A product launch strategy that includes a Woot-like launch can provide unique opportunities for development and launch professionals to sample customer’s buying behavior and improve launch campaigns. The inclusion of a Woot-like product launch provides a burst of insights about many individuals that are one click away from purchasing your new product. In this episode, I will share the critical difference between the opportunities of a Woot-like launch and other launch activities.
Listen to Did your product launch strategy miss this unique opportunity? [8:38 minutes, 4.6 MBytes, Apple QuickTime / iTunes is required]
Background on Woot and Woot.com
Woot is a relatively new word. A woot is an expression of delight and it is derived from a combination of the words “wow” and “loot.” Extending this idea, Woot.com attracts bargain hunters and well-informed buyers.
Woot.com pioneered the ‘one deal a day’ business model on the Internet by offering one discounted product for only 24 hours or until all the inventory is sold. Usually the motivation for the sale is to liquidate inventory of consumer electronic products. Occasionally, manufactures launch new products using Woot.com. These launch efforts provide a sneak peek for customers and valuable market insights for developers and manufacturers.
A Woot-like launch can be characterized as a “soft launch.” During a soft launch, activities are limited to a small segment of a defined market. Soft launches minimize risk while testing assumptions.
For example, an 8th of November 2007 product launch on Woot.com produced nearly 400 comments from a community of analysts and potential buyers. The discussion topics included product price, specifications, and value. Products from competitors were discussed. During the 24 hours of the sale, there was a debate about the price of an important consumable but after a few hours, the price of the consumable was resolved within the online community. Manufacturer’s representatives monitored the online discussions and occasionally contributed to the conversation.
The online discussions are candid. Comments about the product and the company are posted for all to see. The product is researched. Problems are highlighted. The online community may reject your product’s value statement.
What distinguishes a typical online sale from a Woot-like product launch?
The distinction is not about the size of the price discount or the number of units sold in a day. A product launch features a new product. One of the definitions of product launch is the initial presentation of your product to a target market.
A launch establishes the first impressions of your product. Customers will share their experiences of your product and other products from your company. For example, was it easy to start using the product? How was the customer service experience? Was the actual performance less than the specifications implied? Often, these first impressions are difficult to change.
Product launch is more than an opportunity for early market validation. For savvy developers, a soft launch provides an opportunity to uncover problems and resolve them before exposure to larger markets.
Practical considerations
When you are developing a launch plan for a new product, what is the outline for adding a Woot-like launch to your product rollout?
- Have a good product. Ensure that all the commercialization tasks such as packaging, documentation, and training are ready for scrutiny. Ensure that adequate quantities of the product will be ready to ship at launch.
- Before the launch, brainstorm ideas that you believe will create buzz. A common tactic incorporates an aggressive introductory price.
- Before the launch, create the press releases and advertisements to communicate the exclusive offer.
- On launch day, your home page should feature the new product. Prominently link to the site hosting the sale. Prominently link to the press release. Create special landing pages to support these launch promotions.
- On launch day, assemble your team to monitor discussions, participate, and make adjustments. Typically, this team will include the product management representatives, sales representatives, tech support representatives, and specialists that can create and post web content. Ensure that other team members are available to handle all the questions.
- The moment the Woot-like launch ends, update your new product content on your web site to reflect your new insights.
- Review and revise plans for future launch activities
Implications of Community
What I have been describing is a Web 2.0 experience. It is social networking in action.
A Woot-like event provides real-time insights that can be used to adjust future launch plans. During a Woot-like launch event, buyers make actual purchases. This is more insightful than a proxy for customer intension.
A community of online buyers is more likely to include informed buyers. A community of online buyers is empowered by the diversity and expertise of its members. A community of online buyers provides comprehensive assessments that include more than the technology factors. A community of online buyers asks and answers questions.
For developers that desire to improve launch results, the great news is that certain mistakes or errors of omission can be corrected very quickly.
Implications
I am presenting the Woot.com story as an example. The challenge is to find ways to incorporate this type of opportunity into new product development and launch activities.
A Woot-like launch provides a burst of data. Your team should quickly analyze the data and respond to correct mistakes and improve the offering.
With opportunities such as a Woot-like launch, development and launch professionals can move beyond survey data and predictions as they adjust campaigns using the social networking capabilities of new online sites to test new product advertising and promotion.
Now new product development and launch professionals can monitor the discussions of potential buyers that are one click away from purchasing an actual product.
