How to Launch an Opinion Leader Solution
By Sudhakar Raman
Results
Following successful completion of the beta evaluation, the teacher customer purchased multiple systems that were worth several million dollars as they grew quickly by capturing graphic chip packaging market share. This opinion leader customer was willing to provide reference in the region which quickly helped the Company establish market leadership for the next 2 to 3 years. Successful adoption of the technology by the early adopter became a differentiating element in the Company’s offering.
Lessons Learned
The cross-functional team was very pleased with the outcome of the long and detailed execution of the solutions launch. This success helped establish engineering community buy-in into the product life cycle management process of which product launch is a critical element. I learned that it is important to recruit the cross-functional team and kick off solutions-oriented product launch planning concurrently with the start of product development. Finally, meeting the business expectations of a critically important first customer keeps everyone focused on execution to schedule.
