Do People Want Your Product? Why Test Before Launching
You've developed a product, prepared everything necessary, launched it, and… no one is buying it. According to Harvard University analysis, over 30,000 products are launched annually, 95% of which fail. The main reason is brand unpreparedness — a product that doesn't stem from customer needs.
Why test before launching?
A product should be developed with the ideal customer and current market conditions in mind. For this reason, it's good to continuously test the product and customer preferences throughout the development process, not just in the final stage.
If testing results at the last minute don't turn out well, the development team no longer has time to adjust the product. The choice then becomes difficult: either postpone the launch or release a product that isn't ideal for the market – and risk failure.
Pre-launch testing offers a different approach: small adjustments and certainty before you pour your marketing budget into the launch.
What are your testing goals?
For testing to yield the desired results, it's good to define from the outset what the team should focus on. Typically, you want to answer three questions: Do people want my product? Do they understand it? And what needs to be fixed before it goes live?
Even the best idea can fall flat due to lack of consumer interest. If people in the test say, "that looks like another dust collector" or "what I have at home does the same thing, and better," you know exactly where you stand—and can change direction, refine features, or decide to invest resources elsewhere more effectively.
It's equally important to understand how customers perceive the product with limited information. Do they assume features you haven't included in development? Or conversely, do they not utilize key features because they don't know about them? The more complex the product, the more critical this phase is.
What happens if you don't test before launch
New products that fail on the market annually
Harvard Business Review
Products launched each year
HBR / Inc.
Most new product failures are rooted not in marketing but in the development phase. Pre-launch testing dramatically reduces the likelihood of a product ending up among the 95% of flops.
A product should be developed with regard to the target customer and current market conditions. Testing in the final phase is already too late – if the results don't pan out, the development team won't have time to adjust the product.
Why products most often fail after launch
The most common causes of failure are things that pre-launch testing can uncover: lack of demand, poorly targeted product, misunderstanding of features. The investment in several rounds of testing is minimal compared to these risks.
For testing to deliver the desired results, define at the outset what the team should focus on. Typically, you want to answer three questions: Do people want my product? Do they understand it? And what needs to be fixed before it goes live?
- Whether people actually want the product – and if they won't say “a dust collector, I have something better at home.”
- How a customer perceives the product with limited information – assumptions, misunderstood features.
- Development and design flaws before the general public finds out about them.
- Weak components, impractical layout, features not meeting expectations.
What testing methods to use?
Each method answers a different question and is suitable for a different development phase. In practice, it's best to combine them – from usability testing to A/B testing concepts and beta testing of the final version.
Beta testing
Testing the final version of a product in the hands of real users who use it in a normal environment. The goal is to uncover as many problems and bugs as possible before market release.
If the product passes without serious problems, it can enter the market with positive expectations – and with much less risk of a PR disaster.
- Real behavior in a normal environment, not just in a lab.
- Problems associated with layman's use of the product.
- Errors and shortcomings that the internal team did not catch.
Conclusion
If you want your product to be successful on the market, it's crucial to test it with people who match your target market before launch. The insights gained will help you develop a product that customers can't resist, significantly increasing its chances of success.
At Brand Testing Club, we can facilitate testing with a specific target group exactly to your choice – both before and after product launch. Our clients use testers for A/B testing, usability testing, and beta testing.
Pre-testing a product is one of the cheapest investments to ensure that your launch isn't a shot in the dark.
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