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Product

How to launch a new product

June 21, 2014 | Martin | 9 Comments

Launching a new product can be an exciting time for any company. Whether it is the first
product the company has offered, or an addition to an already existing line, the enthusiasm and
buzz in the air is contagious as dreams of instant success abound. Before presenting your
product to the masses, however, there are a few things that every company needs to do to
prepare for the big reveal.

pixabay | WikiImages

In this article, we look at 1) evaluations you must do before the launch, 2) the proper way to plan
a launch, 3) successful execution of a product launch, and 4) things to keep in mind postlaunch.

EVALUATE BEFORE LAUNCH

It is impossible to gauge exactly how the new product is going to be received even the most
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experienced and large companies have had both wild success and epic failures with new
product launches. Before sending out the press releases, spend some time doing a little
introspective study.
Evaluate the readiness of your company before starting to publicize your new product.
Can your company support fast, overnight growth?
If the launch is successful (and lets face it the reason youre launching a new product is
because you want it to be successful) then your company will need to be able to facilitate
the increased demand.
Do you have adequate staffing/supply lines/processes in place to handle the increased
customer attention?
Do you have protocol for handling customer inquiries and needs in a customer service
department?
If the answer to any of these questions is no, delay the product launch until you have sufficient
resources available. At the very least, establish a plan for acquiring the needed resources as
needed before going ahead with the product launch.
MAGAZINE
LEXICON
TOOLBOX
Evaluate
the product
itself

CONTACT

When a company begins to prepare for launching a new product, there can be a tendency to
205
sensationalize
the product. Marketing personnel, ambitious sales personnel and even company
Shares

executives can set their stakes on the wonderful new product they have. Taking a realistic
evaluation of the product before releasing it to the public is vital to the launch success.
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Has the product been thoroughly tested?

Does it deliver consistent results?

Asking hard questions internally will not only help improve the product, but will help to ensure
that the product is ready to be launched. Once you have done an internal evaluation of the
product, study the answers even the ones that arent what you want to hear. It may be
tempting to overlook the negative responses, but doing so may be putting your product and
your company in peril. Setting high expectations for a products abilities can cause a swift
backlash of angry customers when the product fails to deliver.

Evaluate the market

Most likely, there has been market research performed in preparation for the launch. Take a
close look at the results of the market research to make sure that there is a market for the
product.
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If your product is a niche product, is there enough of a market to support the product?
Does the available market have a place for your product?
Conducting market research can be time consuming, but can lead to vital information that will
help direct the launch of your product. Identify the feasibility of the market to accept your
product, as well as the specific market that your product will appeal to. Market identification
can help you to target that audience for your launch, increasing the chances for a successful
launch.

PLAN FOR LAUNCH

Once you start planning the actual launch, you need to look at your competition, your market,
as well as your marketing strategy.

Research the competition

During your market research, be sure that you are evaluating not only the potential market for
your product, but thoroughly investigating the competition. As you study the competition, look
for some specific details that will help you not only shape your own product launch, but will
give you essential information about the market that your product will be placed in. Listing the
top market competitors will help you study both their products and their marketing techniques.
Consider the market from your potential customers point of view:
What service or product do they choose currently?
What factors set your product apart from theirs?
What are the key differences that would compel a customer to select your product over
another companys?
The competition is an important source of information as you prepare to launch your product
dont overlook this vital step.

Identify your target market

In addition to knowing the competition, your ideal customer must be identified as well. Finding
the specific demographics of your target market will help you to tailor the launch strategy to
the people most likely to purchase your product. It can be helpful to develop a target customer
persona complete with a biographical sketch and picture. Compile a list of the ideal
customers characteristics. Use magazines, newspapers, etc. to find a picture of someone who
represents the perfect customer, and post the picture in a central location. By personalizing the
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target market, you can gear your marketing materials to your customer and have greater
success in making sure that your intended customers are getting the message.

Develop your marketing strategy

Essential to a successful product launch is the development of a well-planned marketing
campaign. Using a variety of marketing channels is more likely to result in a successful launch.
Use the information youve gathered in identifying your target customer, and then develop a
multi-faceted approach to reaching that customer. A combination of traditional advertising as
well as the inclusion of social media tools will generate a wide range of interest in your product.
Evaluate the potential advertising options that are best suited to your product and your market,
and establish a strategy for using those tools.
Would your product be best highlighted through television commercials?
Does a print medium portray your product best?
Are your target customers sending tweets all the time?
Do they have boards filled with pins of ways to use your product?
Target the people who not only use your product, but who use the tools that youre marketing
with.

The Secrets For A Successful Product Launch

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EXECUTING THE LAUNCH

Everything is lined up, and you are ready to begin planning your launch. Even though your
projected launch date is weeks away, there are still things to be done to ramp up for your
launch. As the circled date on the calendar approaches, put these pre-launch essentials into
play to help create the perfect environment for your launch.

Start promoting early

Dont wait until the actual launch date to start telling people about your new product. Start
promoting the product several weeks before the actual launch and start helping your target
market recognize the name and/or product. Name recognition is key to getting customers to try
your product make sure that your product name is in front of the market place before the
product is available.

Pre-launch trials are important

Before the launch of your product, let key people use (and subsequently, write about) your
product. Offering your product to bloggers, editors, journalists and others who have a following
and audience is a fantastic way to generate interest and excitement in your product. Having
actual users give testimonials about the exciting new product about to be released will increase
customer willingness to be on the lookout for your launch.

Expert reviews have credence

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Expert reviews have credence

Put your product in front of experts in the field that your product belongs to. Releasing a new
technology device? Let a programming expert put your product through its paces. Develop a
new line of cookware? Ask a celebrity chef to cook with your product and write a review. Expert
users give credibility to the claims of your product as being new/revolutionary/improved, etc.
By providing potential customers with a quote from experts who have used the product, you are
solidifying the validity of your product claims. Even if you cant arrange for big name
celebrities to try out your product, look for local personas that have a standing in the
community where your product will be launched.

Provide product information leaks

By using planned leaks of information, you not only control the amount of information that is
released to the public, you are generating a sense of drama which brings excitement and
interest. Some of the largest product releases in recent years have successfully used the
information leak technique to draw attention to their new product. (Think about Apples last few
product releases for examples of this.) A few well-placed pictures of the product even a
portion of the product will begin to create a buzz of excitement. A set of launch campaign ads
that feature coming soon highlights will increase a customers interest in the product.
Highlight a few unique features that set your product apart from the competition to get people
talking about your product before the launch.

Be creative
Any company can create a boring, traditional marketing campaign. If you truly want to launch
your product into the marketplace with a bang, think outside the box. The more creative, the
better. (Think about your favorite marketing campaigns or commercials youve seen. Most
likely, youve talked about that great new commercial with your friends or co-workers.)
Generate that same type of hype about your product launch by maximizing your marketing
materials with creativity.
During the lead-in time to the product launch, release videos or commercials that are
unique in nature or that make people laugh.
Take a poll of your target audience and correlate the responses into an infographic or
survey response that lets potential customers see the need for your product.
Consider an industry related release campaign to capitalize on the days leading up to your
launch. For example, a new kitchen product may want to maximize on an up-coming
holiday season by highlighting how much easier preparing large meals will be with the
new product.
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Look for product tie-ins that will lend themselves to creative marketing for your product
launch.

Use people with a vested interest

Distribute products to the investors who have committed funds to launching the new product.
Let them use the product and begin to tell others about it. By having a vested interest in the
success of the product, they will be highly motivated to promote the product to their circle of
influence. Using investors to promote the product is a win-win: the product gets attention and
generates excitement and the investors are helping to ensure that they get an ROI (return on
investment).

Be social
Social media has forever changed the way that customers relate to each other and to the
global community. Harness the power of the social media by using it to generate conversations
about the product launch. Explore connections that may exist solely in an online capacity
and develop meaningful interactions with new social circles that may be interested in your
product. Instead of focusing on social media numbers, focus on the depth of interactions that
you can generate. Provide compelling content about your product and then start conversations
about it. As the social circle widens and expands, more and more people will begin to talk about
the product, who will then in turn tell others, and so forth starting a grass-roots movement to
help launch your campaign.

Dont despair
Unless your company is one of the massive organizations dominating the marketplace, your
product launch may not even cause a ripple in the mainstream media. This does not spell doom
for your product! Your launch date should simply be the date that your new product is available
in the marketplace fanfare is not necessary. In addition, not getting covered by every news
media organization isnt the end of your launch so unless your new product is cutting edge
and revolutionary, dont set yourself up for frustration by expecting to be on the front page of
the Wall Street Journal. Look for solid content from the smaller media outlets, and build your
marketing strategy around other outlets.

AFTER THE LAUNCH

Once the launch date has passed, your efforts should not stop. Your launch promotion should
continue to work.

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Maintain a steady supply of topics to reporters/journalists about the product itself.

Detail customer uses of the product including reports from some of the initial users of
the product.
Describe the changes that the product brings to the market.
Write press releases about the just released product.
Since you have no control over when a journalist may be able to write about your new product,
keep them informed about the product through well-written content articles.
As people become more aware of your product, make sure that they have easy access to not
only your product, but to more information about the product as well. Offer free trials, videos,
product demos all specifically geared to inform the public about the new product offering.
Dont be afraid to ask customers to tell you about their experience with the new product good
or bad and then use those results in further advertising.
Throughout the course of the marketing strategy, your campaign will need to be altered as ads
become stale, sales become stagnant or customers seem to lose interest in the product. Be
vigilant about keeping track of what efforts are starting to lose effectiveness so that you can
make the appropriate changes. Monitoring the market conditions can also be an indicator of
when a product has run its course and needs to either be revamped or pulled from the market
completely.
In the same manner, keeping track of which media tools were the most successful in
converting potential customers into sales will give an indicator of where your efforts should be
spent. Dropping the ineffectual methods and replacing them with renewed efforts in the
productive methods will help not only generate income by identifying new customers; it will
maximize the customer awareness.

26 Product Launch Strategies

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Preparing for a product launch can be both exhilarating and horrifying. The list of things to be
done seems endless and the product hasnt even been released yet! Dont try to do everything
on your own. Engage the help of professional writers, marketing strategists and other personnel
who can help you initiate a successful launch. For an emerging company, it may seem frivolous
and unnecessary to spend money on a pre-launch campaign, but investing in preparing the
marketplace for the launch will be some of the best money spent on the product. Getting
professional assistance will ensure that not only is the product being released to the target
market, but that it is getting the exposure and support that it needs to be successful. Navigating
the waters of a product launch requires planning and diligence, but can be accomplished
even by a complete novice.

Image credit: pixabay | WikiImages under Public Domain Dedication.

197

Comments
ambika says
June 27, 2014 at 10:46 am
Great..
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Atati cheJali says

December 22, 2014 at 11:23 pm
Not just informative but very enlightening as well. Beats a whole course I went to in
recent months somewhere. .. no names ..
Great work indeed
Thanks

Anastasia says
December 22, 2014 at 11:43 pm
Thank you very much for your kind words.
Cheers,
Anastasia

Anonymous says
July 17, 2015 at 3:21 am
Ive read many step-by-step guides. This is by far the best & most thought-provoking

Anonymous says
August 18, 2015 at 10:41 am

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very good

Martin says
August 19, 2015 at 6:19 am
Thanks for feedback!

Abijo Adio says

September 3, 2015 at 4:17 am
Good work! Thumbs Up.

Martin says
September 7, 2015 at 8:26 am
Thanks for your words, Abijo!

Andy says
October 23, 2015 at 8:40 am
Awesome article. Thanks a lot!

Comments
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