A product comes to life inside the organization long before it’s launched in the marketplace. During that incubation period, the product will take on an identity and build momentum all its own.
But here’s the thing: If that momentum isn’t pushing in the right direction, it can be hard to reverse. And that could drag down your whole launch before it ever has a chance to soar.
“We’re set to unleash the Zephyr II—I mean the Hurricane in August” announces Sara the sales manager. For some reason, new products and services commonly get post-apocalyptic sci-fi names, with animal species a close second.
But names aren’t all that’s taking shape, particularly in highly regulated industries with longer product development processes. Perceptions are formed. Messages are adopted. The way the team has come to think about the new offering becomes ingrained, for better or worse. Mostly worse.
Meanwhile market-tested identity, positioning, messaging and branding gets developed much later—often right before launch. Too late.
Sales people and others in the organization have already internalized a different story. And that’s the one they’re sharing. Now the waters are muddied and everybody is confused, including customers.
In short, it’s an internal mis-launch. You don’t want that. So get your marketing ducks in a row as soon as possible, with a dedicated go-to-market team in place early on. Have deliberately thought-through branding and positioning built into the product development process. That keeps everyone on the same page and paddling in the same direction when it’s go-time.
Looking to get an early start on defining your messaging? We’d love to help.