Top Ten New Product Launch Mistakes

New product launches are a key driver of business growth. Launching a new product or service can be an exciting time but it has to be done right or the chances of success are severely diminished. Although difficult to find exact statistics for new product launches in general, the failure rate for new product launches ranges from an estimated 50% to 75%. A 1997 study showed that[1]:

*The failure rate for new product introduction in the retail grocery industry is 70-80 percent;
*The U.S. Top 20 food companies enjoy a 76 percent success rate for their new product introductions;
*The "Bottom 20,000" U.S. food companies have an 11.6 percent success rate for new product introductions;
*A major difference between Top 20 new product introductions and Bottom 20,000 introductions is the apparent lack of research and strategic marketing done by the Bottom 20,000.

Here is a list of the ten most common mistakes businesses make when planning and executing a new product launch:

1. Not planning early enough: Companies often devote most of their time to planning and developing their new product, not planning the launch. Several weeks before the launch date they realize that they don't have a plan in place, that they don't have the expertise or resources that they need to successfully carry out the launch.

2. Poor or non-existent marketing strategy: Sometimes companies focus all of their efforts on planning their launch but pay little attention to develop a marketing strategy to carry sales in for the long-term. The launch doesn't go well and they wonder why.

3. Failing to define your target market: If you haven't clearly defined your target market, how can you be sure what they want and how to reach them?

4. Launching too soon: Companies are often so eager to be first to market that they overlook important aspects of the launch and it doesn't go well.

5. Poor quality product: This goes along with launching too soon. I've seen it time and time again-a company is so anxious to launch its new product that they overlook critical flaws.