It’s rarely the case that women in business are stuck for ideas. In fact, the opposite is more likely to be true. But having an idea without a product is useless – at least from a business perspective. Developing new products can be tricky, especially if you are new to the entrepreneurial world.
The challenges of development are many. Some businesses find the actual production of a new product the most difficult. (Even the pros sometimes find this hard – just think how difficult it has been for Elon Musk to ramp production at Tesla). Then there are organizational and financial problems that can derail a new product launch too. It can be a challenging time.
But it’s not all bad news. With a bit of planning and know-how, you can overcome the difficulties associated with launching a new product. Here’s how.
Make Sure It Works First
Mark Tuchscherer is the founder of Geeks Chicago, a firm that makes websites. His advice to his clients is always to make sure that their product actually works before they roll it out. One of the problems he often encounters is the fact that businesses launch with buggy products. Consumers get interested in the product. But the end up writing it off because it keeps kicking them out, or freezing their computers. Buggy products are a big problem for small businesses if they end up blowing their marketing budgets for the release window. Tuchscherer recommends you get your product beta tested by lots of people first to make sure it actually works. Only then should you ramp up your marketing efforts.
Ask People To Spread The Word, And Give Them Free Products
It’s unusual for a product to be an instant success before reaching out to influential people in your industry. But for a product to gain traction, people have to be able to try it first. The odd post on Facebook advertising free stuff probably isn’t going to cut it. In all likelihood, you’ll have to take out a small business loan to create a buzz online. Once you’ve got the money, you’ll be able to dump funds into Facebook advertising and Adwords to get the message out. You’ll also be able to reach out to the main people in your industry and offer them free prototypes of your product to share and review.
Don’t Worry If Your Product Isn’t Perfect From The Outset
Chad Halvorson is the founder of When I Work, a software company. He suggests that companies go ahead and launch their product, even if the product itself isn’t perfect. He says that companies can make improvements to their products, once they’ve got the first few customers through the door. His advice might sound like it contradicts Tuchscherer’s. But he’s not saying to release a product that’s buggy. He’s saying, release something that works, even if it doesn’t have all the features you want it to have. Having something that works out there in the marketplace is better than having something that doesn’t.
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