Launching a new product requires crossing a lot of Ts and dotting a lot of Is. And even sometimes when it feels like a product designer has done everything right to position his product as the next big thing in the market, everything can still go wrong during or after the product launch.
Below are six key actions that have proven useful after failed product launches in the past.
Run a Post-Mortem
When a product fails to live up to its designer’s expectations in the market after its launch, it is imperative to study and understand what led to its failure and what can be done to correct such. This can easily be done by analyzing the available metrics, checking the product’s bounce rate, the calculating conversion rate in comparison to the expected conversion rate, finding out entry and exit pages as well as talking to the audience, or running a survey. All these should be enough to provide insight into what went wrong.
Check Your Message
It is important to review the message to ensure that it is really driving home the purpose of the product’s existence in a way that the audience understands and can be convinced to patronize. Specifying a single purpose is always helpful in this regard. For instance, a company that produces footwear for athletes would not just position the product as a must-have item for athletes rather they will go a step further to identify the users' pain point and position it as one that provides amazing comfort for athletes.
Check your Offer
Pricing is one of the most important factors of production and it can make or mar a product. However, brands can cajole their audience to pay whatever amount they deem fit if their product is essential. What if the product is not essential and the audience can do without it? What if the product does not provide a solution to a major problem? It might just be time to reconsider if giving it another try is worth it.
Offer New Products for Free to Beta Testers
Getting beta testers to use products for free after a failed product launch will help in getting accurate feedback and their opinions about certain things like pricing and usability. It would also help in exuding credibility as their reviews and words of mouth can go a long way in positioning the product as reliable.
Apply all Changes
After running the post-mortem, analyzing all the available data, and identifying the problems, the next step should be to apply the necessary changes and get the opinions of testers even before thinking of a relaunch.
Try Other Promotional Methods
Trying out other promotional methods to market the product can also prove very helpful. Changing the promotional medium to target the right audience, hosting events that feature the product, and giving certain percentage cuts to new users, just to name a few.
When failures like this happen, resilient product designers do not back down and abandon the project. For them, it is the beginning of the sequel for their next big break. You can up your product design game by reading more informative articles on our blog. Don’t forget to also like, comment, and share them.
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