Introducing new products to the market. How to bring a new product to the market. What is considered a new product

The success of modern business organizations largely depends on the quality of strategic planning and management. The ability to plan and update the assortment portfolio in a timely and effective manner serves as the basis for the competitiveness of an enterprise and its products on the market. No company that manufactures products for consumer markets will be successful for a long period of time without taking measures to develop and improve their products. This need is due to both the presence of the life cycle of each individual product, which must be monitored and adjusted as necessary and possible, and the constantly changing needs of consumers of goods. In addition, various environmental factors can serve as a reason for changes in market activity and product policy of the enterprise.

New products may vary in nature and origin. The classification recognized in world practice is shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1. Classification of varieties of new products

Shorter deadlines (due to the unstable, too rapidly changing economic situation, and the weakness of strategic planning of the activities of organizations);

Making decisions on the creation of a new product at the will and order of the management, and not based on the results of assessing the conditions and necessity;

Priority of the product over the consumer during development (mainly the target group is selected later, for the finished product);

Orientation to Western samples and their copying;

- “pseudo new” products (release of cheaper products by reducing production costs, reducing the number of ingredients or replacing them with cheaper analogues);

Taking into account the preservation of state regulation and socio-political interests in a number of sectors of the national economy, the operation of national programs for economic development;

Mass import substitution of products in the market.

The strategy for developing and bringing to market a new product includes nine main stages, presented in Figure 2.

Figure 2. Stages of a new product development and market launch strategy

First of all, the relevance of a new product and its success in the market depends on the correct choice of the search direction. Choosing a destination serves four main purposes:

1. Determines the area in which development should be carried out,

2. Helps to direct the search efforts of all structures of the company,

3. Concentrates developers' attention on the assigned tasks,

4. The need to develop directions that are acceptable to all members of the leadership contributes to their early thinking.

Idea generation is a systematically organized process of searching and forming ideas for new products. In 2014, experts of the scientific and socio-political journal of the Russian Academy of Sciences "SotsIs" conducted a survey of managers of research departments, during which the frequency of new ideas passing through further stages of development was determined. The survey results are shown in Figure 3.

Figure 3. Percentage of new ideas going through further development stages

Among the most common and used in companies, methods of generating ideas are: the method of enumerating features, forced combination, morphological analysis, determining the needs and problems of consumers, brainstorming (storming), synectics.

The Idea Selection Phase is aimed at identifying suitable proposals and rejecting unsuitable proposals. During the initial assessment of the proposed projects of new products, it is necessary to answer questions regarding the benefits that consumers and society can see in them, the benefits for the company, the compatibility of the project with the goals and strategy of the company, the complexity of its development, advertising and distribution.

The next stage of development and testing of the concept of a new product involves the creation of a system of basic orienting ideas of the manufacturer about the product being created, its market opportunities and characteristics, and testing the impact of this concept on groups of target consumers.

The development of a marketing strategy is based on the creation of a system of marketing activities through which the company intends to achieve the planned values \u200b\u200bof sales and profits. The structure of the strategy statement is presented in Table 1.

Table 1 - The structure of the presentation of the marketing strategy of a new product

After the concept and marketing strategy of the product have been formulated, more specific questions arise about the likelihood of matching the real value of sales volumes, market share and profits from the sale of new items planned in the project. An assessment of this probability can be given by an economic or business analysis.

Business analysis is a more detailed assessment of a new product idea in terms of required investment, expected sales volumes, prices, costs, profit margins and planned return on investment.

The economic analysis of an idea includes forecasting the costs of product development, going to market and selling, assessing competition and sales, analyzing profitability, and accounting for uncertainties and risks.

If a new product has successfully passed the business analysis stage, it moves to the prototyping stage, during which it turns into a real product. At this stage, it will be determined whether the concept of the product lends itself to embodiment into a product that is cost-effective, both from a technological and a commercial point of view, and whether the ideas put into it are feasible in practice. The finished prototypes are tested. Prototypes that have successfully passed the test for quality and reliability go to the stage of trial marketing, where they are tested in conditions close to market conditions.

As part of a new product development and launch strategy, the marketing trial phase is a critical component and should not be ignored. It is a transitional link, meaning the completion of development and preparation for the product launch. Companies that do not pay enough attention to trial marketing or want to save time and money by neglecting it, as a result, lose disproportionately large sums after the introduction of an untested product in full, when changes can no longer be made or it costs enormous effort and costs. In addition to the ability to assess the reaction of consumers to a new product and make the necessary adjustments, trial marketing allows you to select the most suitable and effective marketing tools and distribution channels for use at the stage of commercialization, after making sure of their effectiveness. When using trial marketing, consumer goods companies typically choose one of three methods — standard, controlled, or simulated trial marketing.

In case of a positive decision based on the results of trial marketing, the project enters the commercialization phase. The stage of commercialization means the development of serial production and the release of a new product to the market, requiring significant costs. Introducing a new product to the market requires clear solutions to the four issues presented in Figure 4.

Figure 4. Content of questions, the elaboration of which is necessary when introducing a product to the market

By the end of the product development process, during which sales are zero and costs rise as the final stages of the process are approached, the product enters a new stage of the life cycle - market launch, usually accompanied by a gradual increase in sales. The beginning of the stage is the first appearance of new products on sale. Even if a new product is very successful, it takes time to conquer the market. Significant funds are needed to attract distributors and build stock.

When bringing a new product to market, a company can adopt one of several strategies. The enterprise can adjust the level for each of the variables - price, promotion, distribution and quality of the product. Recommended strategies for bringing new products to market are presented in Table 2.

Strategy	Variable level	Value	Terms of use
Gradual extraction of maximum profit	The price is high, sales promotion costs are low.	The high price helps to maximize the profit per unit of the product, and the low incentive costs reduce the overall marketing costs.	The small size of the market and the awareness of buyers about the product, if they are willing to pay for it. A small number of competitors.
Accelerated extraction of maximum profit	High level of price and sales promotion.	Allows you to expand the circle of knowledgeable consumers, driving sales. Revenues should override incentive costs.	The market is small, the majority of buyers have a poor understanding of the product, and measures are needed to alert and persuade them.
Accelerated market conquest	Price is low, sales promotion costs are high.	Provides the fastest and most complete market conquest and capture of the highest market share.	The market is large, buyers are price sensitive, unfamiliar with the product, competitors are dangerous. The costs are lower, the larger the scale of production and the richer the experience of the company.
Gradual market conquest	Weak sales promotion, low price.	Systematic introduction of a product into an existing competitive market with low opportunities and low ambitions of the company.	Limited finances do not allow spending large amounts on withdrawal.
Average parameters of market penetration	Average price level and average sales promotion.	The product is intended for the middle class, does not try to stand out, competes on the basis of quality, emphasis in advertising and positioning on high quality at an affordable price.	Mainly in the market for necessary goods, when targeting buyers who are more responsive to quality rather than price, and who are also sufficiently knowledgeable, have some idea of \u200b\u200bthe product.

The company chooses a strategy to bring the product to market in accordance with the intended positioning of the product. Choosing a strategy for the product launch phase is the starting point for planning the entire product lifecycle. The company focuses its sales on those buyers who are most ready to buy and holds events to try out a new product or to interest consumers in it.

As the world practice shows, a rather insignificant part of new products has commercial success. According to some experts, only 20% of innovations are successful in the market.

The reasons for new product failures are usually the following:

Lack of a clear and adequate concept of the novelty;

Solution of technical and technological problems by the product without satisfying the basic needs of the consumer;

Poor coordination of efforts of employees and departments when launching a new product;

Management's expectation of an instant financial effect from a novelty, unpreparedness for long-term investments and promotion;

Low product quality;

Wrong pricing policy;

Late launch of the product on the market;

Weak distribution and lack of marketing support for sales.

Factors that complicate the development of new products include:

Short life cycle of goods and technologies;

Existing state regulation of innovation processes;

A significant amount of required capital investments;

Relative similarity of basic technologies for enterprises of certain industries;

High costs for product development and implementation.

The key success factors for new products are:

The superiority of the product (the presence of unique properties that bring additional benefits to the buyer, contributing to a better perception and interest);

Marketing know-how (better understanding of the market, focus of development on the market and on the client);

Technological know-how.

In addition, success factors include: intensive initial analysis, precise formulation of the concept, development plan, control of all stages of product launch, access to resources, time factor, as well as correct risk assessment.

Thus, when forming a strategy for developing and launching a new product on the market, it is necessary to take into account all the factors of success and reasons for failure considered above, as well as a thorough study of the stages of creating a product and the choice of tactics for its introduction to the market, corresponding to its positioning and the established price level and sales promotion. The combination of these measures and a strategic approach to the processes of developing and bringing a new product to market contribute to:

Http://socis.isras.ru (date accessed: 03/31/2016)

Izmalkova S.A., Tronina I.A., Tatenko G.I., Magomedalieva O.V., Laushkina N.S. Strategic Analysis: A Modern Concept of Management: A Study Guide for Higher Professional Education. - Orel: FGBOU VPO "State University-UNPK", 2013. - 315 p.

Izmalkova S.A., Tronina I.A., Tatenko G.I. Strategic management and marketing / tutorial. - Oryol: FGBOU VPO "State University-UNPK", 2011. - 325 p.

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Prostova Natalia Head of EMC Projects Department
Renard Andrey Vice President of EMC
Company Management magazine, No. 10, 2005

This is obviously a crazy idea.
The only question is, is she crazy enough to be right?
Niels Bohr

Part one. Manuscript found in mailbox (electronic)

"Dear FRIEND! You have to surprise the world - come up with a new product, successfully bring it to the market, make everyone happy and become terribly rich! It's very difficult, but remember the main thing - don't be afraid!
You must remember and repeat the thirteen commandments to yourself every morning, here they are:

To get a really worthwhile new product, you need to consider at least 20 ideas, of which 2-3 already seemed genius to you.
Don't trust marketers who say people buy what they need - people only buy what they want.
People don't often want what they need.
People love new things if they have something to compare them with; but even more often than new, people buy what they know from the cradle.
Oddly enough, people buy cleaning powder for cleaning the bathroom.
If you do not remember what the girl you liked is wearing, when you return to the ballroom, you will not find her; the same applies to packaging and product names.
With a little improvement, you can sell hundreds of times more.
If they don't buy, then let them want to buy it.
People won't want to buy until they're interested in the product.
If there are no rumors and legends about your product yet, spread them yourself.
Attract only the first hundred buyers with a low price; the next thousand will pay for them.
Before embarking on an ocean voyage, swim in the bay in clear weather: check your goods with customers.
Products do not exist because of pretty names, but because everyone benefits.

This text was written in Shanghai in the 15th century. and since then has never changed. Don't throw this letter away, but rewrite it 20 times and send it to your friends and partners. And then you will be happy!
One president of a former large holding started laughing and handed the letter to his secretary. And for five years now, the holding does not exist, and the former president himself has been working as a night watchman.
Another commercial director was not too lazy, reprinted the letter and sent it to his colleagues - today his company entered the ADR on the New York Stock Exchange.
And there are a thousand of these examples!
One woman, who traded from a box near the subway, rewrote this letter all night, sent it to merchants and now owns a chain of dry goods stores in New Orleans and Stary Oskol.
The industrialist Nobel drove out the messenger with this letter, and soon the revolution broke out - he lost all his oil fields and powder factories right in Petrograd itself. And the great-grandson of a loader from Nobel's gunpowder factories, a candidate of mineralogical sciences, read the whole of Turkey and half of China, became rich and immediately went bankrupt in default. And exactly when he decided to commit suicide, he got this letter; he did everything as expected, and now he has a network of supermarkets throughout the country. He called it "Thirteen" in honor of the number of commandments. Happiness came to him exactly on the 1028th day after the last letter was sent.
And if you do everything right, then happiness will come to you, maybe even faster! .. "

Part two. Examples and counterexamples

There is no doubt that by remembering all 13 commandments and having certain qualities (or experience) of a manager and a marketer, you can always organize the launch of a new product on the market. Most likely, in this case you will pursue two opposite goals: to save budget funds and to get into the top ten with a new product. Can these goals be combined? Let's turn to the existing practice.
In the press, in books and in life, we will find a lot of examples of "right" and "wrong" launch of new products, which turned out to be successful in the end. It happens that everything is done correctly, but it ends in failure, it happens on the contrary - the belief in the idea of \u200b\u200ba new product contrary to all forecasts leads to a win. Let's consider a few typical examples from the practice of the EMC company.

1. A classic example.
The preliminary study served as the basis for refusing to launch our own production of milk powder - a new product for our customer.

Period: summer - autumn 2000
Content of work: marketing research of the feasibility of opening its own production of milk powder (study and analysis of the competitive environment, supplier proposals, opportunities to work with raw material suppliers; project payback assessment).
Comment. As a result of the project, on the basis of EMC recommendations, the customer decided that it was inexpedient to invest in its own milk powder production. According to the customer, "this project helped to save more than $ 300 thousand."

2. An original example.
A low-budget study provided most of the parameters for the successful launch of a new product to the market - fruit ice.
Customer: "Metelitsa" - ice cream manufacturer.
Period: Summer 2000
Content of work: conducting focus groups to select the most interesting taste of fruit ice, as well as the concept of packaging and the name of the new product. Focus groups were conducted with the involvement of schoolchildren practically free of charge (several boxes of ice cream distributed free of charge at school by "members of the expert council" - senior pupils served as payment).
Comment. According to the results of the study, out of the four tastes proposed by the technologists, two were left. On the basis of the proposals of the focus group participants, the packaging was developed and the most successful name was chosen, under which this product is sold today - "Ldinka" fruit ice.

3. An example is sad.
The entrepreneurial approach to the launch of a new brand of cabinet furniture did not allow a great idea to be realized.
Customer: a furniture factory near Moscow (the name was not disclosed for confidentiality purposes).
Period: winter 2004-2005
Content of the work: a detailed study of the company's actions to launch a new brand. Evaluation of brand performance in the market.
Comment. Within the framework of the project, all areas of the company's work on the brand were investigated; an assessment was given to the actions of the company and its managers to withdraw the brand; zones that have not been worked out are indicated; recommendations were given on the necessary work with the brand at the current stage of market development; measured market indicators of awareness, brand perception, etc.
As it was revealed in the framework of the project, a more detailed planning of the brand launch and a careful approach to its concept would help the company avoid losses associated with the opening of a salon under a new brand. Moreover, a preliminary analysis of the market would help to correctly position the brand and make a good profit, since the entrepreneurial idea itself was really in demand by the market.

4. An unusual example.
The preliminary marketing research made it possible to identify the need to provide a new service on the market - the help desk of funeral services, as well as to develop an advertising strategy in the unusual conditions of this market.
Customer: Department of funeral organizations and services (UROS).
Period: autumn - winter 1998
Content of the work: marketing research of the feasibility of creating a help desk for funeral services, problems of its formation and implementation, choosing a name for the service, developing a corporate identity and advertising strategy.
Comment. The customer set the task of creating a help desk for funeral services with its subsequent use as a tool to promote the services offered by the holding companies. At the same time, the task was to bring this service to the market - from choosing a name to developing an advertising campaign. Marketing research was conducted to find marketing steps to differentiate from competitors in the eyes of the client, and to find and model the name of the service.
Unfortunately, the real goal of the customer was different - to get public support for the future deputy.
In addition, the desire to follow the competitor's strategy made the customer blindly copy his moves - and not take advantage of any of the existing effective developments.

5. An example to follow.
The successfully found brand name and a well-thought-out research program made it possible to bring a new brand to the footwear market in a short time and increase the customer's turnover tenfold.
Customer: American company (name withheld for confidentiality purposes).
Period: 1993-1995
Content of work 1. "The business owners set us a difficult task: the name should be sonorous, like Monarсh, and carry some kind of legend. Immediately, the idea arose to choose the place of origin of the goods. Indeed, to write" France "- they will not believe," Italy "- it has already been compromised by the Chinese, "Germany" - they sew good men's shoes, and we have 80% women. We settled on Austria: it seems like German quality and at the same time something elegant, feminine. You know, there, "Tales of the Vienna Woods" , "Bat", "Who can compare with my Matilda?"? The name was chosen by poking a finger into the German-Russian dictionary, and one finger hit the right place - Walzer! In translation "waltz". mother's shoes and waltzes, or does the lady flirt with the gentleman and hides a note in her sandals?
Then the problem arose - where to produce? After marketing, we prioritized costs: it turned out that it was cheapest to produce in a women's colony near Mozhaisk, followed by China, and a little more expensive by Portugal. Believe me, I really wanted to sew in Russia, just to avoid customs. After all, shoes are like peaches: you are a week late - and you can't sell the batch anymore. Besides, there are subtleties. For example, women's shoes can be sewn in Russia, and shoes can be ordered in Italy, and men's shoes, on the contrary, are better made in Slovakia or China, and shoes in Russia. But even with all the invoices in Russia, it turned out to be more expensive: our factories in advance include in the price their inability to work for five years in advance. Therefore, the first batch of sandals was made in the Chinese province of Shenzhen, in the free economic zone. But the legend won out over reality, and soon the owners distorted the Austrian design, and then the production was moved to Austria. And here's what's interesting. Even our Austrian counterparty immediately believed in the original Austrian origin of the brand: how, I remember, there were such shoes!
By the way, it was very important to come up with not only the brand of the product, but also the name of the company. Here everything is the other way around - no foreignism, soviet conservatism is needed so that small wholesalers are not afraid that they will be "dumped". One boy in the team came up with: "Soyuzintorg". The choice turned out to be very precise: I then worked in the trading floor and I remember how clients assured me: they say, we have been working with you for 12 years! As a result, the company's turnover in 1993 increased tenfold! And to this day, Walzer shoes are in demand at Luzha, the center of wholesale footwear trade in Russia. Moreover, we have already discovered a lot of counterfeits, which are produced in eight countries of the world - Taiwan, Italy, Austria, Russia and Eastern Europe. And it is symbolic that one of the strongest designers in the world, Roberto, is working with the trade mark, which arose as a swindle. "
Comment. Following the success of the first Walzer collection and a significant increase in turnover, the company was able to place an order in production. More than 800 models were presented to create a new collection "Spring-1995". Such a volume cannot be explored in classical ways. An attempt to involve experts in this process proved to be ineffective. The research marketing program for the new collection was adventurous, but the adventurous was involved in methodology. The survey was point-by-point, but the points were selected in accordance with the specifics of a particular market.
A. Renard (EMC vice-president, project manager during the specified period) says: “In my memory, this was the cheapest and most effective research of all that we and our competitors did. by design) at a clothing exhibition in Paris Experts brought an analysis of trends: what will be fashionable in the next season depending on clothes (fashion in Russia at that time was lagging by about a year compared to European).
After preliminary selection on the basis of the presented analysis, the prepared collection was placed on the trading floor for demonstration to wholesalers. During this period, wholesalers were interested in the winter collection, and it was very difficult to distract them for research, even for two or three short questions. Nevertheless, the new collection could not fail to attract their attention at all: they approached the shelves and carefully examined the models that interested them. And a cheap chip (less than $ 1) was sewn into each pair, which responded to the number of detachments of the model from the stand. Thus, the most interesting models for wholesalers were identified. "Leaders" were worked out separately. And the most promising models were chosen from the middle peasants, with which the agents went to other shoe companies as representatives of China, offering them to be launched into production. All together gave an assortment card. As a result, the collection was very successful, and minimal funds were subsequently spent on further promotion.
We knew for sure that our customers were wholesalers. After conducting preliminary research on fashion trends, we helped them sell our products to the end consumer. Having studied the proposals of competitors, we have determined the optimal ratio of assortment positions so that there is nothing superfluous in the collection and in volumes and everything is enough. At the same time, everything was done in the shortest possible time and with a very modest budget. Moreover, they saved money for promotion. "

Part three.

Instruction for geniuses
Who needs a methodology and why when introducing a new product to the market? If we talk about entrepreneurs, "sales geniuses" and "intuitive marketers" (not to be confused with "managers" and "marketers"), then the technique is most likely harmful to them. Imagine a centipede, who was asked which leg it starts with and in what order does it then rearrange these legs?
There will always be examples of ingenious finds, guessed by the instinct of goods, prompted from above technologies. It is not known, however, how many of these "guessed", "prompted" and "ingenious" failed with a bang, causing complete collapse. But if you consider yourself a genius, then do not bother yourself further reading this tedious article: the technique will not be useful to you - it will only interfere with listening to your inner voice.
Forward!!!

Part four.

Technique for mere mortals
This part is intended for us mere mortals - managers and marketers who ask the age-old question: is it possible with the help of some technology, methodology to reach the level of talent (we don't need a genius), while maintaining at least the average market profitability? Let's consider the simplest scheme that you can rely on when answering this question.
It is assumed that we have already conducted a preliminary selection of new product ideas and selected some of the most attractive ones. The very process of selecting ideas, methods of evaluating and comparing completely different ideas is a topic for a separate article. There are certain methods and approaches that allow you to manage the emergence of ideas, the methodology for their stage-by-stage selection, etc. Here we will not consider this block of work. Let's start with the idea already chosen (see figure).
Let's consider this technique step by step.

Block 1. Checking the idea
At this stage, the idea of \u200b\u200ba product is usually formalized: a description of the product is drawn up, its distinctive features, nuances of technology, competitive advantages are indicated - everything that will allow it to find its niche in the market.
Such a description, as a rule, does not contain precise characteristics, such as weight, size, color, etc. Rather, when formalizing an idea, ranges are indicated for the specified characteristics and consumer qualities are formulated, for example, taste, smell, usefulness, convenience, etc.
Here, it is very important to describe, as a first approximation, the differences between the new product and its analogs or direct competitors.
Don't skip this step! Otherwise, there is a great danger that different divisions of your company will model, research and prepare the production of completely different products! It is known how shaky and inaccurate oral stories are!
After compiling a description of a product, it is necessary to analyze its place in the company's current assortment: which products the new product will displace, which will complement. This analysis often leads to a timely refusal to launch a new product: because, for example, it crowds out the most profitable or successful selling of the available ones?
I recall many examples of how a new product itself did not reach the planned indicators and significantly reduced the volume of revenue from existing products. This was the case in example No. 3, when the new brand “wiped off” some of the consumers from the old one, but itself did not reach the volume that would compensate for these losses.
It is very important to understand, even before launching a full-scale product research, what place in the company's assortment it will be allocated. It is at this stage that the first significant screening out of ideas occurs: out of 10-20, 2-3 remain.
Don't worry if some ideas are discarded! This happens not only when the concept of a new product does not "fit" into the market, but also when it does not "fit" into your assortment.
If it seems promising to you, work it out separately!
There are cases when such an idea is easier to implement in the form of a separate business.

formalization (description according to the scheme) - preliminary requirements (wishes) for sales, production; consumer properties of the product; planned differences from competitors, etc .;

comparative sales modeling.

Block 2. Primary study
In this block, a request for marketing research and technological development of a new product is formed. In this case, the study can and should be small, low-budget, but it gives answers to precisely asked questions: how will the buyers react to the new product, how much are they willing to pay for it, what analogues are offered by competitors?
At the same stage, it is necessary to determine the possible options for the technologies used, as well as to investigate the limitations and possibilities of the existing production, the need to purchase new equipment, recruit new qualified personnel, etc.
The combined results of these two studies will provide an assessment of the prospects for working with a new product on the market. It often happens that the existing production cannot provide the manufacture of a new product at acceptable market prices, and re-equipment is too expensive.
The conducted analysis will make it possible to assess the real capabilities of the company - both internal and external - to launch this particular product and abandon it in a timely manner, saving a lot of money. In this case, it is better to spend several thousand dollars on research than to lose hundreds of thousands of dollars on equipping a new production, based on intuitive assumptions. This is the case considered in Example No. 1. According to our estimates, the savings were between $ 600,000 and $ 1 million.
If you are not going to produce a new product yourself, but are ready to place an order at one of the existing production facilities or are working with product manufacturers, this stage still cannot be skipped.
It is necessary to analyze the capabilities of a potential supplier, conduct marketing of possible alternative channels, etc.
And this is the second point of selection of ideas: now one of the three remains.
Methods / tools used:

production diagnostics - modeling capabilities;

analysis of results - it is possible to use a reduced SWOT analysis.

Block 3. Clarifying studies
The tasks of this block of work are the development of an exact technical task (and technical conditions - TU) for the parameters and external design of the product, indicating the necessary technical characteristics (color, size, weight, etc.), determining the most effective sales channels and methods of promotion, clarification price range and obtaining other information necessary for drawing up a business program (business plan) for the launch and promotion of a new product.
As our practice shows, at this stage it is quite possible to do with low-budget research (see examples No. 2 and No. 4). To do this, it is necessary to regularly monitor the needs and preferences of the company's customers, as well as the competitive environment in the market. In addition, research in this block can be less costly if the previous steps in the methodology have been worked out carefully and successfully.
At this stage, the name of the product, the main parameters of positioning, as well as the most significant aspects of the promotion strategy are determined. It should be noted that the work of this unit is closely related to the next stage of bringing the product to the market.
Methods / tools used:

request for marketing research (terms of reference) - parameters, criteria, completeness and depth, resources, timing;

marketing research program - development, implementation;

marketing research - methods are selected depending on a specific request and product: open sources, sample surveys, etc.;

analysis of results.

Block 4. Trial production
A very important stage, as a result of which it becomes clear how our calculations coincide with reality. This step is also known in production as the "prototype".
Samples of the product are made, their comprehensive technical and technological expertise is carried out. Packaging options are checked.
Here you can also clarify the profitability (profitability) of the future product. At the same time, it is necessary to clearly understand that it is impossible to directly use all the values \u200b\u200bof similar parameters when preparing a test sample to calculate the planned cost price! It is still impossible to calculate labor costs, rejection of materials and raw materials, etc. Nevertheless, many parameters are "being clarified".
Upon completion of this stage, the production technology of the product, its weaknesses, and possible risks are clarified.
In the absence of our own production, it is still necessary to receive prototypes of the future product, already manufactured in accordance with our specifications, in our packaging, and not "model samples" of the manufacturer. At this stage, it is advisable to send engineers or technologists to the future production (no matter where it is located!), So that they can analyze on the spot not only the quality of the product obtained, but also the quality of the organization of its production.
At this stage, we can and should analyze the real (and not hypothetical!) Production possibilities, simulate the cost of a new product and determine its economic feasibility for the company.
Upon completion of this stage, a decision is also made on the feasibility of launching a new product into serial production.
Methods / tools used:

technical assignment (TU) for a product - technical and technological characteristics, requirements for raw materials, materials and equipment, restrictions, etc .;

examination of samples - expert assessments, "focus groups", "quality circles", etc .;

cost calculation - in accordance with the accepted norms and accounting rules; accounting for overhead costs, variable costs, etc.

Optional: "trial sales"
Sometimes for completely new products on the market it makes sense to prepare and conduct so-called "trial sales".
This method is very often used by trading companies - do they have such a term "let's take it for a test"?
When organizing "test sales" it is necessary to draw up an accurate sales program: what exactly do we want to check through this promotion?
In no case should you set yourself the goal of selling a trial batch of a product with a planned profit - it is much more important to check the accuracy of the choice of packaging, prices, promotion methods, distribution channels.
Methods / tools used:

"trial sales" program - tasks, conditions, methods, terms;

organization of "trial sales" - logistics, instructing sellers, collecting information;

analysis of results.

Block 5. Program of withdrawal (promotion)
The results of the third and fourth blocks of work (and sometimes "test sales") give rise to the development of a business program (business plan) for the launch and promotion of a new product. The detail and sophistication of this program depends on the specific situation: product, market segment, degree of its saturation, etc.
For example, a program might have the following sections:

product description (including its strengths and weaknesses);

product positioning;

sales markets and target audience;

sales policy (including a description of the "ideal" buyer);

distribution channels (existing, new);

sales promotion (tools used);

individual special marketing projects and their implementation (special projects aimed at promoting a new product, for example, participation in an exhibition, "promotions", etc.);

trading conditions (relations with buyers) and pricing policy;

advertising and PR;

marketing budget.

When developing the program, all available information from the market and production is checked once again, the calculations are refined. Ideally, the program should pass the examination.
It is quite possible that specialists will find significant flaws in it, which will force either to return to previous levels, or even refuse to release a new product. Example No. 3 we have already mentioned was just such a project. However, our specialists carried out an examination of the program after the fact, when certain losses had already occurred (which, in fact, was the reason for the examination). Many mistakes can be avoided by timely consultation with experts.
At this stage, the most loyal customers, independent market specialists, partners, specialists and consultants in management and marketing can be attracted as experts.
Methods / tools used:

appraisal of the program - expert assessments, results of "trial sales", customer survey, etc .;

SWOT analysis - the presence and content of winning promotion strategies.

Block 6. It finally happened!
And now, when all the difficulties have been overcome, all the checks have been made, it is necessary to start implementing the planned.
Based on the program obtained in block 5, a detailed work plan with a new product for marketing and sales departments is built, and the production plan is adjusted accordingly.
According to experts, for a period of one to two years, a new product should be in the zone of close attention of all top managers. Continuous monitoring of the situation will allow timely identification and correction of errors and inaccuracies. This minimizes the risk of failure with a new product. And there will always be mistakes and blunders, since even the most large-scale and expensive research does not give a 100% guarantee of success.
An effective method is to select a separate "product manager" assigned to a new product. The entire "chain" should be in the area of \u200b\u200bhis attention and control - from the purchase of raw materials to the final sales. The task of the "product manager" is to promptly inform the management of any cases when the real development of the situation deviates from the planned plans and indicators. It would be logical to tie his salary to the results of serial sales of this product.
Methods / tools used:

the structure of the promotion program - the required volume, degree of detail;

production plan - dynamic, including an adjustment mechanism;

cost adjustment program - based on the results of actual labor costs;

algorithm and plan for launching the product into production;

distribution of control functions - for the period of launching and reaching the "design capacity" of a new product.

Part five. Let's sum up

What does the proposed method give us?
First of all, it allows you to break down the entire project to launch a new product into separate stages, after each of which a decision is made to continue the project or exit it.
Each stage has a certain cost and a specific result, and this is the key to successful planning and organization of work, as well as the ability to control the project.
Depending on the situation in the company and on the market, this or that stage of the project can be significantly reduced or skipped altogether.
The concept of bringing a new product to market outlined here requires a certain amount of ingenuity in putting it into practice and making real improvements in the way a company operates on new products. Answers to vital questions "how?", "How?", "In what ways?" not easy to generalize. A product launch program that is successful in one case can often be unusable and often dangerous in another. That is why we have focused on the main, fundamental steps - the stages of work on a new product.
The presented scheme is the most general algorithm for working on a new product. He takes into account most of the commandments and allows them to be remembered. For complex situations (innovative product, saturated market, etc.), the scheme can be detailed and supplemented with other necessary blocks.

We wish you, dear reader, successful new products! You don't need to rewrite this article 20 times, but three or four photocopies for office managers will not hurt!
Good luck !!!

Usually, in the development of business ideas, there is someone to look up to: there are enough competitors on the market to assess their pros and cons and take their own niche. But what if the product is new?

We talked with people who went through this and launched new or almost new products for the market. We learned how they developed them, how they first sold and stuffed the cones.

The conversation was attended by:

Roman Kirigetov, CEO kabanchik.ua

Ksenia Fursova, co-founder of 1DEA.me

Vitaly Drozd, founder of BODO

In addition, our lecturer Vladislav Iltyakov, Head of Product at Leroy Merlin, told us which tools will help owners launch new products.

Roman Kirigetov, CEO kabanchik.ua

About the launch and development of the service

In my student years, I was looking for a portal for a part-time job, because job search sites are designed for long-term employment. Then I ran into another problem: I needed a person “on the sidelines” for small assignments. I came across the American service TaskRabbit.com - it solved both problems.

There were no such sites in Ukraine. I decided that a business idea is also socially useful: it helps people find additional income. I bought a domain, called the service "Throw a hog". Together with my friend Alexander Yuryev, we began to develop a website.

I didn’t know then what customer development was, that I needed to ask customers and study the market.

We were self-taught. I wanted good service - for example, find a plumber who would come quickly and fix everything. We had no calculations, business plans, designers, layout designers.

We spent two months, made a website and launched in September 2012.

When the site went live, I wrote a post on Facebook. I received positive reviews, people began to register, tell their friends about us. We thought there would be problems with the performers, but in a month we recruited about a thousand people.

We had no business experience. We looked at our Western colleagues, tried to figure out logically how to take fewer steps.

In 2013 we got to the EastLabs business incubator. There, out of 150 applicants, three teams were selected, and "Throw the boar" entered this three. We took the business development course - we taught analytics, prototyping, PR, digital marketing, UX. For the first time, we learned what customer development is and understood how to develop a service.

How to understand in 90 minutes

What your customers want

About product management and testing

Previously, I was in charge of the product, now I am a product manager. He analyzes and tests the product, sets development tasks and coordinates employees.

If we launch new functionality, we always make predictions. Analyzing data, developing MVP (minimum viable product - minimum viable product), then in practice we test a new idea. If it works, we try to improve it, if not, we postpone it.

The hardest part is when a new idea doesn't work.

Once we tested an alternative monetization option: the performer pays a small amount for the customer's contacts, and the customer chooses from several performers. We watched our Russian colleagues, saw that the scheme was working, and implemented such a model in our country. But users didn't like the change. Although they paid less, they did not understand how the system worked. We worked on the product for six months, and then we returned everything back. We wanted to do better, but we got experience.

About communication channels

When we launched the product, we didn't know who to take an example from. At that time, a similar service in the United States already had $ 38 million in investments.

How we chose promotion channels:

looked at what promotion methods exist

dropped dear ones, there are ten options left

1000-2000 UAH were allocated for each channel, 2-3 channels were tested every month, efficiency was analyzed

we tested all channels by trial and error, now we periodically repeat

At first, custom articles and banner ads did not work. We realized that we need to focus on hot requests. When a person has a problem, he goes to a search engine and drives in: "plumber Kiev", and we launch contextual advertising.

The second working tool is word of mouth. We worked for recognition, our bright name was remembered, and it was convenient for users to talk about the service. When a problem arose, a person remembered the site "Throw a hog" and came to order services.

About imperfect product

Twice a week we invite clients to the office - both customers and performers. I ask about their experience of using the service, I ask for recommendations.

We have been developing a product for more than five years and we want to make a "candy" out of it. It feels like the ideal is close, but in the process there are always new ideas and feedback.

The product will never be perfect.

All that is in our power is to follow the technology, conduct a dialogue with customers and strive to ensure that our service is used more often.

Ksenia Fursova, co-founder of 1DEA.me

About starting and developing a business

Once I was choosing a travel card as a gift and came across a low-quality Chinese analogue. I have long wanted to start a business, so my husband and I decided to create maps ourselves. It took 4 months from the start of product development to launch, and in 2013 we started selling scratch cards.

I had experience in printing, I knew how to design everything visually, but I did not understand anything about doing business. Trainings and communication with entrepreneurs helped.

Experienced owners will tell you how they would solve the problem, but the responsibility is still on you: you have to make decisions and experiment.

We have been on the market with one product for almost a year. First, we collected pre-orders for goods that were not yet available. Then we created a map, launched a website and pages in social networks. The first orders were from friends, then we started participating in fairs. We checked the customer reaction, got good reviews and started developing new products.

About product management and workflows

Now the team has more than 50 people, there are already managers who are exclusively engaged in product development. We immediately tried to prescribe the processes so that the development depended not only on us. Product managers receive a brief on the product, then each specialist draws up his own brief, we come up with ideas together, finalize the brief and develop the product. Then the product is presented to the leaders and the team.

If there is anything to improve, we are finalizing it. But more often than not, we immediately release a product, even if it is not ideal, in order to get early feedback.

The launch stages that were in the beginning are different from those that are now. Everything was chaotic at first. We did not understand what we would have to face - we just took it and did it. Now all the processes are clearly worked out, but still not perfect.

About communication channels

We have used all possible channels to present ourselves. When a product is completely new on the market, you need to explain what it is for. Facebook, Instagram and contextual advertising have worked well.

Some channels were not effective. For example, we experimented with coupon services, but there was no result.

The complexity and imperfection of the product

We began to perceive difficulties as opportunities in time. The first 60% of the circulation went to waste, we lost investment, but decided to try further.

For 2 years we made changes to each print run: we found mistakes in words, changed the color rendering. This is offset printing - often the proofs did not match. But there was no way to throw away the runs if the inconsistencies were not catastrophic. The product was on sale, and we corrected this nuance in the next step.

There were also difficulties with the selection of the team. After all, when you launch a product with your own hands and know all its nuances, it is difficult to delegate. I had to learn to trust.

You can endlessly improve a product, and feedback helps best of all. We have a sample of clients - we call them and ask for feedback. If complaints are repeated, we take into account. We ask the sellers to tell about the popular questions of the buyers and we are finalizing the packaging so that even without consultation they would understand everything.

Vitaly Drozd, founder of Bodo

About starting the service

We launched Bodo in 2009. There were similar companies in the market at the time, but I didn't like their marketing and product approaches. The prices of certificates were higher than the cost of services, it was not advertised who provided the service.

I decided to create a service that won't sell a pig in a poke. We immediately began to talk about the impression everything: show the place, photo, video of the test drive. Customers now have the opportunity to give one impression or put together a set.

Before launching, I made sure that there is a real need for such a service and that the audience is large enough to build a business. We launched the product in 4 months. During this period, we developed a brand, a website, signed contracts and packaged the product.

About business development and difficulties

At first, it was difficult to negotiate with partners. Nobody knew about us, everyone wanted to work on a prepaid basis with minimal discounts. After reaching good turnovers, it became easier to negotiate.

It was difficult to find employees who are interested in the result. If a young company cannot pay market wages, it will always have staff problems. Now the difference between our first 1C programmer and current specialists is clearly visible.

Now the difference between our first 1C programmer and current specialists is clearly visible.

About product management and business problems

Product management as part of marketing is the owner's primary responsibility. No one, except him, will figure out what to sell and to whom.

5 years later, Bodo has a product manager. But I still agree on what impressions we will add to the catalog and what will be their content. There is also a department that negotiates with new partners, but this is already an operational task.

They say there are two problems in business: "no customers" and "everything else."

At first, I lived with the illusion that you can hire a good specialist who will solve any problem. But most small businesses don't have a budget. Plus - not everyone understands how to find and evaluate these people, how to convince them to join the team.

If it is possible to hire a person who has achieved results with a similar product and audience, you need to attract him at all costs. Previously, I did not have such an employee, so I had to figure it out on my own. I even mastered copywriting so that descriptions of impressions were interesting and informative.

About communication channels

Different communication channels work for different businesses. For example, for businesses in the B2B market, personal sales will be the main channel. For a restaurant - social networks and a clear understanding of the target audience.

How to understand in 90 minutes

What your customers want

The presented complex step-by-step technology for bringing a new product to the market allows you to develop a program for bringing new products (technology, services) to the market and calculate an approximate budget required for promotion at each stage. The technology was provided by Sterkhova Svetlana Alexandrovna, associate professor of the Department of Management of Innovative Projects of the Higher School of Corporate Governance (GSKU), RANEPA.

How to build a strategy?

Launching a new product on the market is always a high risk for a company; in the Russian Federation, successful projects amount to 8-10%. In order to reduce risks, I propose to consider the algorithm for developing a comprehensive program for bringing a new product to the market in stages (Fig. 1).

Figure: 1 Algorithm of a complex program for the launch of a new product

What parameters should you rely on when building your marketing strategy?

The first is the goals for the project; when developing a strategy, you need to focus on the goal.

Two other main parameters:

Informing clients. Don't forget to tell your customers about your new product, they don't know about it !!! And if they don’t know, they won’t look. Therefore - as much information as possible, taking into account the resources: the Internet, articles, social networks, viral tools, exhibitions, training seminars and master classes. Choose based on your specific product and budget. The more complex the product, the more information! Explore new ones.

Availability in the sales network or distribution. No sales in the network - no cash flow. No matter how much you advertise your product, if there is no sales network, everything else is useless.

And these two factors work only in conjunction and give a synergistic effect.

What are the criteria for evaluating success-failure in order to have time to change plans

According to the studies, this point of the algorithm is the most rarely implemented: of all innovative projects, only 7% had a list of indicators to control the promotion program. The most common case is control based on the results of sales without analyzing the reasons for the failure or failure to meet the planned targets.

Successful projects use the method of assessing efficiency: analysis of profitability indicators and the intensity of capital use - an assessment of the return on Marketing Investment:

As profit, net profit is calculated taking into account marketing costs. This ratio shows how effective a given budget is for generating profits from marketing.

After checking the implementation of the plan and evaluating the effectiveness, inconsistencies are identified and activities that have low effectiveness are planned. Only 25% of companies adhered to this action plan. These statistics indicate a low awareness of project managers about the possibility of influencing the implementation process and systematically planning the process of bringing a new product to the market.

The most commonly used indicators for assessment:

Sales volume, rub.
Marginal profit on new products, RUB
"Knowledge, consumption, loyalty"
Number of new clients
Indicators of the effectiveness of the use of financial resources allocated for marketing: the number of commercial transactions relative to the number of commercial negotiations conducted; ROMI.

Intermediate control and timely adjustments, according to the research, can reduce the risks of launching new products by 35–40%, especially in the case of launching a fundamentally new product to the market.

The development and implementation of the launch of a new product allows you to coordinate the activities of departments and optimize the costs of achieving the goals set within the framework of an innovative project.

New products appear on the market with enviable constancy - it can be both all kinds of gadgets and miraculous means for losing weight. How do people find out about the release of the next new product? What helps to bring the product to the top positions in sales?

The secret to quickly promoting new products to the market lies in a special strategy consisting of the following points:

"Promotion" of the product through the media;
collecting information about competitors;
improvement of the properties and qualities of a new product;
competent PR of products.

Step-by-step action plan

1. We identify our competitors. First of all, you need to identify the main competitors of your product. These can be firms producing a product similar in properties, and companies occupying the same market niche. An example is the eternal struggle between the producers of carbonated drinks - Coca-Cola and Pepsi.
2. We are looking for weak points in a competitor's product. After identifying the main "rival", you should carefully study the properties of the competing product, and then develop a promotion strategy based on the opposite qualities.
So, the Procter & Gamble company, having launched a new product on the market - a mouthwash, - has identified its main competitor in the person of the Listerine brand and its new product. The mouthwash from Listerine tasted bad, and Procter & Gamble relied on the refreshing properties of their product and its attractive aroma. As a result, the brand was promoted in a short time and became much more popular than the Listerine mouthwash.
3. We work competently with the media. A deliberate "information leak", which is actually part of an advertising campaign for an exclusive product, has a good effect. Consumers are happy to "peck" on various intriguing stories (not necessarily true) associated with a new product.
Focusing on this way of promoting new items, Microsoft has "promoted" its "Xbox". In the 18 months before the game console entered the market, the media presented a lot of materials describing the characteristics and features of the new product, as well as the prospects for possible competition between "Xbox" and the current leader from Sony - "PlayStation".
The more information "noise" around a product entering the market, the better.
An advertising campaign that began with a small news item should gradually develop into a powerful, large-scale PR campaign to promote a new brand.
4. We are constantly improving our product and we advertise every improvement. Just keep in mind:
The product must really have all the properties stated in the advertisement.
Consumer trust plays a key role in the development of your business. Therefore:
You can afford to lose anything you want, but not the trust of buyers.
5. We place the accents correctly. Competent PR focuses on the properties of the product that are important for the consumer, which, by the way, may change over time. Thus, Volvo cars have been presented as the most durable and durable for many years. However, sales skyrocketed to the top positions after advertisements claiming increased vehicle safety (special three-point seat belts, reliable steering column, front and rear crumple zones). Later, the company began to focus on security, which helped it maintain its leadership in the market.

Thoughtful strategic steps will allow the new product to quickly enter the market and win the consumer's favor. As a result, your business will become successful and prosperous. The temabiz.com project team wishes all your new products a rapid success. Stay with us!

Introducing new products to the market. How to bring a new product to the market. What is considered a new product

Prostova Natalia Head of EMC Projects Department
Renard Andrey Vice President of EMC
Company Management magazine, No. 10, 2005