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Get the Right People on the Bus When You Go to Market

by Jennifer Beever

Get the Right People on the BusIt’s important to go to market the right way, but not take too long doing so. It’s also important to not rush, forgetting strategic and mission critical steps along the way. One way to ensure you are doing the right things right and marketing to the right people is to get the right trusted advisors on your team early.

At my ProVisors TECH meeting this morning, I was reminded of some of the important factors that should be in place when a technology company goes to market. This morning each member of our group shared stories about the first technology company they worked with. (ProVisors TECH is made up of trusted advisors who offer professional services to technology companies.)

There were many stories about companies that went too slow in launching a new product and never made it (Ashton-Tate and Computerland were mentioned among others). At the same time, some trusted advisors to TECH cautioned us to make sure our technology clients do the right things right, rather than rushing through the process.

As an example, Tony Karrer, CEO/CTO of TechEmpower and Co-Founder of the Los Angeles CTO Forum, mentioned that he often sees that in the rush to get to market business owners don’t take care to get control of their source code at the right time. They trust a technology provider with full control of the code, and when development isn’t done right or is behind schedule, the company can be in a vulnerable position when they want to make changes and get control of the code.

Jill Feldman, President of Strategic Development Associates, mentioned that back in the day with early tech clients her firm did mall-intercept surveying to assess consumer needs for certain technologies. They would walk up to people in malls, qualify them and invite them to view a new technology. Today with websites, online communities, and social networks, there are more cost effective and faster ways to get to qualified users of a new technology to validate the concept and user needs.

Well before it’s time to launch your product, get the right people on your team to validate your technology and your concept. You should also start early planning your launch strategy, branding and go-to-market tactics. (I am the CMO for Hire that gets the call from the tech entrepreneur, “I have three weeks before I launch at the such-and-such trade show. Can you help me?” By the way, the answer is Yes!)

Trusted advisors can make sure you don’t skip important steps in your product launch, and they should also be able to roll up their sleeves and make the process happen sooner rather than later. So go to market, do it right, and don’t go slow – or get slowed down by having to step back and plan, research, or re-develop after the fact.

If you need help launching your new product, contact Jennifer Beever at New Incite today. Yes, we can help you, even if it’s only three weeks before you launch. 🙂

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