Understanding how, when, and if to launch a product can be the difference between its success and its untimely demise. Given the volatility of today’s environment, it is much more important than ever to do your due diligence before bringing a product to market. 

We’ve come up with five product validation questions you should ask yourself before initiating a product launch. 

Product Validation Question #1: How do I know if a new product launch is right for my company?

It always starts with a macro and micro view of the market. Understand if your industry is growing stagnant or retracting.  Listen to feedback from your customers to determine if your current products still meet their needs. Check out your competitors’ offerings and how they are positioning themselves.  Ask your front-line employees what they have observed, and if product innovation is best served on current offerings or on new ones.  Is there room for a new product in the current market? 

Product Validation Question #2: How do I understand my customer’s needs/desires?

Listening to your customers in a structured manner is the best way to understand your customers’ values, challenges, what they like about their relationship with your organization, and what they want to improve. Surveys, personal interviews, focus groups, and other research techniques provide insight into what your next step should be. 

Ask questions like, “Are there areas where we meet this need better than our competitors?” or “Will this need increase or decrease over time?”  The responses to these questions may offer their personal reasons behind why they use your product, providing you with insight on how to expand. 

Meeting customers’ expectations is an evolving process. Check-in with them regularly, and continue to develop a customer experience that meets and exceeds their expectations.

Product Validation Question #3: How can a new product launch benefit my company during COVID-19? Should I think about this?

A new product launch that aligns with the needs of your customers can benefit your company—even during a pandemic.  Business growth should not stop just because of a crisis, but that growth may look different. 

New product launches are designed to increase margins, create new markets, and impact loyalty behaviors for your customers. If you can listen to and understand your customers’ wants and needs—because you genuinely want to know, not just so you can sell to them—they will be more receptive to working with you.  Customers who are willing to provide feedback during the product development process are more likely to be your advocates after you launch the product.

Product Validation Question #4: What can the current climate tell me about industry trends? Short term? Long term?

The current climate is volatile and changing quickly. We can no longer take things like consistent markets or growth for granted. Before quarantine, we were enjoying “growth mode,” so most businesses were blind-sighted and didn’t have a process in place to deal with this pandemic. Who would?  It hasn’t happened in 100 years. Moving forward, going through “what if” conversations and workshops will help us be more confident and prepared for the next crisis, whatever that may be.

To assess short term and long term trends, take a broad view of the environment and how it is affecting your business and your customers. The economy is intertwined, and some of a business’ biggest competitive threats won’t even come from within its own industry. 

The American consumer is the ultimate driver of our economy. Economic success is determined by our ability to empower that consumer. This pandemic has reinforced that.

Businesses and consumers doing “more with less” will be an important short term and potentially long term trend. Businesses have been forced to reevaluate their services and rethink labor and inventory, which ultimately increases the cost of the product. Prices will likely increase, unemployment may remain stubbornly high, and fiscal stimulus will likely go away, resulting in a decrease of discretionary income. We can’t just push those costs on to the consumer. We’re going to have to do more with less. 

Product Validation Question #5: What do I need to do to launch a new product?

You need a clearly defined purpose and a cross-functional team who can serve as a think tank for the new product. There should be a variety of development stages where you can receive feedback from your team and your customers.

You also need leadership buy-in and the research tools and techniques to effectively evaluate a new product in a cost-effective way.

Once the product is launched, you should have an internal and external benchmarking product validation that ensures success at launch and beyond. Research and assessment will help evaluate the product post-launch.

You should also consider the launch’s degree of risk using the Ansoff Matrix, pictured below.  Clearly, there is a higher risk when a company is looking at new products and new markets. Before launching a new product, you must identify your risk tolerance. 

Are you considering a new product offering? Please contact us to learn how we can help you launch your product with success and confidence.