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Launching a new product is a big deal for any business.
And while it may seem like the development process is where the actual hard work is done, that is only half of the entire process.
The other half involves getting your audience to see it, which is referred to as a product launch.
You see, that’s no easy venture.
Why?
Because there are so many moving parts that contribute to a successful product launch, like a vehicle.
Any loose bolt can cause unnecessary setbacks.
But don’t worry, that’s not going to happen – not on our watch!
That’s why in this article, we’ll discuss:
You know what?
Let’s not keep you waiting.
A product launch can be described as successful if your new product can build excitement, attract more people, and encourage customers to buy the product.
That sounds like something you want for your new product, doesn't it?
Speaking of success, tech giants Apple announced the launch of the iPhone 3GS as far back as 2009.
Can you guess what happened?
Within three days of that announcement, they sold one million units of that product and their shares went up by 20%.
If that doesn’t sound like a successful product launch, what does?
Years later and their products are still making waves like that.
You're probably thinking about how you can have success similar to Apple’s.
Did we guess correctly?
Let's see what you can do.
Positioning refers to how your product stands out amongst the market competition.
You want to create a different perception from what people have seen already.
Do you want to be formal, informal, fun, affordable, or high-end?
That will depend on how you position your product in terms of:
Why do you need to position your product?
It’s paramount for a successful launch and helps set the tone of how your product will be perceived before, during, and after the launch.
…and how can positioning be done?
Well, you should consider the following:
Persona of your target audience: Align your product with the demographics and values of your audience.
Brand culture: You need to sell what you stand for as a brand, rather than just selling the product. Are you urban and youthful, or fully corporate?
Competitors: Identify what your counterparts are doing so you can choose a unique path.
The next element to consider if you want a successful product launch would be to get the timing right.
This might not be entirely easy to predict but it’s better than launching at the wrong time as Google glass did.
What if your product is really good; do you still need to be concerned about the right timing?
Of course!
Google certainly thought that an eyeglass with smartphone capabilities would be a big hit. That didn’t go as planned for them and after two years of terrible sales, they found out people didn’t need the product as much as they thought.
Wanna avoid launch blunders as they did?
Get the timing right.
To do that, you should ask some necessary questions such as:
If your answer to them is yes, then you should be gearing up for a successful launch.
No? It can impact the outcome of your launch.
How can you answer these questions?
These are a few things you can do:
A while back we did a case study on Yac’s pre-launch campaign.
They were looking to create buzz and anticipation around their product before launching it which they eventually did.
The result?
Over 3.5k signups and a pre-launch campaign conversion rate of 35%.
Not bad for a start, don’t you think?
According to the founder, Hunter McKinley, the campaign was a success and generated a huge buzz that people still ask him about.
Running a pre-launch campaign is like giving out teasers that get you closer to your objective which is a successful product launch.
At the end of the day, you have a waiting list of people who can buy your product when you eventually launch or refer people to you.
You wouldn’t have to complete your product and start waiting for people to come – it’s a proactive approach.
A pre-launch campaign typically requires participants that match your ideal target audience and a number of them that your team can handle.
How do you get people so you can build momentum?
By creating content, referral marketing (more on this later), promotion, press releases, and building an email list to start with.
You can add other things to the mix as you see fit, but these are good ways to begin. Just like Yac did.
Having a launch plan is a crucial aspect of your marketing strategy if you want a successful product launch.
Statistics show that introducing a new product to the market has little chance of success as the average family in America repeatedly buys the same 150 products.
That tells you that introducing a new product is a huge task.
Is there any easy way out?
Well, not entirely easy but having a product launch marketing plan does make the launch a little less stressful.
More precisely, it helps you:
To make creating a product launch plan a more direct process for your team, we’ve provided a free marketing plan template.
It is easy to follow and includes everything you need to do for a successful launch.
Up next, we look at product launch ideas that can guarantee success.
Introducing a new product to the market is a lot like telling your child they will be having a baby brother soon.
As much as you want to prepare them for who’s coming, you may not be able to totally predict how they will react when their brother finally arrives.
So, what can you do to get them excited?
You tease them by telling them how awesome they will feel when their brother comes and more.
…what about getting your audience all warmed up about your new product?
We’ve put together a list of new product launch ideas that work, such as:
These will help you hit your goals much faster than you can think.
Working with influencers is a great way to get customers in your niche excited about your upcoming product.
If you know how to go about it, you’re in for a successful product launch.
Don’t you think so?
Well, we’ve got proof!
Reports have shown that almost 50% of consumers rely on recommendations from influencers to make purchasing decisions.
Another 71% of marketers have decided to increase their influencer marketing budget within 12 months.
See what we mean?
Brands are already taking advantage of this marketing campaign that’s set to hit $13.8 billion this year.
There are two things influencers have that you may not have if you run an upcoming online business: credibility and a huge number of followers.
A partnership with influencers is just perfect for your new product as you can leverage their platform to reach both potential and loyal customers.
How will the partnership work?
In most cases, influencers put out short videos on their social media platforms for their followers.
You could also send products to the influencers early, if the products are physical ones, to test them in front of their audience and create explainer videos.
Here’s an example that captures how effective collaborating with influencers can be for your business:
Samsung wanted to promote their new frame TV; they reached out to a total of 27 creators to be advocates and develop social media posts for their product over a little more than four months.
Image Source: PopularPays
The creators’ followers totaled over 19 million and together they made 166 pieces of content.
What was the outcome?
Their partnership saw unique content creation and an increase in brand awareness.
Referral marketing is a form of marketing where products or services are promoted to new customers through word of mouth.
It's another way to have a product launch that's successful.
Yac, the brand we spoke about earlier on, employed it and saw some results.
To show you how important it can be for your business, 82% of Americans say they seek recommendations from close friends or families when buying something.
That tells you people look for who they trust when making a purchase.
It’s no surprise as popular American motivational speaker Zig Ziglar once said, people buy from who they trust.
What does your business stand to gain from running a referral program?
We’ll look at an example from Robinhood, a commission-free stock trading app.
The year prior to its launch, Robinhood sought to build a waiting list of almost 1 million people.
This project was from a startup that hadn’t even launched, yet was talking less about launching a new product.
If there was ever a world of impossibilities, this project would hold the keys.
That didn’t deter Robinhood’s referral marketing strategy as they used the fear of missing out, simple processes, and got people to engage.
That gave them their waiting list of nearly 1 million users.
In other words, Robinhood had enough users who had seen the product’s beta version and were ready to sign up the moment Robinhood’s product went live.
Wanna have the same results as Robinhood?
Offer something different from what your competitors are giving and choose a unique path.
The idea behind launching a product is to get people talking about it and subsequently buy the product, right?
Storytelling can help you achieve that. It has always been used to build community and connection in the past.
And even now, its impact is still felt as a valuable marketing tool.
Building a story around your product launch will create more buzz because people won't forget quickly, especially on social media platforms.
Bloggers will write about it; influencers will post about it too.
Did you know that stories are easier to remember than facts and figures according to Stanford University?
A story does a better job than just presenting the idea of what your product can do.
You get to tell your audience the problem it solves so that people can relate to it too.
No wonder over 500 million people use Instagram stories every day.
Once people feel connected to your brand or product, not only do they want to buy but they'll also spread the word about your product.
Speaking of stories, let's tell you one about a home appliance brand that launched a social care program.
Ready?
Whirlpool learned that 4,000 kids in the U.S. missed school every day because they didn't have access to clean clothes.
Have a look:
So, they launched Whirlpool Care Counts which provided free washing machines and dryers to schools.
What happened next?
90% of the students affected were able to attend school more regularly and 89% of them saw increased grades.
That's not all…
Whirlpool has received countless awards for this brand story and has become a household name.
Isn't that fascinating?
That's the power of storytelling!
All they did was create the change they wanted to see in the world, shared it, and the touching stories did the rest for them.
Teaser campaigns are an excellent way to get people excited about your new product. In other words, build anticipation.
More specifically, it helps:
…all elements that will get your community talking about your product long before the official launch.
This is also referred to as buzz marketing and that’s what you really want.
Certain businesses want their customers to know everything about their upcoming products.
But, where’s the fun in that?
Create countdown posts and get people to wonder what’s coming.
Building suspense in a slow but not too slow manner is a product launch idea you should always go with.
It gets people curious and pumped about the mini trailers you drop.
In this case, this curiosity would eventually please the cat (metaphorically speaking) and not kill it.
Teaser campaigns are much like what Marvel is doing with the Doctor Strange: Multiverse of Madness movie.
Another example that describes teaser campaigns is the 2016 Super Bowl Amazon Echo ad that we discuss below.
This was a teaser of what the Amazon Echo could do in front of 100 million people by Alec Baldwin, Missy Elliot, and Dan Marino.
The creative was short and included some details of the Echo’s features.
It was just detailed enough to get people curious about what was coming.
Another launch idea you can implement is…
This is an event about your product that’s organized around your launch date; also referred to as a launch party.
Is it important even after implementing other ideas?
Yes, because it also helps you generate buzz.
Plus, product launch events are usually entertaining and flashy so you attract not just potential customers but investors too.
Plan events for your product launch whether it’s an online or offline event.
It shows you think your product is a big deal and your audience would certainly take it seriously.
What would you do during the event?
For starters, you could introduce your product to your audience.
Demonstrate the features of your product so the audience experiences firsthand what the customer will enjoy when they make a purchase.
Apple Inc. has made it a tradition to organize product launch events whenever they want to reveal their next products.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CUwg_JoNHpo
Their unveiling of the new Mac studio, iPhone SE, iPhone 13, and iPhone 13 Pro this year was no exception.
Since they began organizing events in 2005, buzz is usually generated around the products on social media channels weeks before the launch with more sales following suit.
Would you like to have people engage with you and learn more about your product?
We’re with you on that.
Then, you should also consider giveaway contests on social media.
They help you reach several marketing goals.
It’s also important to note that you stand to receive more than you give.
You see, 33% of contestants have said they are open to learning more about brands that are organizing contests.
Over 62% of them will share the contest.
Contests also have a conversion rate of almost 34%.
Shocking, isn’t it?
At the same time, how does this help your product launch?
As people participate in the contest, they will provide their email addresses or interact with your post on social media.
So, you can grow your list for email marketing and create buzz on social media.
Nasm fitness was seeking to improve its following after launching its Nutrition certification.
The criteria to become a participant was to follow them and tag a friend who was interested in nutrition.
Images Source: Easypromosapp
That way not only did their customers get to participate, but their online community also increased.
Giveaways can take different forms from running trivia contests to referring a friend, and photo caption contests with hashtags.
Let’s wrap things up!
We hope you had as much fun going through our product launch ideas as we did.
You can decide to incorporate all or select a few of them as part of your content marketing strategy in your upcoming launch.
We’ve put together a product launch checklist to help you keep track of all your launch activities so everything goes smoothly.
Also, feel free to read more of our blog posts on product launches anytime you feel stuck.
Thanks for stopping by and good luck with your launch!
Written by:
Nikitas is responsible for growth at Viral Loops and also helps customers on 1-on-1 basis to reach success with their referral campaigns. Let's connect on LinkedIn
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