There are innumerable products launching every day. If your product team is working on a new awesome product, you ought to make solid launch plan to ensure it doesn’t get lost in the dust.
In the olden days, the only way you would have announced ‘the next big thing’ would have been through press release. You had the option of hiring a press agency to set up a press tour. It would allow you to meet all the important press reporters.
Then on the launch day, you would have to sit back and wait for the other major news outlets to spread the news. However, those days are gone. Today, consumers are able to access information from a range of sources and platforms in a matter of seconds.
Getting recognized or attention isn’t easy anymore. Whatever attention you get in these few seconds is also forgotten as the network pushes newer news on the forefront and yours is lost somewhere. So what your company would need is an integrated approach that includes traditional, online and social marketing tools.
There’s a lot that goes into successfully launching a product. You need to establish proper messaging and develop the assets to enable the marketing team.
Few of the challenges that you face when you are launching a new product are creating brand awareness, establishing credibility and justifying your budget.
Getting a clear understanding of these challenges will help you in creating a flawless launch plan. Launching a product isn’t an easy task. But if planned properly and way in advance you can make it rewarding and exciting for your team and your audience.
Let’s look at what you and your marketing team can put together to create a solid launch plan for the big news:
Focus: People > Product: Creating the ‘next big thing’ is only the beginning. You need to know who your target audience is. Once you narrow down the audience you need to plan and customize the marketing activities by using the buyer persona.
You get to know your ideal buyers a little better – including their motivations, concerns. By using this information when marketing your product will help you in making a bigger impact.
When do people get excited about a new product?
It’s not when you talk about the product literature or how it is superior to the competitors. It’s how the product affects them, fits and creates a change in their life. You focus on people and what arouses their interest.
You and your product team might be over the top about the product features. However, do not assume that your target consumers would feel the same way. Their focus will be their problems and how this new product makes their life better.
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Build in time for the unexpected: In short – Start early! Create a project timeline. Timelines are critical. Get a head start on marketing activities. You need to start preparing long before you launch your product.
Sometimes these products launch usually take months of advance preparation. Start the outreach activities at least 6-8 weeks before the official launch date. You need to keep the news and conversations rolling even post launch.
The activities and tasks will take long and something or the other might go wrong. Plus if you do everything very close to the official launch date, you might have too many things on the plate. It will get very stressful to juggle so many things at once.
Get everyone talking about it months before the launch: Getting significant influencers on board to start talking about your product is what will set you apart. These influencers can be your potential friendly customers, bloggers, and journalists. Target those who will be eager to learn about your product.
You need to get everyone to start talking about your product way in advance. Introduce few aspects of the product in say a demo form or social feed leaks. You can also introduce free trials, downloads or even product videos.
Once this happens everyone tries to figure out what the product might do for him or her. Start working with media in advance to build a platform and generate interest. It will give you a sizeable online presence. Whether you get a good coverage or not, media knows who you are.
Do something extraordinary – Revolutionize your business: Create a buzz around the launch. Take a step that is bold and imaginative. Do something none of your competitors have done before.
Doing what others have done before or being an impersonator is never a good marketing strategy. Create a vision of a future that your people will want to live in. This way you won’t be forcing or fighting with your audience to talk about you. They will be interested to know what’s happening next.
Keep the suspense rolling – Let the product mystery grow to mythic proportion: You need to keep rolling out fresh news regarding your new hottest web product. Make announcements about the product but ensure you release very few details about it. Come up with novel uses and news that will drive your target audience into frenzy.
So the bottom line here is to plan your web product launch. Plan and work on the information you are willing to release and make it worth talking about.
Decide on the customer base you would want to impress so you can strategize accordingly.
BluEnt a product development company is well known for doing a brilliant job in creating an impressive product launch. Please share your innovative ideas that you would like to use in your next product launch.
Let’s talk. We can assist you in improving your chances of a successful product launch.
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