White Caps and Launching Products

We had a big blow the other day, and as I went by the Wachusett Reservoir it was whipped up into big white caps.  It was impressive to see the momentum these waves had as they cruised across the lake.  It reminded me of the recent conference I attended where some 200 companies introduced a few hundred products and services, getting the market into frothy excitement over the new prospects.

After the conference everyone goes home with a bag full of new sales leads or a bunch of literature on must-have products.  The big challenge here is to maintain this momentum and energy after the meeting and avoid letting things just revert to the calm before the wind.

So how do you keep people excited about your new stuff and capitalize on this excitement?  Here are a few ideas.

• First your new products need to solve problems that matter.  Determining the nature of the customer’s problem as well as the product requirements needs to be done far in advance of any launch.  Hopefully you spent the necessary effort here.

• Second since you clearly understand what customers need, you must be able to communicate with them in a way that they “get it.”  Not a lot of jargon and press-release-speak, but honest to goodness frank, simple communication.

• Third and most important you need to keep the high level of excitement in your organization.  I often see companies that launch products, then sit back and assume their work is done, except for order taking.  The launch is the starting line, not the finish line.  Keep your folks excited, make it fun.

After you make big waves in the market with your new product, be sure to keep the momentum.  Like the wind blowing the white caps, keep excitement high and customers will follow.