Is The Marketing Plan Working?

First make sure you have a product you plan to introduce to the market. The product should have some unique selling points, be new, and make the customer just want it. Does the product make sense? Does it work? Does it solve problems? Of course having a multi-product plan makes sure something in the program will work. Your product plan had better be good. Try to describe the new product/s in simple terms explaining what it is (and is not). This is the first step to gauging the market potential. See if your explanation was understood.

Remember you must ensure that there is a market for your product. What kind of market segment do you plan to enter? Is the market segment moving up, standing still, or worse, in decline? Where does the product best fit? Should your product be for sale in selected stores, or online at Amazon? Make sure you have done some market tests on the product and the packaging. Are you entering a price driven segment or a weather driven segment?

Make sure that the market segment testing is spread across various demographics. Getting customer feedback is very important. Make any necessary changes and improvements based on these results.

Gather the product specifications from the marketing team led by the CEO. The combined skill sets of the CEO, lead marketing, sales, business development, and engineering teams, along with vendor support are all essential. This marketing team must have a critical date path and each member a specific task to complete. Move people who do not do what is required as soon as they fail. Remember, appointing weak, inexperienced and poorly prepared people will be the main cause of product failures.

A marketing plan needs an action oriented blueprint which all departments adhere to. Remember that an investor, or member of the executive team, may find that the road plan is not yet be fully implemented. This is where the team steps in and makes sure that it all comes together by the packaging production date.

You can expect product failure if any of the above items are missed.