“I think the biggest hurdle people face when they're launching a product is that they don't know where to start and it seems so overwhelming. So what I typically do is take them through a product development process, and we go step by step through different phases.” - Nicole de Larzac
Welcome to Brave and Boss with Kristi Soomer. Nicole de Larzac joins us today to talk all about the essential steps to launching and growing a product-based business. Launching and growing a product business can seem really overwhelming and like it’s only for people in the know. But it ought to be accessible to everyone!
Nicole de Larzac is a Product Business Coach who takes the mystery out of building a product business by helping aspiring entrepreneurs launch and scale their product businesses. In addition, Nicole is a seasoned Marketing Consultant and consults for global brands and businesses to help them with their brand strategy and growth.
She has over 20 years of marketing strategy, innovation, and consulting experience, having worked with large global brands, such as Coca-Cola and Kraft Foods, where she built new brands and scaled mature brands. She worked on award-winning campaigns and has led double-digit growth with many of the brands she has helped scale.
In addition, she started a product business in Australia, growing it to $2 Million in sales. She is the creator and host of the Productpreneur Podcast, featuring inspirational 'productpreneurs' and valuable marketing content to grow a product business. She also created the Productpreneur Community on Facebook as a place for product business owners to learn and grow
[00:01] How To Combat the Rollercoaster of Entrepreneurship
- A few updates about how eCommerce and how to combat getting left behind
- Join our Facebook group https://www.facebook.com/groups/braveandboss
- Reach me at hello@kristisoomer.com for information on my coaching packages or to get on my waitlist
- Leverage your network by coming from a place of service
[04:41] Finding a Winning Product
- How Nicole became an entrepreneur
- On coaching other women to launch and scale their product-based businesses
- Building something that gave her more flexibility and wanting other women to have that same flexibility
- Ideation and coming up with a product idea
- What are your customers asking for?
- What problems are your clients facing and what problems do they need solving?
- Have multiple options to solve a problem
- Look at what’s happening in the world and trends
[12:52] Where Do You Start When You’re Launching a Product
- You need a product development process
- Ideation
- Concept testing
- Product strategy - Planning the finances, launch strategy, etc
- Development - Creating a working prototype and finding manufacturers
- The average time it takes to develop a product end-to-end
[18:45] What You Need to Know About Product Pricing
- Van Westendorp's Price Sensitivity Meter
- At what price would you consider the product to be so expensive that you would not consider buying it? (Too expensive)
- At what price would you consider the product to be priced so low that you would feel the quality couldn’t be very good? (Too cheap)
- At what price would you consider the product starting to get expensive, so that it is not out of the question, but you would have to give some thought to buying it? (Expensive/High Side)
- At what price would you consider the product to be a bargain—a great buy for the money? (Cheap/Good Value)
- Making a decent margin with your pricing
- Good incoming margins to start off with in terms of gross margins
- Try to make sure that you're selling your product for at least four to six times higher
- Building in a lot of variable costs
[26:23] Promotional Tactics and Marketing Channels to Sell a Product
- Always start with your owned channels first
- Website
- Social Media
- Email Marketing
- Using the right influencers
- Paid advertising
- Favorite tools
- Survey Monkey
- SEMrush
- Canva
[30:37] Closing Up
- What Nicole is working on right now and how to work with her
- Connect with Nicole!
- Hot Seat
- What's one nonnegotiable step in your morning routine?
- “Coffee and I also walk my dog.”
- What's your favorite business book that you've ever read?
- What's your favorite podcast that you're listening to?
- What's your favorite Instagram account that you're following right now?
- Ida Bergfoth @idabergfoth
- What's one nonnegotiable step in your morning routine?
Key Quotes:
“Always think about what problem you're solving. Start with that problem because great products solve a problem.” - Nicole de Larzac
“I think when most people think about marketing, they think about paid advertising. But I'd like to always start with looking at the channels you own.” - Nicole de Larzac
Resources Mentioned
- Van Westendorp's Price Sensitivity Meter
- Tools
- Book: Building a StoryBrand: Clarify Your Message So Customers Will Listen by Donald Miller
- Podcast: Project me with Tiffany
Connect with Nicole
- Website
- Facebook community
- The Productpreneur Podcast
- Book a free strategy session with Nicole
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