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"Koeppel Direct's media buying expertise has played an integral role in making my company successful. Koeppel generated so much business for our company, occasionally we have to limit their media buys, in order to handle all of the new business." | |
| - R. Gregg Marketer of Senior Products |
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MEDIA BUYING DIRECT RESPONSE TELEVISION (DRTV) ARTICLE ...... |
Ten steps to make your next new product rollout a success
By: Peter Koeppel
Published: 09/06 - K+BB |
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An "If you build it they will come" mentality may work for baseball fields but not
necessarily for new product launches. The truth is that whether you're a designer debuting a new faucet profile
or a large manufacturer rolling out a new cabinetry collection, you need to follow a proven 10-step process that
will give your new wares the greatest chance for success:
Develop a product that's in your area of expertise. If you or your company are already an expert in a certain
field (plumbing or appliances, for instance), then stick with that area of expertise. If you're an authority in
a particular area, you will better understand what the consumer finds interesting about the product and know how
to most efficiently market it.
Research your potential consumer. Find out if your new product has market appeal by conducting a survey of past
customers who bought a similar product in your line and ask for their opinion of this new product. You can also
engage focus groups to give you input.
Research existing patents, then file for a patent. Take note: Someone else may have already come up with your
brilliant idea but has yet to launch the product. Nearly 97 percent of all patented products never make it to
market, so go to the U.S. Patent Office website at www.uspto.gov and complete a product search. Also, be sure
to check out retail stores and scan catalogs to see if any similar merchandise is currently available.
Make a prototype of the product. Before you file for a patent, you need a prototype of the invention. Be sure
this is the final form of the product idea you want to patent, because if you make changes after your patent
is filed, you'll need to re-file.
Ask the right questions. When you're considering patenting something, be sure you ask yourself some key
questions to determine if it's a good idea to move ahead, such as: "Is this a unique product that solves a
real problem?" "Is this product easy to manufacture?" "Who will buy this product?" "What is the size of the
market?" "What are the growth prospects?" and "Who's the competition?"
FILE FOR THE PATENT. Once you decide to proceed, secure your patent. You can either do this yourself
by going to the U.S. Patent website or you can hire a patent and trademark attorney to do the filing
for you. Depending on your product and/or idea, you'll file for a utility (for a new process or machine)
or a design (for a new, non-obvious ornamentation) patent. Most patents today are for incremental
improvements to something; the innovation is evolution rather than revolution.
Determine who WiLL HANDLE marketing and distribution. Will you handle it yourself or have another
company take over those aspects? Most retail establishments won't buy anything from a one-product
vendor and prefer to work with companies that offer multiple items. So, if you're not personally
handling the marketing and distribution, you'll need to license your product to a company that markets
and distributes multiple goods.
Price the product appropriately. You want to price your product a little below or at the same price as
similar items to stay competitive. As a general rule of thumb, in order to generate a profit, you'll need
to mark up your ware four to five times your manufacturing prices. So if it costs you $1 to manufacture
your product, you'll need to sell it for at least $4 or $5.
Get your funding in order. Create a business and marketing plan for your product to attract investors or
to get your company's approval to move forward on the idea. Address key considerations such as why it is
needed, associated costs, distribution channels, etc., as well as other salient issues.
Advertise your product. Work with a reputable company that can help you create an advertising plan that will
reach your target audience and maximize your sales. You can market your products via TV commercials, radio
and print and online ads, as well as through retailers, where the product will be on store shelves.
By following this 10-step process for any new product rollout, you will increase your chances of releasing
merchandise that consumers will buy, thus greatly improving your company's bottom line.
- Peter Koeppel is founder and president of Koeppel Direct, a leader in direct response media buying,
marketing, campaign management and creative strategies.
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