This morning I stumbled upon a wiki entry on cosmology.  No, not hair dressing.  The article was really boring (I’ll admit I only got a couple paragraphs through it before I canned the idea of ever being a rocket scientist) but it did get my mind working.  It led me to some conclusions about the big bang theory of marketing.

I’ve been reading a lot on the internet lately about product release techniques.  An interesting theme seems pretty relevant in a lot of what I’ve been reading… release your product with a big bang.

This big bang theory of product release is not the most prevalent, by any means.  Traditionally product releases require a substantial amount of effort upfront, before the release.  When the product is then 75% ready for release, you let it out into a small test market and see how it does.  You fine tune it and then release it again.  This sometimes occurs for quite a while before the product is mainstreamed.  This is the “iterate and release” method.

A few of the problems of the “iterate and release” method are that:

• future developments (fixing bugs in the original product or releasing new features for the same product) often go unnoticed.
• an innovative new idea, once released to a small test group, can sometimes loose it’s innovation as word of it gets out or as another company swoops up your idea and runs with it faster than you can.
• it makes more room for competition.  A slow release means that you will not be able to entrench yourself into the industry as fast as you could with a big bang product release.

As I’ve thought about these problems I’ve come to the conclusion that, while for many products this may be the most effective means of releasing them (shoes, candy, normal ol’ cars), for releasing a product that is supposed to be a new and innovative item in the market you need to hit the world with a big bang.

Some business partners and myself are now working on a product release scheduled for fall of this year.  I’m still planning release steps and techniques but I plan to build it all around the big bang theory.  Here are some of the steps that I am currently utilizing or plan to utilize in the near future (steps which I also believe to be universal to any successful big bang product release):

1. Prepare and Perfect.  Because we’re going for the big bang effect, we will have to use very closed door focus groups to run the product by (we don’t want word to get out).  This is somewhat a disadvantage to the big bang release.  You won’t be able to test the product a ton, and so you need to make sure what closed door testing you complete is highly accurate and very sound.  Your end product will be far from perfect, but you still need to aim for perfection.  Once you release the product you can work out further bugs.
2. Achieve Alignment.  For the big bang theory to be effective you will need to align yourself with key players in the industry.  Set up means of product distribution.  Establish lines of communication into the industry so that you maximize free press and word of mouth advertising.  Make friends with industry leaders that can add cred to your product and company.
3. Tune Your Business Engine.  Before the big release day you will need to make sure everyone on your team, from secretaries who will be taking increased call volumes to install/delivery crews who will be seeing increased traffic, are ready for a slightly hectic and much more busy work day.  Many companies have succumbed to failure because of poor record keeping and poor accounting practices.  Make sure these parts of your business engine are running like clock work.
4. Tease the Market.  Starting a few months before the grand release date you should begin to tease the market.  Communicate with industry leaders about “your great new product that is coming out”.  Set up a website and start driving traffic to a “mystery” landing page.  Start advertising like crazy.  Blog a lot about the whole in the industry which your product is going to fill.  In other words, make the market want your product or at least make them wonder what your product is.
5. Big Bang Your Product.  Big bang your product into the market.  Find a new and never been done before method of actually releasing the product.  If you are coming out with a new device that attaches to milk containers so that milk shelf life is extended by three weeks then you’ve already got a unique product, just make sure you release it in a unique way.  Take this somewhat random idea for example; choose the 1000 most influential women in the United States, mail them a small container of rotten milk one week and then follow it up the next week with a mailing containing your device.  This will surely get you a lot of free press and buzz for the product release that is scheduled for three days after the second mailing!

All that being said, I wish you luck with your product releases.

Be sure to watch www.digitalsignage.com for information and a little teasing about the product I am helping to release this fall!