Frontline Perspectives

Products and services can take a long time to develop.  No matter what, they always take longer than most of the team plans.  It’s easy to lose track of the details when your team has been up to their ears in engineering problems, QA issues, or legal discussions.

Here’s a list of some of the things we’ve seen get missed during countless launch plans with clients.  Don’t get caught without making sure these are done before your sales team hits the street.

Pre Launch:

1. Determine new product name and part number
2. Develop a concise new product description
3. Clearly define product placement within your current product line
4. Outline all features and benefits (highlight unique features or capabilities)
5. Describe options and accessories
6. Outline differentiators from the competition
7. Develop pricing guidelines
8. Determine target markets/applications (existing and new)
9. Develop sales literature
10. Develop technical documentation (spec sheet, installation guides, maintenance guides)

Internal Launch:

1. Launch to sales, distribution,customer service and tech service groups  (determine how – conference call, meeting, event, email, etc.)
2. Add information to website
3. Launch to customers  (determine how – phone calls, demos, mailing, email)

External Launch:

1. Launch to existing prospect list (from website leads, trade show leads, etc). Determine how: email, direct mail, telephone, etc.
2. Launch to press and industry associations
   • Determine appropriate publications
   • Press release written and distributed
   • Determine viability of feature story from any beta installations
3. Lead generation (determine how: email, mail, telemarketing, social media, etc)