9 Tips to Deliver a Successful Product Launch

Planning to launch a new product to the market? Go you! Now is the time to start planning how you’re going to do it, so you can get the most success out of your launch as possible. 

Here are 9 important things to consider before launching your product: 

1. Develop a launch strategy

Every great product launch starts with a plan. This plan must outline the sequence of steps and actions that need to be taken in order to successfully launch the new product to market. 

The steps and actions throughout the launch strategy are likely to involve different people and departments (depending on the size of your business) and should be clear and well communicated so everyone is on the same page and on track to achieving the same goal. 

A solid launch strategy is the backbone of the success of a product launch. 

2. Understand your target audience 

One of the first steps of your strategy is to determine and understand who you are selling to. If your target audience is “everyone” then you have a long, difficult challenge ahead of you. It’s important to be specific so you can focus your time, energy and resources on where you’ll get the most impact. 

Understand your customer’s pain points, challenges, and what solutions they might be looking for. Get to know what they like and don’t like, and potentially leverage existing data you might have about them such as what they search for on your website and the type of content they resonate most with on your social media channels. 

Identify your key audience segments and formulate a plan on how you will reach these people. What social media platforms do they use, how old are they,  where do they live, what kind of jobs or skills do they have and what are their interests? Get to know your audience and focus on engaging with them. 

3. Research the market and your competitors

Ideally, you’ve already completed this step when developing your new product. Make a list of your competitors and identify their strengths and weaknesses, and compare this to your brand or business. Why would someone choose your product or brand over another? What is it that sets you apart? What is it about your product that is different or more exciting than your competitors? 

Make a list of your own strengths and weaknesses and identity the key differences. These will be used in your marketing communications when it comes to launching your product. 

4. Know exactly what you’re selling

Can you describe what the product is within one inspiring sentence? Make sure you have identified the key value of the product and are able to explain this clearly and easily. What makes the product exciting? What value does it add? Does it solve a challenge or problem for the customer?  

Identify these things and summarise them in clear and succinct sentences. You might like to break this down into a few different messages and then work out which messages are right for particular audience segments.

Make sure you’re telling your customers exactly what they want to know and don’t make assumptions. Remember, you know this product inside and out but your audience has never seen it. It’s your job to explain to them what it is and the value it brings. 

5. Set your goals

Set the goals and objectives you want to achieve and write them down. Make them specific, and clear, and set a deadline for when you want to achieve them. These goals will help frame the purpose of your product launch strategy and guide you in deciding on the steps you will take.

It’s important that everyone understands these goals and is committed to working towards them together. If you’re outsourcing any work, using contractors or agencies to help you launch the product, ensure they’re clear on your goals and you’re all on the same page. In this case, you may like to set smaller goals that apply to each team/person working on the launch, so that they remain accountable for their area of responsibility. 

Next, identify how you will measure success. How will you measure whether each objective was achieved? If your objective is to sell 2,000 products within 90 days from your eCommerce store, do you have the right tracking set up to enable you to capture this data?  Work out what tools you need to track your success before you launch the product. 

6. Develop a marketing and communications plan 

Whether you’re managing your marketing plan internally or externally, this is arguably the most important part of your strategy. All your ideas, the work you’ve done, and the product you’ve invested in won’t be seen by anyone if you don’t have a marketing and communications plan in place. 

How are you going to reach your target market? Consider the marketing channels you might use; organic social media, paid social media ads, Google search, magazines, TV, radio, word of mouth and newspapers. There’s a lot to consider. Select the channels that are going to yield the most return with the budget you have. Ensure you’ve considered where you will find your audience and the costs involved in using these channels.  

Set your budget and know your numbers. How much profit will you make from each product and how much money do you have to invest in marketing? Create clear steps and a timeline for how your marketing plan is going to be executed. Who is purchasing media placements, what content and creative is required, who will write the copy, how early do you need to start advertising, and how is photography going to be captured? 

Consider how the product will be delivered and what that experience will entail. Perhaps you’ll want to put your Instagram handle on the packaging to remind people to follow you. Or include a thank you note that asks people to share a photo of their product in use and to use a hashtag so you can see it.  

Formulate a plan for any promos, discounts or deals that might help build momentum for the launch. Maybe you’ll add a sweet deal for each person’s first purchase to attract new customers, or bundle the new product with your existing products to entice existing customers.  

Consider outsourcing to specialists who live and breathe marketing, and have experienced what works and what doesn’t. Your marketing and communications plan might make or break the success of your product launch, so it’s not worth skimping on. 

7. Make sure the customer journey is smooth

Before you launch your product to market, make sure your purchase journey is easy and that there are no barriers in place that might stop someone from purchasing or ordering.

You might like to get your family or friends to attempt to make a purchase and ask them to flag any confusion or uncertainty that they experience in the process. Does your website load slowly? Is the information on the website confusing or unclear? Does the product landing page give the customer all the information they need to know, or are they left with questions? Are there any hidden costs along the way that might be off-putting once someone gets to the checkout? Is it easy to add shipping details, are there various payment options?   

All these things make up the customer journey and every bit of uncertainty is a barrier to purchase, so you want to make sure this is right before your launch.

8. Create hype and build anticipation 

Forming part of your marketing strategy, you should build anticipation with your audience by letting them know there is something exciting coming. This can help build awareness of the new product with your existing customers and set you up with some low-hanging fruit come launch time. 

Tease the new product on social media and encourage your audience to interact. Perhaps even hold a competition where people can guess what it is. Show little sneak peeks and build anticipation until the big reveal. 

Encourage sign-ups to your email database by letting people know this group will be the first to find out what the product is, or even allow VIPs to shop it a day earlier than everyone else.

9. Invest in customer support 

Often overlooked but arguably the most important department of your business. Good customer support is the easiest way to build brand trust, loyalty and encourage organic word-of-mouth referrals. At the end of the day, we’re all human and when we have a question, need assistance or are seeking advice, the brands that have easy, open, two-way communication are the ones that stand out.

Ensure someone monitors your social media, email support and phone lines every day. Make it clear to your customers how they can go about reaching you and set up a process for customer feedback and complaints. Dealing with complaints and feedback is not only good practice but also an opportunity to improve. 

If you receive negative feedback or reviews, be empathetic and have a conversation with your customers so they feel heard. Then take this feedback on board and apply any improvements or changes where necessary. Responding to, and addressing feedback helps to build brand trust as it shows you care and that you’re willing to create solutions for your customers. 

A good product launch doesn’t just finish once the customer has purchased. It’s important to close the loop with your customers after they purchase. You might like to follow up with them to make sure they’re happy with their purchase and request feedback that you can use in your marketing, or for improvement in the future. Then you’ll want to keep these customers engaged so that when they’re ready to re-purchase, or when you launch your next product, you’re already top of mind.

Launching a product isn’t a walk in the park, but if you start with a solid strategy and stick to it, your chances of success are much higher. If you’re keen to get support on how to launch your next product, get in touch with us at Rumblr. We’re more than digital marketing specialists and can support you at all stages of your launch. Visit our website at www.rumblr.com.au, or drop us a line: hello@rumblr.com.au