavior. If you’ve done a good job of understanding the audience, you’ll know the emotions involved. Try to base your positioning on them.
The right momentum
A company develops an incredible product based on customer needs and watches it trickle into the market. When a launch team is not in perfect alignment from ideation to sale, the missteps can be considerable and valuable early market momentum can be lost. We say:
Establish a cross-disciplined launch team early in the process. Engineering, manufacturing, marketing, legal, sales-the team that represents the product should be formed early in the commercialization process (ideally immediately after the business case is established). Their buy-in and coordinated effort is critical to building the proper internal and external energy for success.
Align the launch team on a proven process. A linear process whereby product development hands the product to marketing for launch is not what we’re after. A commercialization process is.
The launch team should work in unison in a stage-gate approach (no one moves to the next stage until all gate requirements have been met.) If you don’t have a proven commercialization process as your road map, get one.
Inside out
Launch internally first. Recognizing your internal audience as your primary audience can pay big dividends. An introduction that cascades from the launch team to the organization is a mandatory momentum builder in our opinion.
Awareness and/or participation by the broader organization improves alignment and provides support that can only aid in corporate unity and market success.
As much complexity as there is, adhering to a few simple principles can make all the difference. Here’s to a successful launch.
