No amount of good marketing will make up for a bad product. In this presentation, I'll walk you through seven common product issues you can check before you develop or mobilize your marketing plan so you don't waste time and money on promotions that are destined not to work. Grab my book, The Product Launch Primer, on Amazon (http://bit.ly/1NMeM8G) or check out launchcatalyst.net for more resources to make your product launch explosive!

1. By Michael Passanante

2. Ok, you’ve got a new
product to launch.
You’re ready to put
together an
EXPLOSIVE
marketing plan

3. But wait…
If your product or
service has an issue,
your marketing
initiatives might
never get
momentum

4. In the next few
slides, I’m going to
walk you through
seven common
product issues you
can check before you
create or mobilize
your marketing plan

5. Remember, all of
the good
marketing in the
world can’t make
up for a product
that doesn’t
measure up

6. The product is
only marginally
better or equal to
current solutions
• Building in strong differentiators
upfront can lead to greater success
over the long term
• What does your offering do that can
help customers reduce costs, save
time, or improve efficiency over what
they are currently doing
• Consider the entire customer
experience and endeavor to be the
best at all touch points

7. The main benefit
is not immediately
obvious
• Do you know who your offering will
benefit and why?
• Does your offering require a long
explanation for someone to “get it”?
• Can you deliver a 20-second elevator
pitch that describes the main benefit
of your offering? Can your team do
the same?

8. It takes too long
to experience the
benefits
• Customers generally desire rapid,
positive impact from products and
services they purchase
• Consider how your product can
deliver value quickly and over the
long term
• Customers should be able to easily
measure the ROI from your offering

9. Too many steps or
work-arounds are
required for the
product to be
useful
• Develop products that are intuitive
to use out-of-the-box
• The product that creates the
shortest path to customers
experiencing the benefit will have a
distinct advantage over competitors
• Make it easy for customers to
configure your offering or get the
help they need to get off the ground
quickly

10. The product is
missing a major
feature
• Ensure your offering delivers what is
required to be at least a minimum
viable product in your market
• Discern between nice-to-haves and
must-haves for your target personas
• Employ market research, beta testers,
and trial users to uncover deal
breakers before you launch

11. The product is
unreliable
• Your product must at least perform
as advertised
• But…your entire process should
work well too including shipping,
billing, customer support and more
• Reliability issues are frustrating and
can become the topic of social
media rants and negative customer
reviews

12. You’ve
underestimated
embedded market
behavior
• Your customers may have sentimental
attachments or unspoken allegiances
to other products or processes that
need to be addressed
• Are you prepared to make emotional
arguments and not just empirical
comparisons?
• Do other offerings make your
potential customers “feel” a certain
way and could your offering diminish
that feeling if they switch?

13. Grab my book on Amazon for:
• A deep dive on these seven issues plus;
• Expert guidance on how to build explosive
marketing and promotional plans and;
• Methods and techniques for training,
mobilizing, and sustaining enthusiasm
across your sales team for your new
product
michael@launchcatalyst.net linkedin.com/in/michaelpassanante Twitter: @launch_catalyst