Member Article

TKC Tips: Successfully Launch A New Product Line

As well as giving your business the chance to reach a new audience and increase sales, introducing a new product line can also result in an increase in overall customer satisfaction. Of course you may be excited about the new product line but how can you ensure your audience are as excited and how can you turn this new line into a success making your business more profitable?

Forget the age old phrase ‘sell it and they will come’. Of course if you do great work you will attract new clients however simply launching a new product line and taking it to market doesn’t mean you will instantly reach your desired client, not to mention clients that either need or want it. Having launched a new product recently Lucente Cashmere (a new colour of our best-selling door), we knew this wouldn’t automatically sell regardless of the popularity of the existing collection. So… we took three key steps to help our new product line become a success.

Marketplace Research

Firstly you should look to the marketplace and decide whether the product is needed. We understand you may love the idea but if there are thousands of other businesses out there doing the same thing you need to ask yourself the question - will your prospective clients care that there is another product on the scene?

As such, research is one of the most important things to do and should be your starting point. Reaching out to your existing clients and asking their thoughts (or areas of improvement if you are enhancing an existing product), as well as face to face research with prospective clients to understand their needs and what the industry is currently lacking can benefit you.

Before we launched Lucente Cashmere, we had witnessed a huge 60% rise in sales of the range indicating popularity amongst our clients and this combined with neutral shades becoming more sought after, we released the product based on demand.

Marketing

Nowadays, 90% of people use their smartphones to aid their purchasing decisions so it couldn’t be easier to reach prospective clients. Although your marketing strategy will always be unique to you, your target audience should remain at the forefront of your marketing efforts and everything you do should have them in mind. If you sell directly to customers you may opt for a mixture of Facebook ads, paid search ads social marketing or email marketing however the option you choose will depend on your business goals.

For us at TKC, we are trade-only suppliers and our challenge is connecting to fitters directly. As such, when we launched Lucente Cashmere, we took the product to an industry specific exhibition where we knew it would be on show in front of an extremely targeted, relevant audience. And… it worked!

Prepare

If you understand the demand, create a product and release it to market, you are more than likely on to a winner. However…. Do not underestimate preparation needed. It is extremely important to prepare, prepare and prepare again to ensure you do not negatively affect your company’s reputation by a poorly planned launch.

Remember: prior preparation prevents poor performance.

Look into previous product launches (both within your company and others in the industry) ensure the full team have been briefed on everything they need to know (benefits, costs, launch dates, colours the product is available in, where it can be purchased etc) as well as stock levels (will you have enough to meet the demand).

Whilst there is no harm of selling out, if suppliers cannot purchase products from your business and there are other companies offering the same (or very similar), they are likely to purchase from them. However, from conducting research in the outset, understanding demand, marketing the product and releasing it to the right audience, you will hopefully be on your way to a successful product line.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by TKC .