New Product Development - New Product Training

Introduction

Introducing new products to customers, channels, partners and internal stakeholders is a key activity for product and product marketing managers. Unfortunately this vital activity is often left to the last minute and executed poorly wasting business opportunities, delaying the take up of new products and, occasionally, causing good products to fail. In a recent survey, launching new products was rated as the most important challenge facing product managers.

This 2 day workshop has been designed to help product managers plan and deliver successful launches. It is based on research and practical experience of what can go wrong and what it takes to get things right. Examples and case studies will be used to illustrate these issues and delegates will be encouraged to apply course concepts to their own products. Each delegate will leave with a set of practical launch tools and processes they can continue to use after the course.

Pre-Requisites

Please note – pre-work is necessary for this workshop. Delegates will be given a workbook covering the activities they will need to complete before the workshop starts.

We also strongly recommend that a basic knowledge of product management concepts and tools is held by delegates.

Who should attend?

This workshop has been designed specifically for experienced product and product marketing managers who wish to improve their skills in bringing new products to market. Prior knowledge of basic product management concepts and tools is assumed. This knowledge may have been obtained through attending Frost & Sullivan product management courses such as the Essentials of Product Management or Industrial/Technical Product Management.

What will you learn?

• Understand the common pitfalls in launching products and how to deal with them
• Understand the role the new product has for your organisation and its product portfolio
• Develop or understand the new product strategy
• Build a product launch plan
• Identify the value the product delivers for customers
• Position the new product correctly
• Develop support for the new product inside and outside of your organisation
• Develop pre and post launch KPIs

Course Outline

Introduction

Where things go wrong

• Common pitfalls in product launches
• Best practice in launching new products

Developing a product launch strategy

• Understanding and defining the strategic goals for a new product
• Types of new product and their impact on demand and launch activities
• Product life cycle, succession and portfolio issues
• Identifying target markets and market segments
• Forecasting demand
• Defining the business model – how do you make money?
• Developing launch KPIs
• Identifying value delivered by new products
• Positioning a new product
• Developing value propositions

Creating and implementing the launch plan

• Key stages and activities in product launches
• Integrating feedback from customers
• Managing product trials
• Building the team
• Gaining external and internal support for the products
• How to build the sales pipeline
• Developing the communications activities
• Internal and external launches
• Marketing communications techniques and strategies
• Using social media to support product launches
• Working with sales
• Developing and managing partnerships and channels
• Post Launch planning and review