If you are a B2B company looking to grow your business by adding new products to your existing portfolio, this article and my other related articles will help you. They describe how the 4P marketing strategy can help you develop a successful « product launch » plan for your chosen market.
A marketing strategy based on the 4 Ps of Marketing looks at four key marketing and sales areas to consider when planning a product launch:
1. Products. How to choose the right products to sell?
2. Place. Where can I find customers willing to buy?
3. Promotion. How to « package » and promote your product?
4. Price. How to choose an acceptable and profitable sales price?
I’m not going to cover all 4P’s in this article. I’ll focus on the first question and provide some advice and guidance on how to choose the right products to sell.
Choose the right product
If you already have a successful B2B business, or you’re looking to grow your business quickly, it’s important to be able to assess whether your new product fits into your current product portfolio and meets your market requirements.
Looking at your product within the context of the 4Ps of marketing is an excellent way to achieve this. For many years, I have used the 4P marketing strategy approach when launching new products. It’s easy to understand and can be very effective if used correctly.
To be confident that you are bringing the right product to market, you must be able to answer the following questions:
– Will this product be sold in your market?
– Is it profitable to sell?
– What skills and experience are needed to sell it?
Will this product be sold in your market?
If you’re considering a new product from another company, do some research first to determine if the product has a good sales history and are your existing customers likely to buy it?
If the product is not successfully sold elsewhere, or is simply sold successfully by a company with a very different company profile to yours, you need to make a realistic assessment of the additional marketing and sales costs you may incur before your new product launch can be profitable. You’ll also want to do some « consultative research » with existing customers to determine if they will buy your new product. If they don’t, you need to know why. (You may find that if customers in a major market sector indicate that they are unlikely to purchase your new product, it may be necessary to talk to other contacts within the same company or consider approaching a company in a different market sector).
Can I sell it at a profit?
Make a list of everything you need to do to market and sell your product. Use this list to build a spreadsheet of projected marketing, sales, and administrative costs and compare it to forecasted sales for the new product. Use some simple calculations to figure out how long it will take for your product to become profitable.
Sometimes, it makes sense to sell a product even if it’s not profitable! If your new product is very complementary to the existing products in your portfolio and can be used to boost sales of those products, it may still be worth selling. It may eventually become profitable on its own, or form the basis for another profitable similar product, such as one you develop yourself.
Consider all the factors identified in your previous research, and don’t forget to include some estimated costs for the effort and time you and/or your colleagues will need to invest in launching and selling your new product.
What skills and experience do you have to have to sell it?
If your product is very different from the types of products you currently sell, you’re going to need some additional help (employees or buying resources) in marketing and sales. Alternatively, you can purchase consulting services and training to gain the knowledge and skills you need to market and sell your products.
No matter which of these two options you choose, unless you develop a good level of knowledge and skill, you won’t be able to do a good job of helping customers understand what the product will do for them. You also won’t be able to support them well once they decide to buy.
The value of 4P marketing strategy evaluation
The reason why the first step of the 4P marketing strategy approach is so important is because it will help you reject products that may not become very profitable and provide you with information that you will be able to use to choose one that will meet a need. replacement product. The same gap is much better across your product portfolio.
You may need answers to other questions in addition to the ones we considered above, but if you can provide comprehensive and satisfactory answers to my three main questions, you will be able to move forward and start solving other questions for you. 4P marketing strategy.
I hope I have made it clear that thorough research is very necessary at this stage. If you’re « hooked » by an exciting new product and want to start selling it as soon as possible, it’s easy to decide to skip the research. But remember, every new product you launch distracts you from other important marketing and sales tasks.
All your efforts will seem worth it if your new product starts selling well soon after entering the market. You’ll soon be able to invest additional resources and help maximize sales of your new product. However, if your new product ends up being unprofitable or providing only a small profit, you will waste a lot of time and money that could have been invested in marketing and selling your existing product.
In summary, a 4P marketing strategy will help you create a detailed, solid plan for your new product launch and will also help you feel confident that you have the right product to ensure the plan is a success.