A product or service launch is an intense stressful undertaking; careful planning is needed. To successfully launch a product or service, you have to do your homework. You cannot successfully launch a product or service without understanding your target audience and how your product or service can solve their problems.
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You have to design a winning business model and you cannot design a winning business model based on assumption. You have to get out of the building, interact with your intending audience and determine if they will part with their money for the value you are about to launch.
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We know that many businesses fail even before launch, so we have listed the things you have to do before you launch that product or service.
Watch the full video of the six things you need to do for a successful product launch. Also, subscribe to our channel for more business ideas and insights.
Things To Do Before A Product Or Service Launch
1) Know Your Audience
Have a clear idea of the audience for your product or service. Know who to target – women, small businesses, etc. At ReDahlia, for example, the target is small businesses that need business support. A successful product or service has a specific audience as target.
It is also important to know the demographics – age, gender, occupation, etc. this knowledge guides you on how to reach your audience. Know how they get information and spend their free time, so you can find and connect with them.
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2) Solve The Right Problem
Your product or service needs to solve the right problems. At ReDahlia Workspaces, we solve the Nigerian problem of electricity and internet service for entrepreneurs; and add comfort to the package we offer. At entrepreneurs.ng, we tell the stories of entrepreneurs and entrepreneurship in Nigeria. We ensure that we put your business on the world map where it can be seen and heard.
Therefore, Identify the problem to solve and make sure the audience identifies with this problem before going too far into the product or service launch.
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3) Have A Clear Revenue Model
Decide if your business is a non-profit or not. Many entrepreneurs are building businesses without a clear monetisation plan. This is absurd and will lead to failure. The money in the bank, without a plan, will be exhausted with expenses. For you to have a successful product or service launch, having a clear revenue model is important. Also, you have to learn how to practically cut down your business expenses from day one.
4) Get Some Experience
It is naturally easier to play in a field in which one has experience. Though, in ReDahlia, with the Workspaces, we played in a field we had no experience in. If an opportunity arises in an area where you lack experience in and you are convinced to explore that field, then be ready:
- to make mistakes and learn on the job. Don’t be too hard on yourself or team
- to do a large amount of research (read articles and books on the industry, listen to podcast and watch videos)
- talk to your stakeholders (customers, suppliers, competitors, etc.)
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5) Carefully Position Amongst Competition
Know the competition. Know from whom customers will buy if they don’t buy from you. Knowing your audience and the problem you are solving will make it easier to position your product or service and help you know how to place ads.
If there is difficulty in positioning, then get back to the basics and try to understand your audience more.
6) Feedback
When you finally launch that product or service, that is when the work begins. You have to constantly engage with your audience to get their feedback on the product or service.
No pre-launch (theoretical) studying of your audience will provide you as much information as post-launch feedbacks will provide. Once customers have used your product or service, then get their feedbacks on their experiences with your product or service. You may not act on every feedback you get, but they are valuable information for your product or service evolution.
This was live from Tango at ReDahlia Workspaces, 43B Emina Crescent, Off Toyin Street, Ikeja.
If you run a successful business and want us to feature you on our platform, then send us an email on business@entrepreneurs.ng or give us a call on 08188122223.
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