top 10 ways to roll out new products successfully
DESCRIPTION
Top 10 Ways to Roll out New Products Successfully to your Field by Kathleen Gogan at SVPMA Monthly Event January 2002TRANSCRIPT
Top 10 Ways to Roll Out New Products Successfully
Kathy Gogan, VP Marketing
© 2002 Eloquent, Inc
Why This Presentation?
Recent Study of nearly 300 companies93% of Marketing department responsible for
product launches (89% control budget)88% use multiple face-to-face meetings to
rollout products69% of companies spend >3 months to launch
products (42% over 5 months)66% of companies launch 5 or more
products/year (45% - 10 or more)Source: Eloquent Market Survey, 2001
© 2002 Eloquent, Inc
Critical Issues
Reducing Time to MarketCommunicating a consistent message to
channels worldwideEnsuring the organization understands and
assimilates new informationReducing product launch costs
Source: Eloquent Market Survey, 2001
© 2002 Eloquent, Inc
Product Management
Is this You?
Is this You?
Constantly Launching Products
Need New Products
Field Fire Drills
© 2002 Eloquent, Inc
Why Does It Matter?
Newinnovations
Increased Competition
More,Complex Products
More channels
Less time to sell
Eroding Margins
#10 Start Yesterday!
© 2002 Eloquent, Inc
10. Start Yesterday!
MarketAssess.Market
Assess.Product
Req’tsProduct
Req’tsProduct
Dev’tProduct
Dev’tProductLaunchProductLaunch
Market AssessmentMarket Assessment
Product Req’tsProduct Req’ts
Product DevelopmentProduct Development
Product LaunchProduct Launch
Today
© 2002 Eloquent, Inc
10. Start Yesterday!
Include rollout as part of the overall product development process– Building consensus on key
messages– Leading indicator of market
acceptance– Sales tools need lead time
White papers, demos– Technology, solution partners play
a larger role today– Set expectations for budget early
Develop the Launch Plan Early
#9 Leverage Cross-
Functional Team Expertise
© 2002 Eloquent, Inc
9. Leverage Cross-Functional Team Expertise
It takes a village to raise a child or launch a product!
Development Product marketing Sales (U.S., Int’l) Technical sales Strategic partners PR, MarCom Customers Support
© 2002 Eloquent, Inc
9. Leverage Cross-Functional Team Expertise
Launch manager– Oversee process
Subject Matter Experts– Author white papers, presentations, webcasts to ensure
message consistency
Sales management, “friends and family” analysts, customers and partners – Bullet-proof launch messages, content, and delivery prior to
general release– Early indicator of product success in market
Pre-define roles and responsibilities for all
#8 Get to the Point - Fast!
© 2002 Eloquent, Inc
8. Get to the Point – Fast
Where’s the beef? Summarize key messages
– Develop a meaningful theme for internal, external messages
– No more than 3 key sub-messages
– Repeat throughout the content (mnemonics)
– Supporting sales tools should reinforce message
#7 One Size Doesn’t Fit All
© 2002 Eloquent, Inc
7. One Size Doesn’t Fit All
Different needs for:– Domestic and international launches– Field sales, inside sales, channel partners,
distributors, technical sales, service and support– 76% of companies tailor messages
For each audience– Customize the message to what they care about
– Tailor delivery with a blend of tools
© 2002 Eloquent, Inc
Example
Direct Support
#6 Go “Ugly” Early
© 2002 Eloquent, Inc
3. Go “Ugly” Early
Publish version 1.0
Make changes based on user feedback before “go live”
Continually improved versions 2.0, 2.1, 3.0 ,….
#5 KIS – Keep It Simple
© 2002 Eloquent, Inc
6. KIS -- Keep It Simple for Users
Tailor content to different learning styles– Searchable, prescriptive, – Text-based, rich media, virtual classrooms, live
© 2002 Eloquent, Inc
Tools Used to Communicate
HighTouch
High – Tech ConvenienceBased on info from Insight Technology, 2001
“Fly-ins”
Conference calls
RegionalMeetings
Webcasts
Ad Hoc calls
Intranet/Portals
.pdf Datasheets
PPT Slide Deck
Interactive Demos
Rich Media
broadcastemail
© 2002 Eloquent, Inc
6. KIS – Keep It Simple for Users
Tailor content to different learning styles– Searchable, prescriptive, – Text-based, rich media, virtual classrooms, live
Create a comprehensive self-service launch information center– Accessible online and remote– Plan for peak usage, not average– Based on typical user desktop, no special requirements
Don’t expect the field to learn a new process easily
© 2002 Eloquent, Inc
#4 KIS – Keep It Sane
© 2002 Eloquent, Inc
4. KIS – Keep It Sane for the Launch Team
Delays in Selling
Inconsistent Messages
High Total Cost
Complex Process
Not Always Engaging
No Structured Feedback
Sales/ChannelSales/ChannelInternal
Web Sites
PhoneTeleconferences
Fly-Ins & Road shows
Virtual Classrooms
LMSs
Webinars
MarketingMarketing
Today’s Launch Processes Challenges
© 2002 Eloquent, Inc
4. KIS – Keep It Sane for the Launch Team
Content Delivery
Content Production
Outbound
Outbound: Flexible, integrated, repeatable delivery
Content Delivery
Content Production
Outbound
Follow-Up Results Measurement
Inbound
Inbound: Tracking to improve effectiveness
Mktg/Ops/Training
Mktg/Ops/Training Sales/ChannelSales/Channel
Where Launches are Going
#3 Learn From Your
Experience
© 2002 Eloquent, Inc
3. Learn From Your Experiences
Launches --NOT an event – but a process.
Post MortemPlan to refresh the
content throughout the product life cycle
Monitor usage and feedback. Take actions.
© 2002 Eloquent, Inc
Delivering Results
Unprepared Other Issues
Successful
Sales Rep New Product Training Score
% N
ew C
ust
omer
s C
lose
d
30
65
100
7530 100
Business Objective: 65% New CustomerClose Rate
Learning Objective:
80% complete
Certification with score of 75% or
more
Data shows training
correlated with
performanceData pinpoints individuals
needing mgmt attention
..and those that can
oceanfront in
Arizona
Closing the Loop
Other competitive,
product issues?
#2 Practice What You
Preach
© 2002 Eloquent, Inc
2. Practice What You Preach
Reinforce your own process.– Otherwise, you encourage
ad hoc calls, fly-ins, etc….
Use the same communication tools, -- located in the same repository.
– Continually refresh the info with new demos, updated competitive data, etc.
– Make it easy for SMEs to update their own content.– Take actions based on the usage, performance,
feedback information
#1 Promote Your Products
Internally
© 2002 Eloquent, Inc
1. Promote Your Products Internally
“Build it and they will come.”
-Field of Dreams
© 2002 Eloquent, Inc
1. Promote Your Products Internally
Use incentives as a way to entice attendees to participate
Special “Go-to-Market” Plans internally as well as externally
Tracking/follow up - powerful tools to monitor performance and evaluate rep readiness
© 2002 Eloquent, Inc
Top 10 Rules - Recap
10. Start yesterday!
9. Leverage cross-functional team expertise
8. Get to the point – fast
7. One size doesn’t fit all
6. Go “ugly” early
5. Keep it simple for users
4. Keep it sane -- use integrated communications tools
3. Learn from your experiences
2. Practice what you preach
1. Promote your new products internally
Questions?
