stages of development - International Business Growth Radio Network

SHOW & CHAPTER 46: TAKING YOUR NEW OFFER TO MARKET - WILLIAM EASTMAN

21/6/2022

Successful product launches are one of the most important contributions a marketing team can make on behalf of their organization. Product launches are a dynamic, exciting opportunity for marketers to shine––but they are also a highly collaborative and risky endeavor with multiple moving parts, any of which can go sideways.

Messaging - keep it tight to the initial development cohort buying persona, Multiple endorsements - use beta group, during the soft launch A/B/C test to get the messaging right, keep the agilean team together for soft and hard launch.

Show Objective

EPISODE 225: Summary
Before we discuss the beta testing in your co-development partner, let's quickly cover your overall marketing strategy. I thought the best method was to look at the nature of your offer and what part of the market you are attempting to reach.

This is a simple model. Are you Reintroducing an existing but improved offer or is it really brand new? Then who are your target markets (accounts)?

By analyzing the risk, the safest place to start is with existing customers with an improved offer. They know you and they know the offer - just not in its improved state. Once you have gained as much market share as possible (pr you can afford), the next step is to move to adjacent markets where you haven't sold before and the customers are similar - same buying persona. Once you have achieved as much market share as possible, now take more risk by going after new markets.

Offer Type	Lower Risk	Higher Risk
New Offer	2. Adjacent Markets	4. New Markets
Same or Improved Offer	1. Existing Markets	3. New Markets

Topics:

Making the Offer More Generic
Test Market Acceptance
Go-Live

EPISODE 226: Finalizing the Offer
This is different from beta testing with your co-development partner discussed last week. You have collaborated with the first buyer to build for them a product/service. Using the Agile process you built a new or improved offer and worked with them to install it. Based on that experience and fixing it as you go, it is ready to take to other accounts.

Topics:

Storyboarding Customer Usage
Meet Needed/Promised Results?
Meet Needed/Promised UX - User Friendliness?

EPISODE 227: Soft Launch
The soft launch starts with selecting the right 'customers' to participate in the soft launch. You need to create the right mindset with staff, "once this starts do your job or fulfill your role as we planned" (Positions Description, Standard Operating Procedure, etc if any exist).

You don't test practice, only the game. You must stress test the offer and the support functions to identify failure points prior to the hard launch.

Topics:

Profile of Participants: friendly, demanding, honest, low risk, look like real customers - is their storyboard similar to the beta?
Preparing the Staff: everybody is to act as if it is real, including supervisors and managers. We can't learn if we don't act normal.
The Event must be as real as possible. Don't test a practice! Execute according to plan or there is nothing to evaluate.
The Debrief with the participants. Give them an opportunity to comment anonymously and then discuss the comments.

EPISODE 228: Hard Launch
Your Hard Launch will be very similar to previous soft launches, but on a much larger scale. You have been through the process several times by now at a smaller scale and have worked out most of the kinks.

You are ready for the world to know your offer. Your main role and responsibility during the Hard Launch is to be the captain of the ship.

If you are hired out to help with the launch, there should be a need to micromanage the work. Your job is to ensure that your Hard Launch continues to maintain the course while making adjustments as needed. Introducing the offer needs you to be fully present and leading from the front. This is the time to step up and stay active.

Topics:

You must have an intimate knowledge of your marketing plan. As course corrections are made, make sure that every part of your marketing presence continues to reinforce the image you want the world to identify as uniquely yours.
Collect, track and adjust. Collect the data often, interpret the results and keep the focus on ROI. Your marketing dollars should have a positive impact on lead generation as well as sales conversions.
Analyze your funnel and identify gaps. Are any “coffee stains” showing up now that need to be addressed? Is there any confusion in the marketplace that needs to be cleared up. Find them and fix them.
Your profit numbers should be increasing. Compare current data to previous soft launch data. What can be improved to increase your ROI in areas that are underperforming?

Next Show/Chapter 50: Implementation Summary

How to apply today's show to your business: