Product launch
Successfully launch and market your new product
For more than 30 years, our specialized team has been supporting companies in their product launches projects from the definition of the marketing strategy to the first sales.
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Key success factors for a product launch
Investing in a solid product launch strategy is crucial for companies aiming for sustained growth and a position as market leader . A successful product launch guarantees a high and rapid return on investment. To maximize the success of a new product launch, there are 3 key success factors to consider:
Market knowledge enables the assessment of the target market’s familiarity with the new offer. Understanding market needs, preferences and behaviors guarantees effective product positioning. This involves in-depth market research, competitor analysis, fine-tuned customer segmentation, and an understanding of the ecosystem (key players and their roles, potential partners, etc.). Particular attention needs to be paid to highly innovative products, which sometimes create a new market: in this case, it’s important to understand which ecosystem building blocks the product will be able to lean on, and what specific measures will need to be put in place prior to the launch.
What is the size of my target market, its trends and key stakes? Who are the key players? What are the conditions, challenges and possible developments in terms of market access?
A product launch must be treated like a project, i.e. with an on-board team, a project manager, a budget, timings and project management methods and tools. Risk and contingency management is one example. But the cornerstone of the whole process is undoubtedly planning. Indeed, any product launch requires the coordination of multiple activities and multiple people, sometimes both internally and externally. Good planning is therefore essential, to ensure that the process runs smoothly and on time. Numerous tools are available for this purpose, but it’s important to use them right! Previous experiences and best practices from comparable launches (benchmarks) are valuable elements to take into account.
How should I structure my launch team? How should I organize the various activities to be carried out over time? Where are the risks, and how can they be mitigated?
After a launch, it’s essential to collect and review performance indicators and customer feedback. This information can be used to improve the product, refine the launch strategy and improve future launches. This iterative process of learning from each launch experience and applying this knowledge is fundamental to achieving continuous improvement and long-term success in product development and market engagement.
What are the key lessons to be learned from previous product launches? How can they be applied to future launches? What is the customer feedback?
How we support you in your product launch strategies
To help our clients successfully prepare their product launch initiatives, our teams are involved from upstream marketing analysis and strategy (regulatory analysis, competitive environment mapping, choice of market positioning and market segments, estimation of market potential, etc.), to marketing strategy (choice of business model, distribution channels, price positioning, identification of potential partners, etc.), through to the first contracts and first sales (assistance with prospecting, business development, etc.).
What they say
"For me Alcimed is like a place to take time to talk, take a step back to ask yourself some good questions to identify the challenges of industry and take the time to find solutions."
Melissa Guyot & Bertrand Coissac
Corporate Development Manager & Vice Président du Corporate Development
"The Alcimed teams were great for the creation of this positive atmosphere and in line with all the expectations that the Sobi teams had."
Antoine Delmotte
Immunology Complement & Speciality Care Business Unit Director
Examples of recent product launch strategies carried out for our clients
Marketing strategy: definition of a product launch plan for the deployment of a new combined health offer
We supported a pharmaceutical company in the launch of a combined offer, which consisted in adding a communication platform between the patient and healthcare professionals to a medical device.
By analyzing the receptiveness of the medical community to this new combined offer, Alcimed enabled its client to establish the most appropriate marketing strategy for the launch of its product.
This was then concretized from an operational point of view by accompanying the sales teams in the construction of their communication supports (presentation materials, sales pitch,…) in order to facilitate the integration of the messages and their diffusion to the different communities of healthcare professionals.
Marketing plan : preparation of a marketing campaign for the launch of alcohol-free beers
We assisted a major company in the agri-food industry in developing a marketing campaign plan to promote the health benefits of alcohol-free beer in preparation for the new products launch.
By developing a set of marketing arguments based on an in-depth scientific analysis, and identifying market events on the theme of nutrition and potential influencers, Alcimed enabled its client to prepare its product launches plan in more than ten markets worldwide.
Preparing a product launch plan: roadmap for an orphan drug launch project in Europe
Alcimed assisted an American biopharmaceutical client in defining the launch strategy of its orphan drug in Europe, and then in structuring a concrete and operational plan, both at the level of the European region and at the level of each targeted country.
The launch plan is a roadmap for each of the company’s key functions (medical, marketing, production, regulatory, sales) and covers the period from pre-launch (before obtaining the MA – Marketing Authorization) to the first sales.
Today, our team is still involved in regularly updating the first plan defined with our client, according to internal or external developments around this orphan drug in several European countries.
Market access strategy for a product launch: preparation for the launch of a new CAR-T therapy
We assisted a leading company in the field of CAR-T therapies in preparing the launch of its new treatment and in defining its market access strategy in the US, Canada and Europe. CAR-Ts are highly personalized technologies that require a high level of specialization to be delivered to patients, and therefore not all healthcare facilities are ready to administer them. In this context, and in order to define the market access strategy for its new treatment, we helped our client to:
- Understand and identify which centers would have the capacity to deliver CAR-T.
- Analyze the bottlenecks to approval this new product in the relevant markets.
- Consequently, define the actions to be implemented to ensure access to their new CAR-T therapy.
Following an investigation of over 200 healthcare centers in the US, Canada and Europe, our analysis enabled us to recommend to our client the key next steps to take to ensure their new product launch, including developing the skills of each center and facilitating rapid market access for their new treatment.
Deciphering the current hematological malignancy care pathway to ensure the success of a pharmaceutical company's product launch
Alcimed assisted a pharmaceutical company in the launch of its new product for the treatment of a hemopathy in France.
To define the right strategic and communication axes for the product launch, we investigated the current care pathway, particularly with regard to the use of blood transfusion, the reference treatment for the pathology, in order to identify the main pain points and better characterize the current burden of the disease, not only for patients, but also for hospitals.
Following an investigation carried out with hematologists, nurses, biologists, patient associations and KOLs, we were able to provide our client with a detailed understanding of the current ecosystem for managing this pathology and the unmet needs of all stakeholders, beyond the direct prescribers. This contributed to the clear identification of the new product’s expectations and strengths. Alcimed was thus able to define the positioning and messages that would guarantee a successful launch.
Estimation of the potential number of patients who could benefit from a new endocrinology treatment in France
Alcimed helped a pharmaceutical company to assess the level of investment required to launch a new endocrinology product. The aim was to gain a better understanding of the precise endocrine disease in France, and to estimate the potential number of patients this pathology represents in this market.
To achieve this, we implemented a three-stage methodology to decipher management practices and patient pathways, identify potential patient pools, and guide the decision around the business opportunity of treatment.
In the end, the project delivered a detailed analysis, including assumptions for quantifying the epidemiology of the pathology in France, an assessment of the business opportunity for its client and the implications in terms of the GO/NO GO decision to invest in this indication.
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Founded in 1993, Alcimed is an innovation and new business consulting firm, specializing in innovation driven sectors: life sciences (healthcare, biotech, agrifood), energy, environment, mobility, chemicals, materials, cosmetics, aeronautics, space and defence.
Our purpose? Helping both private and public decision-makers explore and develop their uncharted territories: new technologies, new offers, new geographies, possible futures, and new ways to innovate.
Located across eight offices around the world (France, Europe, Singapore and the United States), our team is made up of 220 highly-qualified, multicultural and passionate explorers, with a blended science/technology and business culture.
Our dream? To build a team of 1,000 explorers, to design tomorrow’s world hand in hand with our clients.
A product launch is the first initiative to put a product on the market. Launching a new product is therefore an extremely important marketing and commercial step, which requires rigorous preparation and excellent coordination between the different actions to be carried out to make your product available for purchase by your future consumers.
The quality of your product launch will determine the level of awareness of your brand, your first sales, or your first customer satisfaction feedback, … and thus a first evaluation of your return on investment. The development of a robust product launch strategy is therefore essential to guarantee your success.
The key stages of a product launch are numerous and may include specific elements such as authorizations for drug market releases. Besides these specific stages, they can be summarized as follows:
- Pre-launch studies: market research, receptivity studies, consumer tests, etc.
- Definition of the marketing strategy (messaging, promotion and sales), and its associated roadmap
- Training of sales forces and, when necessary, the setting-up of the distribution network
- Launch execution
- Post-launch evaluation