New Product Launch |
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The Challenge In this age of accelerating commoditisation, companies are increasingly gambling on the success of innovative products, yet companies continue to release new products the same way they always have. Most new product launches go through a four-step process:
Not surprisingly, this process contains a common theme. Most product launch events, with their associated collateral materials, focus exclusively on product capabilities. They explain how this product is different and better; they dwell on each new bell and whistle. The launch is designed to sound exciting, and some very smart people put long hours into preparing a great product pitch. Naturally, the sales force is impressed, and that impacts the way they interact with customers. How the product was communicated to them serves as their model when they communicate with their customers—it makes them product-centred instead of customer-centred. But even product-obsessed salespeople become less enthusiastic when sales don't happen. Finally, when everyone is beginning to lose faith, the sales force stops focusing on the product, starts focusing on the customer, and sales begin to improve. How Huthwaite Can Help Based on more than 30 years of experience, Huthwaite has discovered the key to successful new product launches. We will teach you how to avoid the cycle described above by focusing on the customer's problems that the new product solves rather than getting caught up on the features of the product itself. For more information, please see our white paper entitled Why Bad Things Happen to Good Products |
