Why So Many Product Launches Fail (And How to Avoid It)
Insights, delivered.
You’ve spent months – maybe even years – developing a new product or service, or even a new website or brand. You painstakingly planned it out, fretted over the tiniest decisions, and ran it past countless stakeholders. But now that it’s time to tell the world about what you’ve built? You post about it online and hope for the best? This is where a lot of mission-based marketers miss the mark.
Don’t let your hard work die a slow, silent death.
We’ve all heard the phrase “If you build it, they will come.” That’s just not true when it comes to marketing a new product or service. Creating something amazing simply isn’t enough. You need to actively tell people about it, create visibility, and strategically promote your work.
Build it, then market it.
According to Kantar, almost two-thirds of new product launches fail by the end of their second year. It’s not because they’re all bad products. Many of them are good products that never reach the right audience. It may feel like the odds are stacked against you, but you can balance the scales with an effective launch strategy.
Audience Value, Not Organization Bias
Before you can develop a launch strategy, you must first understand what the product’s core value proposition is to your audiences—not your organization. Don’t just make a list of features and benefits. Instead, pay attention to your audience’s needs and pain points. Focus on the product’s true impact.
What problem does your product solve for the audience?
How will their lives get better?
Why is your product the right solution to their problem?
Take our client, the Construction Specifications Institute (CSI). CSI created a Microsoft Word add-on, Crosswalk, a software that provides speed, accuracy, and convenience for looking up and formatting construction specifications. The product gives architects, engineers, and construction specifiers a seamless way to translate industry standards without having to sift through outdated PDFs or encyclopedic books.
After slow initial sales, they worked with us to refine the messaging and re-launch with a new brand identity. Audience research revealed the key value: time savings of having an add-on right in Microsoft Word. Construction specs can be lengthy and must be precise to meet building codes. In the past, each item for a new build had to be looked up and the details manually transcribed. Although there are lots of great features in Crosswalk, we worked with CSI to drill down to the one that mattered most to their audience: time savings. The results? 151.7% user growth in the first month after the re-launch.
Differentiation Over Demand to Drive Action
Picture it: Washington, 2006. The execs at Microsoft are preparing to share their iPod competitor, Zune, with the world. They were confident they’d come up with an even better product than Apple’s iPod. The Zune’s interface was more modern and colorful, with a larger screen and video playing, unlike the iPod. It also allowed users to share songs with friends within 30 feet (think AirDrop before it was a thing). By all accounts, this was a worthy opponent in the MP3 space. So, what went wrong? The advertising for Zune failed to show consumers how it was different from the iPod.
If your product is similar to something else on the market, you’ll fall victim to consumer inertia. Buyers must understand how your product is different and why that difference should matter to them specifically. They need a compelling reason to purchase your product, and differentiators are the best place to start.
As you scrolled past the above photo, what did you notice? I’d bet it was the beautiful, sparkly egg that stood out in a sea of bland white eggs. Marketing for your product launch must stand out to catch attention. Highlight what makes your product unique and better. Otherwise, your audience will move on.
Brand Impact, Not Just Income
We tend to think of product launches only through the eyes of revenue. It makes sense: a good product will benefit both the customer and the company’s bottom line. But focusing only on revenue means you miss an opportunity to make a real connection with your audience.
And connecting with your audience requires patience and relationship building. Chart a clear path to help them get from awareness to adoption. Use the pre-launch and early launch periods to refine your messaging, build email lists of qualified leads, and inform product development.
A strategic and well-executed launch plan can:
Build loyalty with your existing community and expand your work to new audiences
Create meaningful touchpoints that differentiate your brand in a crowded marketplace.
Create experiences that are memorable and deepen emotional connections to your brand.
Think of it this way: every time you miss a chance to connect with your audience, your competitors can swoop in to take it instead.
If You Plan it, They Will Come
Consulting firm McKinsey found that using market insights and rigorous planning launches were two of the most important predictors of a successful product launch.
A strategic launch plan helps build your brand, expand to new audiences, and reinforce loyalty with existing fans. It’s about finding your audience, explaining the value of your product, and experimenting until you get the messaging just right.
Set aside time to develop a thoughtful, memorable launch plan. An underdeveloped plan looks like sending a few emails and posting on LinkedIn, and thinking that’s enough. Take it a step further and put as much planning into the campaign as you did during the product development phase. After all the effort you’ve put into designing a thoughtful product, you don’t want the launch to let you down.
And if you need some guidance or support along the way, we know a thing or two about developing successful product launch strategies. Give us a shout!
