What To Do When Your Product Launch Mirrors Empty Skyscraper Space

The Shard is the tallest building in Western Europe. Everyone I knew around the area loved seeing its development. A truly landmark site.

It bestrides an enclave of London I’ve long adored. I took this pic one crisp autumnal morning, just prior to completion, from a London Bridge train station platform.

Yet this prime “vertical city” of a property appears ridiculously undersold.

Apparently this is a pattern oft-repeated by such supposedly ego-driven builds.

Huge hype from design to construction fails to deliver any tenants of note.

All the focus seems to be on securing that mouth-watering client. Whether it be a £50m flat, or global banksters fleeing a once traditional locale.

Another contemporary iconic building sheds light on how these sales unfold;

The Gherkin is a case study for how skyscrapers tend to be filled: just like their construction, it is often from the ground up.

Yet these sales appear unattractive for the owners.

All they see are ‘unglamorous’ clients, taking up the most ‘unsexy’ spots, and getting it at what they see as ‘massive discounts’.

Sadly this mindset is one I see mirrored in many a b2b new product launch.

Everyone is pushed, even if in merely a subconscious manner, to land the “whale”.

All the energy goes on securing the marquee client.

Yet the building blocks are ignored. It is often the smaller customers that help generate momentum. Not the other way around.

If you’re planning a new product launch, then what attention are you paying to the foundations?

There is no disgrace at all in having lots of ‘littler’ early adopters of your shiny new wares.

And you’ll find that these can often give you the vital credibility you really need when eventually getting to grips with your year-making banner of a big deal.