How to bring a new product to market. How to bring a new product to market

At the moment, many entrepreneurs are faced with the problem of organizing the launch of a new product on the market. But how to properly organize this process, and what algorithm of actions to apply, only a few know. If you represent a large company with a stable turnover and profit, then you have a certain margin for error. Income from the sale of other products will cover the losses, and after a while you will simply forget about this little trouble.

Things are much worse if the mistake is made by a new company that is not yet able to make a profit, and the attracted financial resources are strictly limited. In this case, the price of a mistake is extremely high and can result in a complete collapse of all undertakings.

Below is a step-by-step algorithm that will help to minimize the likelihood of failure and will allow you to create an overall organizational plan for bringing a new product to market.

1) Concept creation and "secondary" research.

Based on the needs of the consumer, determine the key features of your product. What problems does it solve? What wants or needs can it satisfy? Conduct a "secondary" market research based on the information that can be obtained from open sources. How has the market changed over the past few years? What are the characteristics of buyer behavior? Where do they get their information and what sources do they trust?

2) Product samples.

After the first stage, some characteristics of the new product may change depending on the results of the research. The creation of samples is always accompanied by appropriate questionnaires and surveys, which allow us to understand a number of behavioral aspects of the target groups and the particular perception of the product. Detailed information, as well as all the necessary layouts of working documents for each stage of launching a new product on the market, is contained in the Launch Product Intelligent explorer.

3) Sales forecast and financial plan.

At this stage, it is necessary to make a sales forecast and evaluate the expected financial result.

4) Communication strategy and marketing plan.

Decide how you will convey information to the target audience. What media should be used, and how will the product be positioned?

5) Testing.

Comprehensive testing and testing of the product will be advisable before the start of mass production. Try to organize the whole process in such a way that absolutely all components of the new product receive a separate assessment: quality, price, packaging, consumer properties, etc.

6) Product launch.

You order for the first time from the manufacturer or produce a large batch of goods yourself. Ensure that marketing activities begin when the product is available at the point of sale. A presentation with accompanying press releases would be a great idea. After a few weeks, conduct a consumer survey and carefully study their wishes and recommendations. Constant feedback from the target audience will allow you to be closer to your target consumer. Based on the data received, adjust your further strategies for achieving goals and marketing activities.

Polina Konstantinova

Dmitry Morison, head of PR-direction of the SALO communication agency, collected comments from business representatives about what was the most difficult for them when launching a new product on the market. They also told how they managed to solve the problems that arose.

1. Customers were skeptical about the new service

Elena Nasobina, project manager at Tochka, a bank for entrepreneurs

Not so long ago, we launched a product for calculating taxes for individual entrepreneurs. Some customers enthusiastically accepted the new service. They understood that the probability of an error in the calculation of the "machine" is much lower. But among the customers there were also those who were wary of the new service. Some entrepreneurs have been trusting all calculations only to their accountants for many years and did not want to “trust” a soulless machine. The main snag was that it was very important for them to have their own person, who can be contacted at any time.

In many cases, skepticism was overcome thanks to the fact that we sat down with clients and described in detail all the calculations. Or they calculated together according to the formula from the tax authorities why such an amount of contributions was accrued.

There are also such clients who exactly liked the service - they did not really want to go into the details of the calculations, but they warned: “If something happens, you will be responsible!”.

It is difficult to say why this particular product caused skepticism on the part of customers. It is not necessary to say that people are simply not ready for innovations, because cloud accounting has long been on everyone's lips.

2. We were not ready for high demand

Ekaterina Makarova, co-founder of car sharing BelkaCar

When BelkaBlack premium carsharing was launched, we did not expect such a boom. On the day of the announcement, the number of applications exceeded ten thousand - no one was ready for such a development of events. We sat day and night and solved the problem only a week later, when the number of verifiers doubled.

When you launch a new product on the market, you should work out as many potential situations as possible: what to do if there is an emergency, where to take people, from which departments to attract employees, which relatives to call if the team cannot cope. You should have a ready solution for all these problems so that you do not waste time working through the situation later.

3. Clients did not understand the logic of pricing

Dmitry Zubkov, CEO at Dostavista

Our express delivery service now operates in 10 countries around the world. In 2016, we launched in India - before that there were delivery services, but our service was a new product: crowdsourcing door-to-door delivery in 60-90 minutes.

At first, there was a problem with addresses: in the cities of India, only districts and streets are indicated on the map. Buildings do not have numbers. This created difficulties for couriers and customers.

The first often could not find the right address or Google Maps showed them the wrong point on the map, and they just arrived in the wrong place. And customers did not understand how the tariff is formed. The same delivery could cost differently today and tomorrow.

“Helped” again: if you change at least one letter in the description of the address, they will consider it a different point. For example, today the client could write: "Mumbai, Link Road, the house is opposite the greengrocer", and tomorrow - "Mumbai, Link Road, the house is red, there will be a greengrocery across the road." The service, at the behest of Google Maps, calculated different costs.

We solved the problem by changing the algorithm for calculating tariffs: now the cost is calculated based on the distance between specific small areas, and not points that were previously determined incorrectly. It is still not easy for couriers to find a specific home, the ability to contact the client via chat or phone helps out.

4. We wanted to receive money immediately (but it didn’t work out)

Sergey Shalaev, founder and CEO of Relap.io

In 2014, the Surfingbird team and I started working on a new (then) Relap.io project. We had internal fears - if earlier we were engaged in a b2c project, now we decided to switch to b2b, since even then we felt an increase in demand for native . But no matter how big Surfingbird was, we understood that we were about to hit the ceiling in terms of inventory growth and were afraid that by doing everything at the same time we would not succeed anywhere, but nevertheless we decided to discover new opportunities for ourselves. And, as it turned out, not in vain.

The main problem was that we wanted to get paid immediately for using recommender technology with the media. But it didn’t work out that way, because those were not the best of times: media managers simply didn’t have extra money, and it was very difficult to convince editors and journalists that our algorithms would be able to suggest more interesting content to the reader than the editor.

As a result, we decided to provide our technology for free, which we do to this day.

And the problem with the installation of the widget and the conservatism of the market was solved by time - the journalists really saw that readers like our recommendations, they natively fit into the content of the site and do not cause rejection. Readers began to spend even more time on the site, which affected the amount of advertising inventory at the sites. Subsequently, we offered partners to mix recommendations with advertising and earn with us.

5. Launching a new product is a lottery

Yuri Galtykhin, product manager of Firm MMS JSC (PROLOGY brand)

Bringing a new product to market is always a lottery. You never know how customers will accept a new product until it's on the store shelf. But before a product is in the store, there is a long way to go - from the development of a product concept to the delivery of a finished batch. And each stage has its own challenges.

In electronics manufacturing, the biggest headache is the development of the electronic part itself. Let's say we decide to release a new model based on the existing one - but we need to reduce the dimensions of the case and add several functions. For car radios, in theory, this is not very difficult: they usually have a lot of free space inside. We breed a new main board, check: the sensitivity of the radio tuner has decreased. We understand, we found a place where the microcircuit is phoning. A metal screen was added, the board was laid out a little differently. We check, the radio is now in order, but the maximum current on the USB ports is not enough to charge the phone. We figure it out, found out the reason, again we parted the fee in a new way. We check if everything is fine with the radio and USB ports, but we found a new problem. And so it can be twenty more times. And that's not counting the problems with the software, there is also a lot of interesting things.

Separately, I want to say that the creation of a new product is always a compromise. Compromise between price and feature set, but not between price and quality.

Even when planning the release of a new product, we immediately assign it a place in the product line, set the maximum price and the desired set of functions or features. And then we try to make sure that the price remains within the limits, and that the quality does not suffer. For example, take the corpus. Plastic parts are molded into special molds, and each has a maximum surface angle above which it will be impossible to pull it out of the mold without damaging the part. If the design of the device involves the use of complex molds, then expensive composite molds are used: the cost of the mold itself will be higher, as well as the price of producing one part. If we're getting close to the budget limit, it might be better to redesign the body to use a one-piece mold.

The same goes for the choice of components. Automotive electronics are subject to the highest requirements for reliability and resistance to external influences. If a home TV does not require operation in conditions of very low temperatures or high vibrations, then for a car radio with a display, these are normal operating conditions. Sitting in a car in winter at -20ºC, you will not wait half an hour until the display warms up and starts showing something? Therefore, when we choose, say, the same display, we can sacrifice resolution (put a regular display instead of a high-definition display to reduce the price), but this display will still work in +60 and -20.

In conclusion, I will say that I cannot name any one product with which there were especially many problems during its creation. There are problems with every product when it is launched to the market - it has never happened without it. But any problems can be solved. The main thing is to clearly understand what the product should be, and at all stages of development and production to control the quality and compliance with the requirements, including the budget. After all, a low-quality or too expensive product will not be sold.

6. We are faced with the fact that the product must be "flexible"

Igor Eremin, founder of the Mobile Doctor telemedicine service

When launching the MVP of our telemedicine platform, we were faced with the fact that the product must be super flexible in terms of customization, since insurance companies, banks, mobile operators, and many others can act as partners in telemedicine. And each has its own tasks and "Wishlist" in terms of functionality.

The solution was to put a lot of “custom” things into the architecture of the service that were not activated until the first partner appeared from one area or another. For example, the functionality of uploading monthly statistics on consultations, activated policies, records, automatic calculation, and so on. This made development more expensive initially, but saved a lot of time and money in the long run.

7. The main difficulty was in the business model itself

Andrey Myakin, COO and co-founder of TNOMER

The biggest difficulty in entering the market was that there were no analogues of our business model and there are no analogues yet. Let me explain what is special: the classic service retail model is geared towards offering one service as a whole, for example, only the overhaul of an apartment. We have about 50 services that cover all repairs in the apartment, in the house and on the site. That is, we strive to accompany the client at all his life turns: after the repair of the apartment we will build a bathhouse, after the bath - a fence, a gazebo, lighting on the site. Then repairs in a new apartment and so on.

At the same time, we are not a construction company, but a platform for three participants in the process: the client, the manufacturer of materials and the team. These three lines should not intersect with each other, we are the guarantor and representative. The TV channel of the same name completes all this, which is integrated into the business model to create trust and generate customers, but must exist separately and independently in order to grow the audience, and for this to produce interesting content.

We built such a complex model in about six months, and we are still optimizing it.

Another difficulty is television filming at the facilities that we are repairing. To show viewers the repair as it is, we film the repair process, accompanying it with expert comments. And on small sites surrounded by 5 tons of various materials, shooting is quite problematic. Therefore, it was necessary to create an interaction algorithm that would allow them to be carried out in such a way that it would not affect the quality and timing of the repair itself: find out in advance about the readiness of the object, figure out where to put the cameras, how to connect the work of the film crew with the work of the construction team.

8. It was difficult to convince clinics to work with us

Ekaterina Yakubchik, DOC+ mobile clinic product manager

We have a partnership system with clinics: through the application, you can make an appointment with highly specialized specialists. There were a number of problems at launch, which will be discussed below.

Problem: finding good clinics

We care about our patients, so we carefully select doctors for the staff, train them and control the quality of each treatment. When we send clients to third-party clinics, we want to be sure that they will receive highly qualified medical care there.

Solution

First, we studied the medical services market, where we paid attention to the business reputation of clinics, looked at the reviews of clients and doctors. After that, we went to each medical institution as ordinary clients, and at meetings with the management of clinics we found out how they look for doctors and control their quality.

We checked each clinic ourselves. How ordinary clients came to an appointment and looked at how the organizations looked from the inside: is it clean, is it adequate to communicate with you at the reception, is the doctor good, does he sell unnecessary services, does he conduct a full examination, does he explain his appointments. Then the diagnoses and prescribed treatment were evaluated by our head physician.

After connecting the clinic, everything does not end there. We selectively check the quality of medical care according to medical records and take feedback from each client about the quality of service.

Challenge: Integration of online timetable and medical data

We wanted to make the product as convenient as possible for the user: you enter the application, choose the specialty of the doctor, a convenient time and place, make an appointment, and after the appointment you receive all the data in the application. No calls to the clinic, no paperwork - everything through the application. This simplification of the patient's life "complicates" our life: we need to integrate with the clinic's medical information system in order to have access to their online schedule and receive the results of a patient's appointment. Our IT resources allow us to do this quickly, but on the part of MISs (medical information systems), everything turned out to be more complicated.

MISs are of two types: large players who supply their systems to other clinics, and small clinics with self-written MISs. For large MISs, we are a third-party company that is not even their client, which means that by default we are at the very bottom of the priority list. In the case of self-made MISs, clinics are not IT companies, for them this is a completely non-core story, and resources for any improvements are very limited. Both the first and the second can be understood, but integration has become a very serious obstacle for us.

Solution

As a result, the only strategy that worked was to be patient and constantly get in touch until we achieve a result. For example, it took us about a year to convince one of the largest players in the market, but in the end we got access to a large number of partners. So just patience and no magic.

In the conditions of the current market situation, the promotion of a new product and the formation of a positive attitude towards it by a potential audience is no less important element of the company's successful activity, as well as a properly developed marketing strategy aimed at introducing a new product to the market.

Despite the growing interest of companies in the use of relatively low-budget forms of innovation (product modification, repositioning, entering new markets), the greatest costs and time are spent on the development and launch of completely new and modernized products on the market. This is explained by the desire of firms to create unique products that bring super profits due to the temporary monopolization of the market. Competent introduction of a new product to the market is one of the key aspects of marketing. The successful launch of a novelty can provide the product with high profitability and a strong position. Studies of innovative activities of companies allow us to identify the main strategic goals for launching new products on the market (Table 1).

Table 1 - Key strategic goals for launching new products on the market

Consider the main stages of promoting a new product to the market:

1. Research.

At this stage, various information is collected, which will serve as the basis for the following activities. A so-called situational analysis is carried out, which includes:

assessment of a new product and the situation that has developed around it (consumer attitude, popularity, etc.);

determination of the competitive advantages of the promoted product;

analysis of the competitive environment;

setting certain goals.

This information will become the basic basis for developing the concept of promotion of a new product.

2. Setting goals and objectives.

The information obtained during the first stage is taken as the basis for developing goals. It is most expedient to develop tasks for a specific target audience. In this case, there may be several groups. The most common goals for promoting a new product are:

increasing product awareness;

formation of a positive image, associative perception as reliable;

conquering a competitive audience;

rise in sales.

The result of the built marketing communications is the establishment of cooperation with partner companies, the loyalty of the potential consumer audience increases, and sales volumes grow.

3. Definition of consumer audience.

The main goal of the events being developed is to provide the necessary impact on the potential audience. For the greatest effectiveness, it is divided into groups, where personal work is already carried out.

Of greater interest in building marketing communication links are the following categories:

company employees;

partner firms,

supplier firms,

buyers, customers and others.

Separately, for each group, an individual plan of ongoing activities is developed, taking into account the specifics and personal characteristics of the target audience.

4. Development of a promotion strategy.

After the necessary information has been collected, the potential audience has been identified, the moment comes when you can begin to develop a promotion strategy. Here, the main factors affecting the whole complex are:

market type;

Who is the strategy aimed at?

the stage the product is in.

Currently, two strategies for promoting a product are most often used: Push (push) and Pull (pull).

The choice depends on the result obtained after the analytical review of the market. The Push strategy is applied to a new product of enterprises specializing in industrial goods. Whereas Pull is most suitable for consumer markets. This is a favorite strategy of resellers who, as it were, "pull" the product to potential buyers.

If you opt for a Pull strategy, then you need to conduct an analytical study of the market situation.

It is necessary to determine the main needs of the potential target group so that the newly introduced product is in high demand. The main item of expenditure includes the costs associated with conducting in-depth marketing analysis. This version of the strategy is characterized by pushing a new product with the help of various marketing tools: ATL and BTL

5. The choice of marketing tools used to influence the client audience.

To start the process of promoting a new product, you should carefully consider the development of a plan of strategic measures that can take into account its features, the properties of its potential audience, its preferences and other nuances. But the development of strategic planning involves the use of many types of marketing tools for direct and indirect exposure to advertising.

outdoor;

located on vehicles;

This advertising technology is a set of marketing activities aimed at a more specific impact than direct advertising. BTL makes it possible to convey an advertising message to an individual consumer.

sales promotion;

direct marketing;

personal selling;

Exhibitions;

specialized events;

customer loyalty programs;

sponsorship;

trade marketing.

Due to such a narrow focus, BTL advertising is becoming more and more popular. Proper use of this marketing tool can significantly reduce the costs required for promotion. In addition, the end consumer receives full information about the promoted product.

6. The choice of means by which it is planned to convey the selected marketing activities to consumers.

At this stage, the direction of positioning the new product is chosen. Product positioning is aimed primarily at "acquaintance" of the consumer with a new product. The main strategies for positioning new products can be considered high quality, different from competitors' products. Innovative products can also be distinguished from competitors by factors such as special uses, cost-effectiveness of acquisition, focus on a certain type of consumer, and other qualities that distinguish a novelty from traditional products. The choice of the target segment is necessary for a clear direction in the process of introducing a new product to the market.

To study the position of a new product in the market, it is necessary to determine the assessment of its positioning in the market. To do this, it is necessary to draw up a “positioning map”, choosing the two most striking qualities of the product, and continue to promote the product, actively focusing on these characteristics. An incorrectly selected card can lead to a low competitiveness of the product, and therefore, it becomes necessary to modify it.

7. Budget.

Budgeting is underway.

8. Bringing the strategy to life.

This step is completely dedicated to the implementation of the developed plan aimed at promoting the new product to the market.

9. Evaluation of the effectiveness of the work performed

The final stage, when a deep analysis of the result is carried out, an assessment of the effectiveness of the work performed and the quality of achieving the selected goals is assessed.

Marketing can be called the link that connects the enterprise with the consumer. Therefore, the main task of the company is to build a strategy for promoting new products in such a way as to minimize uncertainty and crisis situations. You must first study the market conditions, have reliable, reliable information and prepare a strategic plan. Market research involves determining the potential, purchasing power in different areas, determining the categories of buyers, fluctuations in demand depending on the season, etc. Information about competitors, studying the advantages and disadvantages of competitive products, familiarizing yourself with the image and prices will also help you choose the right tactics.

A significant role is played by the program of promotion of innovative products. It consists of well-designed events aimed at presenting the novelty to a wide audience in various ways, and should pursue three goals:

informing (where you can buy, how much it costs);

persuasion (the need to purchase);

motivation (the better than others).

The right scale of action, as well as the choice of the optimal program of action and the desired focus, will bring excellent results in promoting the product.

Planning for events to promote a new product, or media planning, requires certain calculations. Criteria such as audience coverage, the number and frequency of contacts with the audience are taken as a basis. The optimal amount of time and prime time (the length of time when the audience is as large as possible) is also taken into account. Thus, you can choose the most suitable program for advertising.

The instability of the economy and the crisis made it necessary to predict measures to promote a new product to the market. This allows you to avoid omissions and mistakes that can lead to loss of profit and even ruin.

There are two forecasting methods - heuristic (intuitive) and economic-mathematical (statistical). Despite the difference, both methods are effective and bring results. They are used both individually and together. A so-called scenario for studying the economic situation is being compiled. It reflects all sorts of factors that can affect the planned actions. It is necessary to consider all alternatives and determine the possible threat.

Forecasting allows you to better analyze the situation and take action more purposefully.

Thus, in the modern world of market relations and fierce competition, the task of any company is to provide the market with a new product. The key factor here is efficiency. However, an innovative or modified product must meet the demand of a spoiled consumer with a wide range of products.

Promoting a new product is a rather risky undertaking, it is fraught with loss of profit. Therefore, any new product must be adequately assessed in relation to the prospects for successful existence. It is necessary to develop a specific marketing justification for the withdrawal of this product. A well-chosen program can determine the needs of customers, prospects and find the right strategy in promoting a new product, make it competitive and bring the company to a leading position.

Each new product at a certain stage of its life cycle goes through the procedure of bringing to the market. As you know, this is preceded by activities to develop the concept of the product itself, which are not affected in this work.

In preparation for the launch of a new product on the market, the marketing group, based on the available marketing tools, must give a sales forecast at certain time intervals when penetrating the target market segment, assess the volume and saturation of this segment, corresponding to the achievement of a given profitability. In addition, it is necessary to take into account the costs of the activities of the marketing communications complex.

The sales forecast for a new product is based on an analysis of the following market factors:

Analysis of the company's own potential,

competitor analysis,

Target market analysis,

Analysis of the macro environment,

Analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of the product (competitiveness),

Risk assessment

The purpose of this analysis is to identify the company's own capabilities (both tangible and intangible) to assess the available resources and their compliance with the strategic goals set for the enterprise, in particular, launching a new product and capturing market share. First of all, here it is necessary to consider the worldview, entrepreneurial culture and philosophy of the company and its leaders, since it is they that are decisive both for the structural organization of the enterprise and for the very goal-setting of the business. The following factors influence the formation of the entrepreneurial culture of a particular company:

Internal standards and rules specific to the firm,

informal communication channels,

ideas and values ​​prevailing throughout society,

Personal potential of company leaders,

Examples to follow.

With the help of experts, it is necessary to assess the accumulative capacity, the ability to change and the mobilization power of the company, to check the degree of its compliance with the basic principles of modern business: the principles of competition, intra-company planning, innovation, contractuality and consumer dictate.

In addition to displaying the corporate culture, this analysis should include data on all aspects of the company's already ongoing activities, as well as material reserves necessary for the promotion of a new product.

To enter a new market, this analysis is one of the most important. The successful introduction of a new product implies an unambiguous definition of all firms that can be attributed either to real competitors already operating in the chosen market, or to potential competitors that have the opportunity to enter the market with a competing product.

This issue is especially important when considering high-yielding growth prospective markets, for example, markets for certain consumer goods, or markets that are fairly easy to access, that is, markets with a low level of competition.

To be able to compare the parameters of your own company with the parameters of competing firms, you need to analyze the same parameters that were considered when analyzing the potential of your own company. Collecting sufficient information on competitive firms is usually not possible, but data such as goals, development strategies, market behavior and employee motivation systems are especially valuable for analysis and decision-making in preparing responses.

Target market analysis refers to the systematic study of all other aspects of the market that are not covered by competition analysis. First of all, it is the analysis of consumers. First you need to identify the target market segment of interest, and then explore its characteristics. For this, special marketing research is used, in particular, segmentation of consumers, determination of market characteristics, as well as reports from the sales service, the press and other possible sources of information. The following quantitative indicators are considered as the necessary information for market analysis:

market potential,

market size,

market saturation level,

market elasticity,

market growth rate,

share of the main competitors,

stability, etc.

The qualitative indicators of the market include the following indicators:

structure of customer needs,

purchase motives,

kind of buying process

ways of obtaining information by the consumer,

prevailing preferences, etc.

In addition to considering the quantitative and qualitative characteristics of consumers, it is necessary to have data on existing suppliers, business partners, trade and intermediaries, also included in the firm's microenvironment. Information about these market entities allows you to adjust the marketing policy and plan activities.

This analysis is aimed at studying the macro environment, which has no direct connection with the market, but equally affects all enterprises in this field of activity in this particular region. It is customary to divide the macro environment into economic, socio-cultural, physical, political, legal and technological components. Each of these components consists of a very large number of factors that affect certain groups of products in different ways.

For a specific type of product, it makes sense to single out several factors that are of maximum importance in a given region, and then consider only them. For example, for imported products in the group of political and legal components, the most significant factors will be such factors as customs duty rates and import quotas, the status of the exporting country, excise duties on goods, sales rules, payments for a license to trade certain goods, etc. This analysis usually requires the assistance of independent experts.

This analysis compares the results of the analysis of the company's own potential (or product) with the analysis of competing firms (or competing products) and is aimed at identifying the strengths and weaknesses of the firm in relation to competing firms. For this, an engineering forecasting method or another estimation method can be used.

Based on the results obtained, those product characteristics are identified that give the maximum advantage over competing products. At the same time, the determination of the weakest competitive aspects of the product makes it possible to adjust either the product itself or the methods of its presentation and positioning on the market.

Risk in business arises in a situation of uncertainty and is a probabilistic value. The risk assessment combines the results of all previous analyzes of the market and the firm itself. The purpose of this assessment is to provide the earliest possible warning of changes in market circumstances, internal causes within the firm, and the situation in the macro environment that are relevant to the strengths and weaknesses of the product.

Risk analysis begins with the identification of possible sources of risk, its causes and places of occurrence. In all cases, the risk is associated with the sufficiency or insufficiency of information support for the firm's activities. The resulting risk assessment is the basis for choosing an action scenario.

When conducting a risk analysis, points and places of possible occurrence of risk should be identified. At these points, the temporal characteristics, causes and duration of risk actions are determined. The final result of the quantitative risk assessment is the construction of a system of critical values ​​of the main risk indicators. Naturally, different firms have different risk tolerance. The diversification of the company's activities contributes to the reduction of risks, but without dissipation of funds and resources. When conducting a risk assessment, it is necessary to consider the development trends of the situation.

Products put on the market must meet certain consumer needs. When using only economic indicators (such as sales volume, profit, coverage of fixed costs) at the stage of introducing a product to the market, it is impossible to establish how this new product will meet these needs. Therefore, in order to understand the needs that push a person to make a purchase, it is necessary to determine their economic importance. It is these economically significant needs that should ultimately lead the consumer to purchase the product.

The purchase of a certain brand of goods directly depends on how much the desires of consumers are concentrated on this brand. The direction of consumers' desire for a certain brand is the result of the influence of all marketing tools, so the object of desire is not a product in the narrow sense, but the result of a complex impact of marketing tools. However, the desire itself does not yet determine the purchase of goods, it must be transformed into demand, which at this stage of planning is limited by purchasing power.

An important element in the process of buying a product is the degree of its availability, that is, its availability at the place of purchase. This is especially important for the first test purchase, which often determines the volume and frequency of subsequent ones. Hence the importance of a wide introduction of a new product in the sales system and the availability of sufficient inventory.

If there are competing products on the market, the buyer will spend energy searching for this particular product only if he has a strong desire to purchase this particular brand (with repeated purchases, it will be possible to talk about loyalty to the brand). In consumer goods markets, where competing products are very widely represented and can be easily replaced by each other, the issue of the correct distribution of a newly introduced product is particularly acute.

As a result of all of the above, a product can be subjected to consumer attractiveness tests before being put on the market. The most common models for assessing the attractiveness of a product are the following:

Rosenberg model

This model is based on consumers evaluating a product in terms of its suitability to meet specific needs.

Q j = S X k Y jk ,

where Q j - consumers' assessment of brand j;

X k - the importance of the characteristic k (k = 1, n) brands j from the point of view of consumers;

Y jk - characteristic evaluation k stamps j from the point of view of consumers.

Different customer requirements for products provide ideal preconditions for market segmentation, as well as information about the importance of individual product characteristics.

Ideal Point Models

In contrast to the Rosenberg model, an additional component is introduced into the model with an ideal point - the ideal (from the point of view of the consumer) value of the product characteristic.

Q j = S W k |B jk - I k | r ,

where Q j is consumer assessment of the brand j;

W k - the importance of the characteristic k (k = 1, n);

B jk - characteristic evaluation k stamps j from the point of view of consumers;

I k - ideal characteristic value k from the point of view of consumers;

r - parameter showing when r= 1 constant, and at r= 2 decreasing

marginal benefit.

It is logical that the consumer will prefer the product that is closest to the ideal point. Thus, this method gives an idea of ​​the ideal product from the point of view of the consumer.

Another variant of this method is the measurement of the degree of customer satisfaction, in which it turns out what value is expected by buyers, and what was perceived in reality.

One of the latest models for describing and evaluating a product complex is the so-called. " commodity system "- a set of components that unambiguously and self-sufficiently describe a certain set of needs that underlie competing products.

In the course of modeling a commodity system, hypotheses are made about the components i th level (starting from the first). The model implies that the needs included in the commodity system are differently important for the consumer; their importance differs for different consumer segments. Naturally, their implementation in competing products is not the same. As a result, the weight of the component (needs) and the assessment of the component for any segment are determined.

In the figure below, the letters indicate the following:

TS - commodity system

A, B, C, D - components (needs) of the first level.

A i , B i , C i , D i - needs of the n-th level.

From the point of view of the economic efficiency of bringing a product to the market, it makes sense to consider the following quantitative goals:

sales volume,

covering fixed and variable costs,

profit and cost savings,

enterprise growth,

market share.

Qualitative goals such as image and fame can be controlled based on consumer judgment.

When evaluating the economic efficiency of product launch, the indicator of the sales volume structure is used.

The volume and structure of sales are one of the most important parameters of the company's activities. Sales planning analysis should show the absolute and relative shares of products in terms of the total sales of the company, on the basis of which the marketing policy of the company can be adjusted. A convenient way to assess the sales structure is ABC-analysis, with the help of which all the company's products are divided into three categories according to certain criteria (sales volume, profit, etc.). ABC analysis provides important information about the balance between products with different profitability and the breadth of the range. ABC analysis is one of the varieties of Paret's law.

Naturally, when launching a new product, not only its economic characteristics are considered. Undoubted importance in both qualitative and quantitative indicators of the economic efficiency of a product is played by its design, color, shape, packaging, etc. The trademark of the product deserves a separate discussion.

Most goods are consumed outside the place of their production. Sales structures are called upon to deal with the problems that arise in this case.

The first thing to be decided is the choice of the type of distribution organization: direct marketing or sales through intermediaries. In the second case, many tasks are transferred to wholesalers, who develop their own marketing concepts, which do not always coincide with the concepts of the manufacturer.

Typically, the manufacturer uses wholesale or retail trade to deliver goods, which entails solving the problem of the number and type of enterprises that need to be involved in cooperation. Decisions about the choice of trading partners are closely related to the organization of the sale.

When choosing distribution channels, the firm decides which customer segments will be reached through certain intermediate sales stages. For most products, there are many alternative distribution channels, but the choice of a particular channel, in addition to its profitability, is influenced by the image of the product and the company.

Channel planning for a new product is a strategic task and cannot be redesigned in a short time.

There are two main types of marketing. At direct marketing The product goes directly to the consumer. Direct marketing makes sense for large transactions, as well as for the sale of large high-tech goods that need guarantees, technical support, etc. Often in international trade, the concept of direct marketing is used - marketing without the participation of intermediary firms of one's country.

But for most goods, especially for consumer goods, it is still the most preferable indirect marketing.

Most manufacturers should use the services of intermediaries and trade, since trade enterprises can carry out marketing functions with greater efficiency and lower costs than the manufacturer himself.

The use of wholesale trade allows you to reduce the number of contacts. The use of centralized trading is more efficient because it reduces the number of steps required to match supply and demand.

The wholesaler has the ability to spread its costs across multiple manufacturers by grouping their offerings together, resulting in a reduction in distribution costs.

With the help of wholesalers, the volume of products produced is matched with the quantity and volume of small orders, which leads to an increase in costs. The introduction of an additional link in the chain allows you to adapt to the orders of individual buyers.

Intermediaries play an important role in providing a variety of goods offered, which allows buyers to save time by purchasing several goods in one transaction. The manufacturer himself can harm the offer of a range of related products.

Despite all the undeniable advantages of introducing intermediaries into the distribution channel, manufacturers want to influence the sale for many reasons. Among the main ones is the manufacturer's image policy, which intermediaries are not always ready to support. In order to influence intermediaries, manufacturers follow the path of concluding licensing agreements and franchising, which are beneficial to the intermediaries themselves, since the manufacturer takes over the organization of nationwide advertising, providing the necessary information and, in some cases, financial assistance.

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J. R. Advance, B. Berman. Marketing., M., "Economics", 1990.

V. Blagoev. Marketing in definitions and examples. St. Petersburg, "TwoTri", 1993.

E. Dichtl, H. Hörschgen. practical marketing. M., "Higher School", 1995.

Jean-Jacques Lambin. Strategic Marketing. St. Petersburg, "Nauka", 1996.

Pesotskaya E.V. Marketing services, St. Petersburg, SPbUEF Publishing House, 1997.

Bagiev G.L. Methods for obtaining and processing marketing information, St. Petersburg, SPbUEF Publishing House, 1996.

Afanasyeva N.V., Bagiev G.L., Leydig G. The concept and tools of effective entrepreneurship, SPbUEF Publishing House, 1996.

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Microsoft Encarta Atlas, Microsoft Corporation, 1996.

Russian Business Monitor, 1995"2. The Russian market of alcoholic beverages.

New products appear on the market with enviable constancy - it can be all kinds of gadgets, as well as miracle cures for weight loss. 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 bringing new products to 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;
• good product PR.

Step by step action plan

1. 1. We identify our competitors. First of all, you need to identify the main competitors of your product. These can be firms that produce a product similar in properties, and companies occupying the same market niche. An example is the age-old struggle between the producers of carbonated drinks - Coca-Cola and Pepsi.
2. 2. We are looking for weaknesses in the competitor's product. After identifying the main “rival”, you should carefully study the properties of a competing product, and then develop a promotion strategy based on opposite qualities.

   Thus, the company Procter & Gamble, having launched a novelty on the market - a mouthwash - has identified its main competitor in the face of the Listerine brand and its new product. Listerine's mouthwash had an unpleasant taste, and Procter & Gamble relied on its product's refreshing properties and attractive scent. As a result, the brand was promoted in a short time and became much more popular than Listerine rinse.

3. 3. We work well with the media. A good effect is given by a conscious "information leak", which is actually part of an advertising campaign for an exclusive product. Consumers are happy to peck at various intriguing stories (not necessarily true ones) associated with a new product.

   By focusing on this way of promoting new items, Microsoft has "promoted" its "Xbox". In the 18 months prior to the game console's market launch, a plethora of material was presented to the media describing the features and features of the new product, as well as the prospects for possible competition between Xbox and Sony's current leader, the PlayStation.

   The more information "noise" around the 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. 4. We are constantly improving our product and advertise every improvement. Just keep in mind:

   The product really must have all the properties stated in the advertisement.
   Consumer trust plays a key role in growing your business. That's why:

   You can afford to lose anything, but not the trust of customers.

5. 5. We place the accents correctly. Competent PR focuses on the important properties of the product for the consumer, which, by the way, may change over time. So, Volvo cars for many years were presented as the most durable and durable. However, sales soared to the top after adverts claiming improved safety (special three-point seat belts, robust steering column, front and rear crumple zones). Later, the company began to focus on safety, which helped it maintain its leadership in the market.

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