Chadrack
Business launches are becoming very popular events in recent times. While many new businesses are launching by the day the stats remains alarming since most new business startups end in failure despite the euphoria of the launch event.
One thing for sure is the fact that launching a new business or product these days don’t have to eat deep into your budget. But if you must succeed with your business launch there’s the need to put in a lot of planning and strategizing. Laying a solid foundation for the launch is very important. But more important is ensuring that your goals for the business launch are realized.
Once you have decided on a date for your business or product launch, you need to be aware of one particular thing: the clock is ticking. For sure, failing to meet your self-imposed deadline won’t necessarily kill your business stone-dead, but the chances are that it will end up on a life support machine. You don’t want this to happen to your business, right?
So, how do you avoid this from happening?
To combat the many different issues a bad launch can cause, it’s vital that you:
a) Set an achievable date, and
b) Ensure that nothing stands in the way of your product launch.
The following are a few of the dangers that could stall your launch, and ruin your business before you even get it off the ground.
Business Launch Dangers to Avoid
1. No Plan For Growth
It’s all well and good putting your product or business out there based on estimations. But the reality of the market is that you just don’t know how successful/unsuccessful you will be. And there are inherent problems with both results.
If you are unsuccessful, it’s going to be difficult to pull things around, but if you are wildly successful, you will need a plan in place to help you steer through the demands of rapid growth. Ultimately, that could lead to shambolic disaster, so you must have an idea of how to manage it.
2. Dishonesty
Make sure that your product does everything it says on the tin. Dishonesty – or even overestimating the quality of your product – will only result in abject failure, low expectations, and a huge disappointment for your ideal target audience. Given it is these people you will rely on to spread the word about your business or product, you want to give them the best possible experience, and never overshoot your claims or promises.
3. Lack of Testing
There will always be little kinks and issues with newly-launched products – and most customers will forgive you the odd slip-up, particularly when it comes to ironing out software bugs in a technology product. But make no mistake about it, if you haven’t been testing your ideas well beforehand, your idea could sink before it even gets a decent shot at success.
Look into JIRA testing, focus groups, and test out your prototypes to the nth degree. Make sure that you iron out all those major kinks, or you will learn to regret it.
4. Lack of Differential
The vast majority of new businesses and products are very similar to those already on the market. And unless you are different, the chances of a successful launch and growth are slim.
Make sure you know exactly what your differential is, and that you can explain it to your customers. If you don’t know how you are different, how can you expect your market to understand?
5. No Market
Finally, if you don’t have a market for your business or product, don't expect to grow one from nothing. The most important questions to answer before you launch are: ‘Who will buy this?’ and ‘How much will they pay?’ If you can’t answer either, you have no business – it’s as simple as that.
Conclusion
Launching a new business or product takes more than just setting a date or creating the buzz. You will need to sit down and plan the launch event. Determine your goals for the launch, understand who your target audience is and what they want and then ensure that you deliver your promise.
Planning a product or business launch or have you're launched a product? What other tips do you think will help ensure a flawless launch? Share with us in your comment below.
