Factors Influencing The Success Or Failure Of A New Product Launch: An Analysis Essay. (70 Characters)

In this report, you are to:

• Review and critically analyse the main academic and industry literature on brand launch success and failure factors,

• Discuss their importance, and the extent to which each factor contributes to a successful/unsuccessful brand launch, and their potential short-term and long-term impact.

The importance of analysing external factors

The current assignment has been undertaken to identify and analyse the various factors which are responsible for the success or failure of a product launched by a brand. It is necessary to keep in mind that the product launch success and in some cases, failure is affected by these external as well as internal factors. As brand managers, it is very critical to understand these factors. This understanding not only provides room for minimising errors faced during product launch but is also significant in understanding the long as well as the short-term impact of these factors on the future of the brand.

Before launching a new product in the market, the brand in question needs to consider the various external factors associated with the product. This external factor analysis is done by performing a PESTLE analysis. The PESTLE analysis allows the brand managers to correctly identify the political and economic factors influencing the marketplace. It will also provide a social background of the market in which the product will be launched. The technological and legal aspects related to the product will also surface in the analysis. The environmental aspect will guide the brand to work on their corporate social responsibilities. According to Athanasopoulou, Giovanis & Avlonitis (2015), analysis of all these factors will enable the brand to identify how to position the product launch in such a way that the launch faces no resistance. The short-term impact of external factor analysis and consecutive brand positioning is a smooth product launch. The long-term impact, on the other hand, will provide the brand manager with sufficient knowledge to introduce newer products in the market in future.

A new product is launched in the market by not only identifying the external factors but also by keeping in mind the needs and demands of the consumers. This means,as a brand manager, before implementing product launch must identify the targeted audience to whom the product will be pitched to. This involves analysing the existing customer base, competitor analysis, product or service analysis and selection of demographics and psychographics. Analysing existing consumers will provide an insight into customer buying preference. Competitor analysis will help in identifying a niche market where the brand can pioneer a product. Analysing the product will determine if the product defines the customer needs. Demographic analysis helps to break the market into segments on basis of age, gender, ethnicity, education, income, marital status, occupation and geographic location while psychographics helps in segmenting the consumers on basis of their values, personality, lifestyle and behaviour (Gengler & Mulvey 2017). The short-term impact is that the brand will be able to design the products according to the market and consumer segments. The long-term impact is that target market identification coupled with external factor analysis will help the brand to identify the changing trends in the market.

Identifying target audience

If the brand in question is trying to enter a niche market, it is advisable to implement market penetration strategies that will enable the brand to seize a valuable share of the market. This also helps in determining the ability of the product to maintain the market share. Few effective marketing strategies are an adjustment of product price, increasing promotional activities, maximising the potential of distribution channels, product improvement and increasing consumption of the product. Since the assignment is dealing with the product launch, perhaps the most appropriate strategy to be focussed upon is an increase of the promotional activities. As observed by Hanaysha & Hilman (2015), significant investment by brand to implement their promotional strategies would increase the chances of market penetration. This will also boost brand awareness among the consumers. The short-term impact of market penetration strategy specifically promotional activities is that it will keep the consumers on their toes by feigning mystery around the product launch. The long-term impact is that once the product has been launched the promotional strategy can be tweaked for long-term marketing campaigns. However, at this point in time, it will be necessary to take into consideration the other strategies as well.

In cases when a brand is not able to reach the targeted audience or fails to flourish in a demographic segment of the market, the chance of brands ceasing to function increases if they are not adaptable to the market changes. For a brand to launch a product it is necessary that they communicate with a targeted audience. When the market is small and demographically homogeneous, the adaptability is not a major concern. However, in the case of the multicultural and diverse market, the loss in the brand appeal can be minimised by brand adaptation. Brand adaptation may involve reworking the brand name, repositioning, renovating products to name a few. When a brand is trying to exploit a new market, unnecessary adaptation may alienate the existing customer base and increases chances of failures (Kachouie & Sedighadeli 2015). Hence, it is necessary to be flexible while keeping in mind the changing market trends while at the same time being rigid at times so as to not lose out to competition. This is a factor which will be valuable in a long term. There is no such short-term impact.

According to Sesselmann (2017), with increasing dependence on technology in the different business processes such as manufacturing, production, packaging and distribution it is very crucial for a brand to be technologically sufficient. This will not only allow the brand to keep up with the consumer demand but will also help in maintaining a lead over the competitors. Being technologically efficient provides the brand with the opportunity to utilise the technology not only in their business practices but also in marketing and promotional activities. Being technologically sufficient is another USP for the brand as it creates a hi-tech image in the mind of the consumer and also boosts the consumer perception of quality and reliability.

Market penetration strategies

Supply chain management is an integral part of any business undertaking. It is responsible for putting the customer service, reducing the operational cost as well as improving the financial position (Matikainen, Terho, Parvinen&Juppo 2016). Supply chain management includes customer service by a correct assortment of the products and quantity to be delivered at the right location within the promised delivery time. The supply chain management is also responsible for providing after-sales support which is important for improving the customer service. An efficient supply chain management will decrease the cost of purchase along with the cost of production. The use of efficient networks that will achieve the goals of customer service within a limited budget will also enable to decrease the cost of the supply chain. An efficient and strong supply chain will help in increasing the profit leverage along with cash flow. It will also minimise the number of fixed assets that are used by the brand. The long-termimpact of this factor is that with time, the consumer demand is bound to increase and having a strong supply chain management will prove to be an Advantage over the competitors and at the same time will be efficient enough to handle the increasing demand.

In the case where the marketing strategy is not aligned with the product strategy, there can be a significant impact on the growth as well as the profitability of the brand. This happens when the marketing strategy is not appropriate for the market into consideration. In such cases when a business organisation depends on market tactics rather than an Integrated Marketing strategy may result in bad results. As observed by Kirshner, Levin & Nediak (2017), in case the marketing mix implemented by the brand in question is same as that of the competition then there does not exist a unique selling point for the brand. This means that the marketing strategy was a failure and the demands of the buyers were not met by the strategies. This will result in the brand withdrawing the product from the market due to the inability of the product to sustain the market presence and ultimately fail to achieve the profit that it was designed to do.

If a business organisation is not focusing on the needs of the buyer, the frustrated individuals may move away from the brand in search of another alternative that can satisfy the need. Unless and until the brands are unable to restructure their strategy that is more focused on intensifying consumer interaction with an integrated approach to build and sustain consumer relationships, the brand is doomed to fail. The demand of the consumer is the heart and soul of any business and an organisation which fails to recognise them due to communication gap or ignorance does not have a chance to survive in the competitive market for a long time (Evangeline & Ragel 2016). The product that will be launched by the brand will be able to satisfy the demands of a very marginal section of the market in a short period of time but over a longer time frame as the consumer begin to realise that the brand is not undertaking anyefforts to meet the demands, the brand will lose it awareness and image leading to losses.

Brand adaptation

The customer service team as well as the sales team of a brand are the front line of Defence an offence in the market. The sales team is aware of the major obstacles in the areas that come into play when the product is being sold to the consumers. This information is very necessary to understand how the consumer perceives the product and what pros and cons they identify while undertaking the purchase. Customer service team, on the other hand, is exposed to the various day-to-day queries and issues that the consumers face while operating the product or service. As pointed out by Guinot, Evans & Badar (2016), this is also very important as product innovativeness is necessary to sustain in the competitive market. It is necessary to have a proper feedback and monitoring system absence of which will result in communication gap between consumer and the brand which will lead to misalignment of the marketing strategy with the product strategy, consumer needs and corporate strategy.

When entering a new market segment,the brand may face competitors who approach sales and marketing with a domineering attitude. It is necessary for brands to understand that there is a fine line of difference between aggressive marketing and intimidation (Batra, 2015). A brand which does not Have the necessary aggressiveness may fail to overcome the aspects of legitimacy, reliability and trustworthiness pertaining to the product that they are launching. However, in the case where the brand is portraying too much aggressiveness in their marketing strategy and tactics will intimidate the people and push them away which means that the brand will not be able to effectively sustain in the targeted market.

The current global business environment is highly competitive which makes creativity a crucial aspect of business approaches. In the words of Sinapuelas, Wang & Bohlmann (2015), creativity is responsible for igniting big ideas which are challenges to the thinking pattern of the employees. This is very useful in creating new opportunities. Innovation as well as creativity are considered to be equivalent terms but in fact are separate concepts. In order to bring about innovation, a lot of different competencies come together to make it a success. However, creativity is the mechanism which leads to innovativeness. Creativity influences brand perception and also acts as a differentiator.

Conclusion

In the current assignment, efforts have been made for the identification as well as analysis of the internal and external factors that can be productive or counterproductive for a brand when it is launching a new product in the market. The major factors of success and failure have been identified and discussed in depth. These identified factors can be very adeptly used by brand managers to make a product launch a success as the chances of new product failure can be effectively minimised by considering the same. The long and short-term impact of these factors has been also discussed as they can be critical to the continuity of the brand.

References

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Batra, S. (2015). Factors Influencing Consumer Preferences–An Exploratory Study. Envision-International Journal of Commerce and Management, 9, 26-32. Retrieved from https://acfa.apeejay.edu/docs/volumes/envision-2015/envision-vol-9-paper-03.pdf

Evangeline, S. J., &Ragel, V. R. (2016). The role of consumer perceived fit in brand extension acceptability. IUP Journal of Brand Management, 13(1), 57. Retrieved from https://search.proquest.com/openview/e57b1a18f1f819ff7a8b484c036649a4/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=2029986

Gengler, C. E., & Mulvey, M. S. (2017). Planning pre-launch positioning: Segmentation via willingness-to-pay and means-end brand differentiators. Journal of Brand Management, 24(3), 230-249. Retrieved from https://link.springer.com/article/10.1057/s41262-017-0030-z

Guinot, J., Evans, D., &Badar, M. A. (2016). Cost of quality consideration following product launch in a present worth assessment. International Journal of Quality & Reliability Management, 33(3), 399-413. Doi: 10.1108/IJQRM-07-2014-0100

Hanaysha, J., &Hilman, H. (2015). Product innovation as a key success factor to build sustainable brand equity. Management Science Letters, 5(6), 567-576. Doi: 10.5267/j.msl.2015.4.009

Kachouie, R., &Sedighadeli, S. (2015). New Product Development Success Factors in Prospector Organisations; Mixed Method Approach. International Journal of Innovation Management, 19(04), 1550040. Doi: 10.1142/S1363919615500401

Kirshner, S. N., Levin, Y., &Nediak, M. (2017). Product upgrades with stochastic technology advancement, product failure, and brand commitment. Production and Operations Management, 26(4), 742-756. Doi: 10.1111/poms.12680

Matikainen, M., Terho, H., Parvinen, P., &Juppo, A. (2016). The role and impact of firm’s strategic orientations on launch performance: significance of relationship orientation. Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing, 31(5), 625-639.1 doi: 10.1108/JBIM-12-2014-0250

Sesselmann, J. (2015). Empowering brands with customer integration: Classification, benefits and success factors. Springer. Retrieved from https://books.google.co.in

Sinapuelas, I. C. S., Wang, H. M. D., &Bohlmann, J. D. (2015). The interplay of innovation, brand, and marketing mix variables in line extensions. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 43(5), 558-573. Retrieved from https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11747-015-0437-6