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Internet MarketingThe internet marketing strategy articles, written by internet marketing specialists, will help make your internet marketing business more successful! |
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New Product Launch Checklist
Launching a new product or service is an exciting time and it is possible to overlook something in the rush to get that product or service to market. I developed the following checklist to make certain that I didn't make the same mistake twice. Hopefully it will keep you from making a mistake the first time.
1. Target the Audience
Over my 30+ years of experience, I have been involved in lots of new product introductions and have witnessed even more. Failing to target the market is the most common mistake I see in new product introductions. If you haven't adequately defined the market, how can you be sure of what they want or need? Furthermore, how can you develop a plan to reach them? If you only get one thing from this article, make sure that you target your market.
2. Train and Focus the Sales Force
If you want your sales force to sell the new product, then you better make sure that they know and are comfortable with this product. Practice, role play, make calls with the sales force, but make sure they understand and can sell the product.
It is also important to make sure that selling the new product is their focus and that you have not confused them with multiple initiatives in the same or relatively close time frame. Clear the decks and make the new product launch their only focus.
3. Samples and Demos are ready and in place
New products generally need to be explained and samples and demos provide some of the best ways to do this. If you are going to use either, it is going to be critical to your success to insure that they are ready and in place prior to the launch.
4. Pricing is set
Your launch will not be a success if you don't sell your product or service and you will not be able to do that unless you have completed your pricing and terms. If you are selling through distribution, it will be important to provide them with guidelines as well.
5. Promotions are in place
Frequently new products are introduced with promotions, so making sure the details of that promotion are clear will be critical. It is also possible that there may be programs like co-op advertising or volume rebates that will be affected and making sure those bases are covered should not be overlooked.
6. Displays are ready
Merchandisers and displays can be very effective in a new product launch. First you must decide if that is a part of your plan and if it is, then to make sure that they are in the right place at the right time to make your launch a success. Nobody needs a merchandiser or display after the promotion and the product is taking up regular shelf sapce.
7. Distribution is ready
Make certain that your means of getting the product or service to the end user is in place and ready to go before your press releases and advertising kick in or you will have wasted your budget. Promotion without product doesn't serve you or the prospective customer or client.
8. Inventory is in stock
It isn't enough to have product in the channel of distribution. If your estimates are wrong or your sales exceed expectations, your future success will depend on being able to react to that customer demand. Make sure you have inventory on the shelf or coming off the production line in time to replenish your supplies.
9. Advertising is set
Making people aware of your new product is going to be an important part of your launch. Most media have a lead time that has to be a part of your consideration. Print publications can run several months. Getting your website listed in Google or some of the other search engines can take even longer. Production for websites and broadcast commercials take time as well. Don't wait till the last minute to begin this process.
10. Press Releases are timed
Just like with advertising, press releases need to be timed to the introduction. Lead times are long and talking to the outlets for your releases will be important in making sure that their timing and your timing work together to benefit the launch.
Different products in different markets will have variations on this checklist. Use this not as the end of your checklist, but rather as the base and build additional issues as required for your product or market.
Copyright Bob Cannon/The Cannon Advantage, 2005. All rights reserved.
Bob Cannon helps inventors, imagineers, importers and manufacturers successfully introduce new products to the Hardware / Hardlines Marketplace. Check out his blog at http:http://www.takingaim.blogspot.com Bob can be reached at (216) 408-9495 or mailto: bob@marketingnewproduct.com
This article courtesy of http://www.marketingnewproduct.com You may freely reprint this article on your website or in your newsletter provided this courtesy notice and the author name and URL remain intact.
How To Actually Make Money In Network Marketing
Most people that I know who are, or have been in network marketing, never seem to make a dime! Others (myself included) make a small fortune. If you're not doing VERY well with your business, and you're honestly putting in the effort, let me explain to you how to turn things around!
Solution Catalog - Getting More Out Of Your Searches The Fast And Easy Way
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El Marketing, Das Marketing, Le Marketing
While reviewing site stats, I noticed 18 foreign countries as domain origins. This prompts my curiosity. Should I hone my marketing efforts to serve these visitors effectively in their native tongue? My college age daughter studies French, German, and Spanish simultaneously. The Word "marketing" is an "American" word she informs me; distinguished in Spanish, German, and French with slight nuance. Although my daughter learns conversations in Spanish, German, and French, much more talk is in Chinese.
Don Quixotes Post Humous Virtual Expedition - Filling The Black Holes In Cyber Space
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Are You Looking For A Long-Term Or Fly-By-Night Business?
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Making Money Online: What You Really Want To Know
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3 Simple Ways to Harness the Concept of the Free Offer for Internet Marketing
One of the reason why the concept of free stuff online works really well has a lot to do with the nature of the internet where people go online to find free information and share music online. Many good internet marketers have learnt that offering free things to their website visitors can help make them more money online and this article highlights three simple strategies that successful internet marketers have used.
Web Site Marketing Tips To Keep You Ahead Of The Field
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5 Things More Important to Internet Buyers than WHAT Youre Selling II
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How To Let Your Customers Search For YOU! ? Part 3
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How To Get An Instant Flow Of Traffic Doing What You Always Do
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URLs Everywhere
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What a Billionaire Balloonist Taught Me About Internet Marketing
Billionaire Richard Branson, the entrepreneur behind the Virgin brand, is one of the world's most successful and adventurous businessmen. Not being satisfied to run several highly profitable businesses Branson also engages in occasional feats of courage, or stupidity, depending on your stand point!
Why Real Estate Agents Need Their Own Website
It is difficult to for a real estate agent to be successful today without a Website. First, your customers and prospective clients expect you to have a Website, simply as a matter of credibility. Second, a Website is where you have an opportunity to promote yourself, your listings and your services to your local marketplace.
The 2 Step Lead Generation Machine
Cold calling doesn't work, it's no fun and often you end up with leads, or worse yet, clients, that don't really value what you do.
Website Marketers Enemy No. 1
There comes a time in your efforts to market your website that you realise that it's no longer enough to tell your family and friends to visit your website - you need to get some people who will pay you in cash rather than compliments. You need to start approaching other website owners and start building an online network of contacts.
The 2 Best-kept Secrets Of The Internet
It's a difficult creating a website that brings you business. It's full-time job where things seem easy at first but as soon as you start to explore the possibilities and appreciate the complexity of the task at hand it can soon start taking up ever increasing amounts of your time. There is a plethora of people out there offering you conflicting advice and it's often difficult to know what to focus on.
You Gotta Think -- Strategic Internet Marketing!
Have you ever been lost in the woods - wondering around aimlessly, not knowing where to go or what to do next?
What Big Pharma Can Teach You About Niche Marketing
A recent newspaper review of a new book, Selling Sickness, got me thinking about niche marketing (The Globe and Mail, Saturday, August 6, 2005, D8-D9). The book in question considers case studies that purport to show how "Big Pharma" (the entire pharmaceutical industry, from manufacturers to drug salespeople) manipulates data to "create" a disease that they have the "cure" for.
A Crystal Ball for Your Web Business
Are you considering launching an eCommerce website? If you are, you may want to take your crystal ball down from the shelf to shed some light on whether or not your business will fare well online. In reality, there is no magic to eCommerce at all, it is all about preparing, thinking and implementing your ideas and products using sound business techniques. Here are just a couple of questions to ask yourself before you get started: