What Problems Should Entrepreneurs Consider Before Launching a Product?
What questions should entrepreneurs ask themselves before launching a product? Originally appeared on Quora: the place to gain and share knowledge, empowering people to learn from others and better understand the world.
There are three major questions I would consider prior to launching a product:
- Who is my target audience again?
- Do I have a good marketing plan in place?
- What are my contingency plans?
More specifically…
1. Who is my target audience again?
Remind yourself who you’ve built your product for. Does the product you’re launching match the input made by preliminary beta testers? Are there any changes in customer preferences that need to be reflected in your product? Make sure you have a clear understanding of who you’re targeting initially, why they want your product, and how these customers will eventually lead you to profitability.
2. Do I have a good marketing plan in place?
Don’t let your product launch happen in a vacuum. A piece of advice I received once was “when you launch, no one will care”. Hurtful, but true… Unless you have a good marketing plan in place! People are just too busy with their lives, entangled in their favorite brands to notice you unless you create noise and capture their attention. So what are you doing that’s going to make them pay attention?
3. What are my contingency plans?
Assuming you have a good marketing plan in place, are you prepared for your Dooms Day scenario? Servers crash, products break, customers get angry, you didn’t order enough goods from China… Now is the time to think about what you’re going to do, not when your freaking out later.
Contributed by Jen Cheng, Co-founder of Catapulter, wore Finance & Marketing hats
