When your business has an innovative product, you can’t wait to share it with the market. Preparing a product for the market can be a logistical nightmare. Fortunately, you can take steps to speed up the for-market process without taking a hit to customer satisfaction.
Customers want products that offer social responsibility, transparent manufacturing processes, and a customizable experience. By following these tips, you can expedite your products into clients’ hands.
Keep things simple
It can be tempting to flex what your development team is capable of, bells and whistles included. Unfortunately, software with extraneous moving parts can hinder bringing your product to market. Keep what’s essential to function and consider shelving the rest for a later date.
Product launches are all about staying ahead of the competition. To maximize your speed, only include what’s needed to do the job well.
Be transparent with customers
If you have a product facing a significant rollout schedule, be open about this with clients and investors. Send regular updates regarding production, especially if your products are made-to-order. Clients and investors will appreciate the transparency. When they know the status of their product, they won’t call you to ask about it.
You can also encourage customer confidence by making security a priority. Consider a secure server solution like this to keep your proprietary and customer data safe. The last thing you want is to have to fight information leaks before your product launch.
Use an organized marketing strategy
“It’s not a bug. It’s a feature.” This famous Silicon Valley saying can also help you with your pre-launch marketing strategy. Consider a long-term marketing strategy if you’re intimidated by the amount of time before your product gets to market. With a bit of creativity, you can turn a long market wait into a complete, thrilling process as clients wait for the next update.
Expect change
The only constant in the world is that nothing is, so your project management style should have built-in agility. When your business is firing on all cylinders, getting a product to market might be easy. But all it takes is one wrench in the gears to have you back at a snail’s pace. Often, the change agents are out of your control, so do yourself a favor and pad your timetable for unforeseen delays.
Communicate regularly with stakeholders
Businesses that communicate regularly with their customers, vendors, and employees find their stakeholders develop loyalty. Without communication, your company is a black box to customers and stakeholders. Waiting for a product to come to market with no indication of what’s happening behind the curtain can be disillusioning for clients and investors alike.
A quality product is worth the wait, but only if you know it’s on the way. Open communication keeps the process transparent and your clients and stakeholders in the loop.
Hire the right people
Your employees are the cogs in the product development machine. You want your employees to be as motivated as you are to see a product come to market. You can encourage this motivation by compensating employees fairly and recognizing their efforts when they achieve something extraordinary.
As their employer, it’s also your responsibility to be on the lookout for employee burnout. Be generous with breaks and alternative assignments. Any time you lose this way is nothing compared to an extended leave of absence if you ignore signs of impending burnout.
Wrap up
Companies can also look to marketing, employees, and communication techniques to help expedite their product development pace. Follow these tips, and the market will be like a kid on Christmas morning when you launch your product.