How to launch a new service successfully?

In a changing market, amid uncertainty, companies must continuously develop new products and services to remain attractive to their customers. Traditionally, Finnish companies have excelled at innovation, but their commercial success has not always matched that of Scandinavian brands, at least not internationally.

In product and service development, a critical factor in achieving sales targets for a new solution is the Go-to-Market process: launching the service.

Succeeding in commercialisation

The Go-to-Market process is always unique to each company, but four elements are common for organisations that successfully launch commercially viable solutions.

1. Customer value at the core

Regardless of the solution, success is out of reach if customers do not perceive the service as valuable and useful. Too often, customer value Regardless of the solution, success is out of reach if customers do not perceive the service as valuable and useful. Too often, customer value is considered only at the end of product development, when marketing begins to plan the launch campaign. By then, it may be too late to ensure the service genuinely creates value: superficial marketing claims will not drive sales. Embedding customer insight from the earliest stages of product development is key to commercial success.

2. The importance of strategic choices

Go-to-Market always involves strategic choices, such as:

• Who are our primary customers?
• How do we create value for them?
• How much do we invest in the new solution?
• Which markets will we operate in?
• What does the competitive landscape look like?

Making choices also means deciding what not to do: which target groups we will not pursue, in which markets we will not compete.

3. Cross-organisational collaboration

Commercially successful service development always requires close collaboration. A new product or service touches almost every function at least indirectly, and often external partners are involved. Change does not happen by itself: it demands ownership and commitment, even from those outside the project team. It is especially important for sales to be involved from the beginning, co-developing and planning the market entry.

4. Sales targets and the GtM plan

Product portfolio management and leadership requires understanding where future investment should be directed. To assess this, a new service must have clearly defined, granular sales targets already at launch. Through customer insight, the viability of the price point can be validated during development.

The Go-to-Market plan brings together all the actions related to launching the service. The plan’s focus shifts as the project progresses: early on, the emphasis is on forming customer value and developing the product; later on production, distribution and marketing. The closer to launch, the more critical it becomes that everyone involved is aware of on-going activities and brings their expertise to the project.