1 of 6 | Six Key Factors for a Successful Launch
The truth is, the reason someone buys your product or service is usually not why you (logically) think they would. That’s because human beings are emotional creatures—and they buy that way—even in B2B. It’s important to really, truly understand your audience. Get beyond logic to motivations, aspirations, emotional needs, beliefs and behaviors. From product concept through launch, it can make all the difference. Continue reading →
People say, “People buy from people they like.” This is only partially true, people really buy from people they trust. In today’s world you can’t afford to give your friend the business if she can’t deliver. The stakes are too high and if you recommend her, your reputation (trust) is on the line as well. Trust and credibility go hand-in-hand. So, focus on gaining trust and hope you’re liked meanwhile. After all, it’s as simple as this: If you tell someone you’ll do something, do it. Period.
Here’s an argument for fine-tuning your multitasking. A car achieves better MPGs (and thus better fuel economy) when it can go from A to B with less stops, i.e. city versus highway driving. Multitasking is no different. When you take a project—or even part of one—from A to B with less stops along the way efficiency increases. Jumping from one task to the next adds reintegration lag time as you get back up to speed with where you left off.
Do you want to increase efficiency in your daily workflow? Focus on driving a task from A to B with as few starting and stopping points along the way. Break a task down into smaller tasks if need be to avoid unexpected stops. Work smart and economically, you’ll feel better at the end of the day.
The vast majority of products fail. There are myriad reasons for this, not the least is that getting from Napkin to Purchase is a complex, synchronized effort involving hundreds of people and thousands of decisions. In B2B, we contend marketing is too often seen as the “promotional” afterthought, rather than a driver and accurate representative of customer need, which should drive the effort throughout.
Therefore, the following quote should appear — as it does to us — as staggering endorsement of that thought:
“ Teams should perform a market opportunity assessment BEFORE building a prototype. This sounds obvious, but many teams omit this step. Cooper’s industry studies show that inadequate market assessment is one of the reasons why new products fail; only 25% of the teams he studied performed this step.”
Launch Your New Products/Services Better, Faster.
Gary S. Lynn and Ali E. Akgun
Catalysts: Inspiring insights, news and other enlightened thought-starters.
© 2012 Introworks, Inc.
