In Short…
- How to manage product launches.
- Importance of managing price competitions.
- How to manage distributors.
- How to integrate pricing and distribution strategies.
Managing Product Launch
Objectives of Product Launch:
- Get into the market
- Capture market from competitors
- Get into customers’ minds
- Convince customers that the product is beneficial to them
- Sell the value proposition
These all require high expenses. Hence the product launch needs to be successful.
Objectives post a successful product launch:
- Product launch is supposed to create a price/share premium.
- Marketing expenses will have to decrease in the long run
- Lower distribution/sales cost
- Lower cost of defending the brand
- Accelerating the market with marketing and sales (instead of waiting for word-of-mouth)
Customer Acquisition and Retention
Customer retention is important in the long run since it is cost-effective and the customers need to be protected from the competitors.
Sales Funnel for Acquiring Customers
Awareness – Interest – Consideration – Purchase Intent – Purchase
Customer Management Cycle for Retaining Customer
Awareness – Consideration (Top of Mind) – Convenience/Accessibility – Interaction with customers – Purchase Intent – Purchase – Post Purchase (since users reevaluate their considerations) – Manage Customer Experience – Retain
Retention strategies are simpler compared to customer acquisition
How Credit One became a competitor to Visa/MasterCard :
Credit One target audience was young people who didn’t have a credit history. They charged higher interest rates due to the high-risk market of young creditors. They checked up on customers who were defaulting and asked how Credit One could help.
- Awareness – Direct Marketing, Mailer Advertising, Promotional offers
- Consideration (Top of Mind) – Branding, Educational seminars, online information, College/School Alumni Network
- Convenience/Accessibility – Multiple Channels – call centers, online, channel partners
- Interaction with customers – Relationship managers, no-risk trial offers
- Purchase Intent
- Purchase
- Post Purchase – Review and support, 24×7 helpdesk
- Customer Insight experiment – Using data to optimize the marketing mix
- Manage Customer Experience – Building loyalty rewards
- Retain
Balancing Brand and Customer Management Strategies
Sample Product Launch Plan
Park the brand in a tax haven, then when the company uses the brand in a country with high taxes, the company has to pay a licensing fee to the brand parked in the tax haven (Switzerland, Singapore, Ireland)
Brand Value as Company Value (out of 100%)
Marketing Dashboard
Latitude of Price Acceptance
Note: These are notes from the ISB Executive Education – Product Management program for my personal consumption.
In case you are looking for a Product Management course, I would highly recommend joining this cohort-based course.
PS: You can connect with me for review or referral discount (link for referral discount)
