How to promote your new product | 7 techniques for a successful product launch
Are you wanting to execute your next product launch in a way that justifies the hard work that went into research and development? We’d like to help you with that.
Launching a new product requires careful planning and strategic marketing. Product life cycles vary from industry to industry, but they’re all finite. Everything gets supplanted by newer models, or put out of pace by competitor innovations. You want to create hype and maximise its potential to generate revenue while it’s still the hot new thing.
You need to do this for the good of your brand, and for the sake of protecting your margin and continuing to grow and innovate as a business. It’s fair to say that the success of every significant product launch in a business’s road map has a direct impact on their ability to innovate on subsequent iterations. You’ll never get to make version 5 or 10 or 20 of a product that doesn’t move the needle. So, how do you give every launch the best chance of success?
Here are 7 actionable steps you can take, no matter your industry, to help your latest and greatest products take off and make an impact on your market.
1. Start planning your product launch well in advance, with teaser material to create anticipation
Like anything done well, a successful product launch should be planned well in advance and be part of your business road map.
Before products go on sale, taking late stage prototypes to trade shows, or even loaning units to industry publications or well-known influencers to review is a great way to start building some tangible excitement around what’s to come. If you’re anticipating high demand, you could also launch a pre-order campaign – and essentially start selling your product ahead of time, creating a level of exclusivity and hype. (This latter move has its upsides and its downsides, but when executed with aplomb, gets you ahead of your product’s shelf life.)
Of course, classic advertising campaigns should also be thoroughly prepared, with traditional media campaigns alongside paid social ad campaigns for maximum market penetration.
2. Crowdfunding campaign
In fact, for start-ups, the planning for product launches could start before a prototype is even put together, and involve generating hype around a concept through crowdfunding campaigns.
If your concept is a real game changer, and has demonstrably good odds of disrupting the market you’re targeting, chances are you’ll be able to sell equity in your business in exchange for people investing in your idea. These people are early adopters, and because they’ve invested in your business succeeding, they’re going to be your early adopters and – if you’re successful – lifelong cheerleaders.
To execute equity crowdfunding, you’ll need to go through an equity crowdfunding platform registered with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
3. Create compelling product videos and marketing materials
High visual content that pops on page and on screen is still a key element of capturing your audience’s attention. Advances in mobile technology mean that powerful, capable, and easy-to-use audio-visual equipment is in the hands of any viable business needing to create high quality content.
You want to focus on videos and content that show your product doing what it does best. If it’s a lightweight waterproof jacket, show it holding up to the elements in a storm. Create infographics that easily illustrate how the material used achieves a hydrostatic head score of X while retaining breathability.
When you’re using content marketing to sell something, remember 2 rules:
- Nobody believes what they can’t see
- Nobody will buy-in to what they can’t understand
To sell innovative products is to break the magician’s code: show them the magic trick, then show them how it’s done.
4. Create immersive, interactive marketing games to help educate and convert potential customers
Gamify your marketing efforts by developing interactive games that not only entertain, but can also educate potential customers on what your new product does better than anything that’s come before it.
Gamification takes the elements of games that get players to focus, engage, and immerse themselves in a subject, and redirect that energy to get a desired action. When we create marketing games, we’re redirecting that energy to engage in our branded content that’s educating them on whatever product we’re advertising.
The Drimify gamification platform makes gamification easy, allowing you to customise pre-made game engines with your branding, your copy, and your calls-to-action. All games created on the platform allow you to include a data collection form where you can also ask users to opt-in to your email marketing, making it a great way to start relationships with target customers and follow up with them nearer to your product’s launch date.
5. Organise demo events at specialist stores so people can get your product in hand
Embrace the impact that well respected bricks-and-mortar retail stores can have and work with your stockists to arrange demo events.
These give potential customers the opportunity to experience your product firsthand, allowing them to touch, feel, and test your offering, and ask any questions they may have to either yourself or a brand-approved expert. This can create a deeper connection, and increase their confidence in your new product’s value.
6. Use your email marketing lists and social media platforms to share your content and get the word out
Unless you’re a completely new company, you’ll have some social media audience and some newsletter opt-ins. This audience, your existing fans, are always going to be your first port of call. If they’re fans of what you’ve produced before, they’re probably going to enjoy the upgrade.
Fire out carefully curated email newsletters that put the spotlight on your new product in all its glory. Run social media paid ad campaigns and retargeting campaigns. Use every weapon in your arsenal to get the word out about your product launch.
7. If there’s a relevant influencer, consider partnering with them
Relevant influencers are now a very legitimate way to launch new products. Across all subcultures and communities built around different hobbies, sports, and niches, there’ll be a number of influencers – they’re not all just doing dances on TikTok. Many of these people are hardworking, accomplished people in specific areas who have also built a personal brand based on authenticity. It’s their authenticity and the following’s they’ve curated you’re looking to piggy back on.
Particularly if you’re a new brand, getting an influencer onboard as an early adopter and a brand ambassador can be a huge boone for your product launches.
Pro tip: This only works when it’s authentic and makes sense for both parties. If they’ve publicly trashed your brand in the past, their about face to suddenly start preaching about your new model being the bee’s knees will smack of insincerity with the posts flagged as paid promotions.
Key takeaway
Successfully launching a new product requires a well-executed marketing strategy that encompasses various techniques. With anything new, the onus is on you to show and demonstrate its value before its launch date, during its launch period, and throughout its product lifecycle.
A new product isn’t like the movies where you can recoup a disappointing theatrical release by becoming a cult classic on the home video market (or now streaming market). There’s no such thing as a sleeper hit when it comes to product launches.
Start early, start hard, and don’t back down. Consider the 7 techniques listed above as broadly actionable and applicable for your upcoming product launch campaigns.
