A product launch is very intense and stressful, but careful planning can help you reduce stress and give your team a solid plan that helps you control the intensity. If you follow the steps listed below, your company has better chances of success and a better position in the long run.

Timing

Timing is everything for launching a product. There are times and days to avoid, such as Christmas or New Year’s Eve for example, but perhaps even more relevant is to start looking at macro and microeconomic factors to your industry and the market in general.

Pricing

• Many products failed because the pricing strategy was bad. Whether you want to be a luxury product or launch a product at a price slightly lower than that of your competitor, make sure you do a great deal of research to make sure consumers are willing to pay the price you demand.

Packaging

• Packaging comes in many different forms. Whether it’s a consumer product for a retailer’s shelf or a new application you’ve just developed, it’s got to be appealing and inviting to the human eye. Research the colors that people like and are receptive to.

Solve the right problem

• Every product on the market needs to solve a problem. The simplest products on the market exist where customers know they have a problem and are looking for a solution. Some products need to convince customers that they have a problem and that the product is a solution. These products are on the rise. The better you know your audience, the easier it will be for you to identify their problems in a language they understand. The key is to know where to find them. Identify exactly the problem you are fixing, and make sure your audience agrees that the problem exists.

Careful positioning against your competition

• Every product has competition. If your customers do not use your products or services, who would they go to? They have no other option than to go for another company that offers the same service as yours. Knowing your audience and understanding the issue you are solving will make positioning your product easier and more accurate. You’ll better understand where to place ads, what content is useful, and how to connect to your audience. If you do not know how to perform these tasks, your position will often decline when you come back to the basic ideas of the audience and the problem.

Determine what customers want

• This may seem fundamental, but before you go to the trouble of developing and bringing a new product to market, do your research correctly to make sure your product fits the market. You may have a revolutionary and awesome product in mind, but if no one is willing to raise the money, you’re out of luck (and you’re wasting the time and money you’ve invested). One way to ensure that your product is actually purchased and used by people is to create a workable solution to a common problem that frustrates people. Do market research to make sure it’s actually a viable consumer product, not just a cool idea that you think might work, and you should be sure you have the resources to do it.

Build the right team

• Perhaps the most important step in developing your startup is to put together a team that works well together and deliver results. Many good entrepreneurs are people persons by nature, so they have strong networks that they use immediately. Your team members should share your ideas about how the business should run. Build the team early and build it on common values, because when you recruit employees and partners and agree on shared values, you can use those values to make decisions.