PDMA Blog

In a discussion of new product development (NPD), the word ‘launch’ has many connotations. What set of associations is common for someone in each of the following roles:

• Executive level manager
• Sales representative
• Distributor
• Public relations specialist
• Competitor
• Journalist
• Analyst

A more important consideration is ‘which connotation will predispose the development team to discover the appropriate strategies and to execute effectively to maximize the development investments?’

The look of successful NPD

The following definition is from the PDMA’s NPD glossary:

Product Development: The overall process of strategy, organization, concept generation, product and marketing plan creation and evaluation, and commercialization of a new product.

This definition doesn’t provide many hints to easily recognize successful NPD. Will you know it when you see it?

In the following illustration, the captions reveal the thoughts of each member of the group. What does this scene suggest about the success of the new product development effort?

Validation of a successful new product development effort during product launch

No one in this group of prospects and customers knows details of the development process. They don’t know the project constraints. They don’t need to know. The implications are:

• The product is new and it has captured the group’s attention
• The product has been released and is now available for purchase.
• The usability of the product is OK. A typical customer can use it and demonstrate it to others.
• Sufficient product information is available online.
• User contributed content has been created.
• The demonstration and the customer reviews support the value proposition. This solution is perceived to be better than currently available alternatives.
• Those familiar with the product are willing to recommend it to their friends.
• There is good potential for sales growth through viral marketing, word-of-mouth, and social networking.

Defining launch in terms of the endgame

Launch is the portion of new product development that validates all the previous development decisions and activities. Based on their perception of your solution, customers can vote with their cash, clicks, or reputation.

Events and activities during launch

Often, there are detrimental connotations that product launch is confined to an event or activity. The success of an event during product launch may be characterized using a set of metrics defined by a few members of your team but this is insufficient to validate the development effort.

Likewise, a product launch checklist reflects a set of opinions. A marketing plan or launch plan is a collection of theories. All of these are helpful but they only imply future success.

NPD validation requires that an abundant number of prospects become customers and that begins during launch. A team invests in plans, activities, checklists, and events associated with product launch in the hope of achieving results similar to those represented in the illustration.

Suggestions of how to maximize launch success will be included in Part 10 of this series.

Other posts in this 10-part Detrimental Connotations in NPD series

Quick Fix, 1/10
Product Requirements, 2/10
Subject Matter Experts, 3/10
Design, 4/10
Designers and Developers, 5/10
Marketing, 6/10
Best Practice, 8/10
I know it when I see it, 9/10
Collaboration, 10/10