How To Take A High Tech Product To Market:
16 Questions you MUST ask yourself about your
marketing program and your product.
1. Do programs comply with the "Strategic
Principle"?
Which is: Marketing must invent complete products and drive them
to commanding positions in defensible market segments. Most companies
fail because they never clearly identify the markets they are
pursuing. Only when a segment is identified can marketing departments
talk specifics. Sometimes it takes years to get companies to define
the markets they are really pursuing. A company that runs a good
marketing program without good market segment definition and without
strategy to attain a commanding position is lucky, not skillful.
2. Does marketing understand why customers will
buy the product?
I recently talked with a marketing group that was demoralized
and in complete disarray. The company had a fine product but had
lost momentum in the market place. I asked a simple question of
the marketing people in the room: "Why would a customer select
your product over competitors", you could hear a pin drop.
No answer is the worst response of all. Ask the question, if you
don't get good, simple, logical answers from all the individuals
involved in promoting and selling product, you have a problem.
3. Does a crusade mentality exist?
If the product is an important one, the company had better be
on a crusade. If the product embodies new concepts for new markets,
a tremendous amount of work is needed to educate the customer
base and develop the market. Marketing is hard work. Enthusiasm,
confidence, and commitment are infectious and are important ingredients
in any product's success.
4. Is the customer satisfaction guaranteed?
A company's product is customer satisfaction. Many technology
products are purchased by customers who have great expectations,
only to have those expectations dashed. Unhappy customers are
seldom repeat buyers. They also tell other people about their
problems. Marketing departments should be able to explain why
customers will get satisfactory utility from the product. They
should understand the types of service customer require and be
prepared to deliver them.
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