Technology
5 Important Steps of Launching a New Tech Product (Part 1)
Tech Entrepreneur & Co-Founder/COO Memo Africa, Darlyn Okojie
Knowing how to create a successful product launch strategy from development to launch, promotion, and delivery to users is as important as the tech idea itself. The reason for this is that we have seen great ideas fail due to poor market entry strategies. In fact, most consumer tech products that are launched have a higher chance of failing; according to publicity.com statistics, 95% of the 30,000 consumer products that are launched annually fail. This is a common occurrence among small businesses attempting to launch a product.
Hence, the need to share some steps for launching a new tech product to assist founders, creators, and developers in increasing the chances of their product’s market success and not continuing to second-guess whether the product will survive the next day.
Here are 5 crucial steps in launching a new tech product that we have tested with Memo.Africa, and recommend that every creator should consider to increase their chances of success:
1). Does Your Tech Product Meet the Users’ Needs?
The first question behind every founder’s mind should be why would someone buy your product? If you can provide a good answer to this question, you have solved a significant part of the question of meeting the users’ needs. Figure out how your product could solve a problem, satisfy a desire or improve someone’s quality of life. You can get answers to this question by conducting a basic market survey. Through this survey, you will be able to understand how your customers will justify buying your product, and that is how you can begin a promotion strategy. A good product launch plan should always put consumers’ needs first and satisfy them in the best way possible.
2). Know Your Competition
Knowing your competition is a crucial aspect of any product development, especially those that are leading in your industry. What is it about the product that makes users prefer them over others? What is their branding like? What makes them unique, what is their price? And compare this with what you are offering. Leverage these insights to build your product. Ask your team, what will set your product apart from the other product in the same category. Why should consumers choose your product over the competition? Identify your product’s unique advantages and leverage them to sell your brand.
3). Make a Prototype and Test it
This is one of the most critical aspects of any new tech product. If you ignore testing, your product outcome might end up failing grossly. To avoid the risk of investing in a product that is overly flawed before it hits the market, create a prototype and get beta testers to try it so they can offer feedback on how to improve it, if necessary. Don’t wait for customer reviews after launch to improve your product, it can be disastrous to the product and your brand, scaring away partners and investors. No matter how excited you are about your product, always test before launching.
4). Reconfigure Your Product
This is a follow-up to the above point. Once you have a prototype and start testing your product and gaining feedback from testers, friends, family, and colleagues, to correct the defects; do not hesitate to adjust where necessary. Little changes here and there can make a big difference in your product’s quality. Getting somehow outside the team to vet the product can lead to discovering new features that should be added or those that should be removed, which eventually makes the product better. You may not eventually end up with a perfect product, but you will arrive at a product that excites your customers and that you are proud of.
5). Identify Your Revenue Model and Run the Numbers
It is not enough to have a fantastic idea or product; you must be able to identify its primary revenue stream. Some tech ideas are great but they do not have market value.
Also, it’s wise to establish your profit margins as one of your product launch phases. Compare similar products’ performance in the market and, as much as possible, determine the likely number of products sold, total revenue generated, break-even sales volume, and net profit earned.
In the area of marketing the product, you need to decide what to establish as a reasonable conversion rate for any of your marketing channels e.g., website and then figure out how much traffic you would need to reach that goal. You need every bit of this knowledge to make informed decisions, and avoid winging any aspect of it.
I hope you have learned a thing or two from this piece. Kindly go to Part 2 of this article to complete the basic steps to a successful product launch.
Written by: Darlyn Okojie, Co-Founder & COO, Memo Africa
Telkom, South Africa’s largest integrated communications company has partnered with Clickatell, the Chat Commerce and business messaging leader to launched their Chat 2 Pay feature. Telkom’s millions of customers can now make payments in WhatsApp, the country’s largest chat channel. Responding to the growing demand for fast, digital, self-help services, Telkom now deploys to its customers the Chat 2 Pay pay-by-link capability in WhatsApp, providing them with the convenience of safe and effortless mobile payments. Telkom post-paid and prepaid customers can pay their phone and xDSL/fibre bills, and buy airtime, data and SMS bundles by simply sending “Hi” on WhatsApp to 0811 601 700.
Currently, Telkom’s chatbot offers customers mobile support by accessing their accounts and billing information, plus allows them to view sales deals, check for mobile or fibre upgrades, do cancellations, make directory inquiries and more. With the addition of Chat 2 Pay, customers benefit from a convenient and personalized service to pay bills and VAS top-ups via Mastercard and Visa debit and credit cards.
“User behaviour has shifted, and organizations are relying more and more on digital channels for revenue generation. But, asking customers to make payments through a different channel creates a break in the customer journey and challenges companies to convert sales,” said Werner Lindemann, Clickatell’s Senior Vice President Enterprise Sales, Growth Markets. “Payments in chat give telcos the tools they need to help their customers complete payments simply and safely in the channel they already know and trust, significantly boosting customer experience and revenue.”
With Chat 2 Pay, the payment process is exceptionally simple. Telkom customers can transact by simply making a menu selection to trigger a payment request. A link is then sent to the customer in a WhatsApp message. When they click on the link, they access a fully hosted checkout page. The customer then can securely enter payment details and submit, receiving a confirmation of the payment and receipt in a chat message.
“Telkom continues to look at ways to advance our customers’ digital experiences, and our digital channels are core for future delivery,” said Gugu Mthembu, CMO at Telkom. “Chat 2 Pay helps us optimize our payment channels and payment collection. What’s more, the ease of and availability of VAS services is expected to further boost revenue opportunities.”
“With 93% of conversations transpiring on Clickatell’s Chat Commerce Platform and ending in a transaction, Chat Commerce, including Chat 2 Pay, is especially relevant for telcos that are looking for new revenue channels and better efficiencies. Chat Commerce doesn’t just respond to your customers’ needs, it fulfills many of your shareholders’ needs too,” said Lindemann.
Fawry, the leading company in the field of banking technology and electronic payments, celebrated the signing of a cooperation agreement with ‘My Fatoorah’, the leading provider of online payment services in the GCC region, in order to provide FawryPay reference code service for My Fatoorah‘s customers and merchants in the Egyptian market. The agreement was signed in the presence of Mr. Bassem Lotfy, Head of Acceptance at ‘Fawry’, and Bola Saad, ‘My Fatoorah’ Country Manager.
The cooperation comes in light of the increasing demand in the Egyptian market among users towards electronic payment solutions and options, which have become an integral part of citizens’ lives, coinciding with the digital transformation and financial inclusion that the world is witnessing in the recent period, as well as merchants’ awareness of the need to enhance their electronic services to customers.
‘Fawry’ works to support and enhance the operations of electronic payment companies that seek to enter the payments market in Egypt. It also works hand in hand with regional investments towards advancing the economy, in addition to Fawry’s continuous efforts towards supporting and enhancing the payments market through an innovative and new package in the field of banking technology and high-level technologies in the field of electronic payment, which would develop the digital economy.
Bassem Lotfy, Head of Acceptance at Fawry, said: “We are very pleased to cooperate with ‘My Fatoorah’, as it specializes in providing a wide range of electronic payment solutions at the regional level, which in turn will enrich the payments market with many advanced services and technologies in terms of digital payment solutions”. He also indicated that this cooperation confirms Fawry’s interest in supporting and developing companies in order to advance the digital payments market”.
Bola Saad, My Fatoorah Country Manager, said: “Based on its leading role in the field of banking services and financial technology, we chose ‘Fawry’ to use one of their distinguished services by paying via FawryPay reference code, which makes it easier for merchants and the public to have multiple payment options suitable for all categories.
He added: ” Therefore, our partnership today represents an exceptional opportunity to support and accelerate the growth of all our businesses in the Egyptian payments market, especially since’ Fawry’ has a wide spread in the Egyptian market.
Biometric identity and digital payments fintech, Paycode, has been selected as one of the Top 4 Finalists in the Women’s World Banking Fintech Innovation Challenge and will be competing live at the 2023 Making Finance Work for Women Summit in Mumbai in May. Selected from a pool of 98 highly qualified applicants across 34 countries, Paycode were judged based on rigorous criteria by an expert Advisory Committee that evaluated several factors, including product innovation, gender inclusivity, financial viability, scale potential, team experience and diversity.
Speaking about the Challenge, Marina Dimova, Global Head of Financial Industry and Network Advocacy for Women’s World Banking said, “Fintech founders develop new solutions when they see an unmet need or an underserved community, and low-income women are absolutely an underserved community. By calling on fintech innovators from around the world and inviting them to present their best ideas at the Fintech Innovation Challenge, we aim to advance women’s financial inclusion and scale growth. We look forward to seeing our finalists presenting their exciting solutions live in India this May, bringing us closer to achieving an inclusive economy for all.”
The announcement builds on Paycode’s winning streak which started in May 2022 in Mozambique after winning the Mondato Award for Digital Finance Innovation. This was followed by the UK-based Payments Association Pay360 Award where Paycode won Best Financial Inclusion Payments Initiative. Paycode was then named 2nd Runner Up in the Ecobank Fintech Challenge in October 2022 in Togo and a Top 10 Semifinalist in the Women’s World Banking Fintech Innovation Challenge in December.
The common theme across all the competitions was the need for robust financial inclusion solutions that serve people living in deep rural areas. In Africa alone, almost one billion people cannot access basic financial services due to lack of identity, lack of connectivity, and high fees. Paycode’s biometric identity and digital payments solution works offline in real-time, overcoming these barriers to financial inclusion.
Paycode CEO, Gabe Ruhan, commented, “Paycode is delighted to be a Finalist in the Women’s World Banking Fintech Innovation Challenge and we look forward to presenting our solution to the judges at the Making Finance Work for Women Summit in Mumbai later this year. We are proud to be recognised as a leading fintech in Africa, and we look forward to building on our success to drive financial inclusion for millions through our world-class digital identity and payments solution.”
