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"New products and services can be the lifeline for any company. Bringing these products to market, however, can be challenging," said Edward T. Reilly, president and CEO of American Management Association. "To effectively compete in an increasingly complex and aggressive marketplace, you need to have a thorough understanding of all the internal and external forces that will impact the new product's profitability and, ultimately, the corporation's survival," Reilly said. He offers the following advice:
Establish firm marketing goals. It should be clear to all internal constituents from the outset what the objectives are and what success will look like.
Know your customers. Be clear about who your customers are and what they want. Keep in mind that people buy what they want to buy, not necessarily what they need to buy.
Know your competition. Determine if your competitors have similar new products or services and how they plan to market them. Adapt your own marketing efforts accordingly, considering the 4 Ps of marketing-product, pricing, promotion and place or point of sale.
Customize your marketing strategy. You're product is unique. Your marketing strategy should be too. With so many marketing variables to control, you can create a distinctive marketing plan, even in a crowded marketplace.
Identify your unique selling point. This is the key factor that enables your product or service to stand out from competitors. The differentiating claim need not address the most important attribute of your product, but must be compelling and meaningful. For instance, the unique selling point of peanut butter could be an unbreakable jar.
Pricing is crucial. Your pricing decisions need to be based on a combination of your own goals and the pricing strategies of the competition. In general, with quality being similar, pricing below competitors will result in high volume and relatively low margin, while pricing at the high end of the market will yield lower volume but higher margin.
Sell the experience. Successful marketing fulfills a customer's hopes, wishes and dreams. Beyond offering a quality product, consider the customer's total experience. Design your packaging, your product presentation, your marketing copy and your distribution channel to enhance the total customer experience.
Reach your market. Make sure your message reaches potential customers when they are most likely to be thinking about or buying your product. This may mean using multiple media channels at different times of the day, month or year, depending on the product's usage life or purchase cycle.
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