Do you have a fantastic product that you have been struggling to launch due to financial constraint? If you are optimistic that your products can meet the needs of people out there, then you should not allow lack of capital to deprive you from launching it into the market.
New products are launched into the marketplace almost every day. In order to ensure that you gain enough sales and profit, you need to have an idea on how to market a new product effectively. Are you a new start up business? Are you about launching a new product into the marketplace? Do you want to know how to market a new product effectively? Then read on as I share with you a detailed product launch plan and formula.
Marketing strategy is an essential tool that is needed by any organization that desires to stamp their feet in the market place, carve a niche for itself and make handsome profits. The local and even the global market cannot be over saturated enough to deprive other promising ideas and products to be left out.
Having a fantastic product or service is not enough to guarantee you huge returns on your investment. Having the right marketing plan in place results in a successful product launch, and this gives you a great advantage in the early cycle. Although competition is high, launching a new product at the right time and with the right tools will make your marketing strategies and campaign more effective. Mass media and the internet are some of the great avenues for introducing your goods. If you have enough funds, you can even hire celebrities to endorse your products since they are influential to the public.
You must endeavor to adopt all the techniques that can create awareness of your products and services, and in turn help your market and sell them. It is a good thing to deliver goods and services that are top notch, but if you don’t take such goods and services out there, nobody would know about them. It is akin to blinking in the dark and expecting people to notice it. So you must do all it takes for people to know about your products and services.
If you are reading this article and you have a product or services that you’ve been wondering how you can get people to know about it and eventually buy and make use of it, then you should pay attention to the following sure – fire tips:
How to Launch a Product Idea Effectively into the Market
1. Write a clear documentation on the plans of your product launch, so that you will not end up in jeopardy. Launching your products in events that are not well organized will only result in sales decline after some time. The right setting includes the right people. They are people from your target market, other companies, analysts and editors. Although the last two are risky, inviting them will let you know what you need to improve in case something is lacking.
2. Set your objectives-: You must know where you are going and learn to recognize it when you are already there. Gather and examine market intelligence, evaluate your current standing and determine what you want to accomplish during the launch.
3. Make sure that your product launches at the right time and in the right settings.
The first thing you need to do if you want to effectively launch your product idea into the market is to take out time to study the market. You would need to know the demography of people that would need your product idea, and you can reach out to them. The fact that we have different medium of advertising doesn’t mean that all of them will be effective to all the age group et al. you should understand the market trend, and how you can take advantage of it.
5. Go on a Road Show
One of the easiest ways to effectively launch your product idea into the market is to go on a road show. All you would need is to hire ad-hoc staffs, brand a bus or open-truck/trailer, get public address system and drive around town informing people about your products and services. In some countries cum States, you would have to take permission from the local authority before you can be allowed to go on a road show. It is important to state that this medium is only effective if you only want to reach out to a community.
The advent of social media has indeed helped a lot of entrepreneurs to successfully build and market their businesses with minimum budget. If you are looking in the line of effectively launching your products idea into the market with a low budget, then you should think about making use of social media platforms.
With facebook, twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, Google+, YouTube, Blogs, amongst others, you can successfully launch your product idea, and you can be rest assured that it can reach the four corners of the globe within a short period of time. The internet has made the world a global village indeed and entrepreneurs who are serious about making money are taking advantage of it to sell their products and services beyond their borders to the rest of the world.
7. Advertise on Print and Electronic Media
Another effective and potent means of effectively launching your product idea into the market is to pay for advertisement slots in both print and electronic media. It might be expensive to advertise on national dallies, radio and TV stations, but the truth is that it has been proven to be effective. So if you have a budget for it, then you should give it a shot.
8. Attend Exhibitions and Trade Fairs
Part of what you need to do to effectively launch your product ideas into the market is to attend exhibitions and trade fairs. When you attend such shows, you have enough people that may get to know about your product idea. The good thing about exhibition and trade fair is that people have the opportunity try out your products, and they can interact with you and ask you as much questions as they want.
Although, you would be required to pay a fee to exhibit your products or services in trade fairs, but you can be rest assured that the organizers will take care of advertisements and all the necessary logistics. No doubt exhibition and trade fair is a good platform to effectively launch your product idea into the market.
9. Sponsor Events
Another effective way to launch your product idea into the market is to sponsor events that appeals to your organization. For example; if your products idea is meant for teenagers or children, then you should look towards sponsoring events such as school debates or school sports. The good thing about sponsoring events is that you have ample opportunity to tell people about your product idea and the school management can even make it compulsory for students in the school to buy and make use of your products.
10. Organize Official Launching of Your Products or Services
The normal and most common means of effectively launching a product idea into the market is to organize official launching. All you would require to do is rent an event centre, get all that is needed for launching event, and then send invites to stake holders and potential clients. The truth is that much more than getting people to know about your product idea, you will also raise fund from your invited guess.
7 Action Steps to Launching your Product Idea Online With Social Media
The advent of the internet has made a lot of things including running a business very easy to do. With a shoe string budget, you can successfully launch and sell your products online using social media as a medium. Social media is basically a tool or application that enables people to share ideas, and communicate with people that make use of the platform. Social media platform could be open to a group of people or to the entire public.
With the invention of smart phones, it is now very easy for people to communicate and stay connected to their friends or followers on online via social media platforms. It is an established fact that social media surpasses the traditional media platform that used to be the online medium for people to relate. The advantages that social media bring to the table have a wide reach, affordability, easy and simple to use, faster and loads of other benefits.
There are various social media platforms that you can consider leveraging on to launch your products to the online community. You can make use of Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Google+, Instagram, Pinterest, Tumblr, LinkedIn, et al.
If you have a product and you truly want to launch it online, then the following steps can guide you to successfully launch your product online using social media platforms;
a. Study the Various Social Media Platforms
It is very important to first of all take out time to study the various social media platform that is made available to you so that you would be well guided to select the ones that best serves your purpose. When you study social media platforms, you will be able to know the group of people it serves, and how to effectively make use of them without stress.
b. Choose the Social Media Platform That Suits Your Product and Market
Your choice of social media platform determines how far your products can get. You just have to make the right choice so that you can meet the right set of people that your products are designed for. That is why you must make use of the result from your study of the various social media platforms to guide your decisions. For example; if you are into photography and arts, then it might pay you to make use of the Instagram medium to launch your products and also if you are into video production and editing, twitter might not be your best bet, but YouTube and the likes.
c. Be Very Creative With Your Graphics Designs
No doubt social media is predominantly a visual tool so therefore, you must ensure that you are creative with the graphic design of your product. The truth is that people in the online community might not have the opportunity to physically see and feel your products, but they can only judge by the graphic design and the descriptions that are made available to them online. So, if you put up a beautiful 3D design of your product online, it makes it very easy for people to appreciate and order the product without first seeing it.
d. Create Your Own Website
The essence of launching your product online via the social media is to get a lot of people to know about your product. The truth is that there are limitations with these social media platforms which is why you should make use of the ones that can direct people to your own official website. Endeavor to create a website that is user friendly and has all the information that your potential customers would need.
e. Be Prompt in Responding to Feedbacks
It is very important to create software that would enable you to respond to people’s request as fast as you can. No doubt people that come across your product online would have one or more questions they would want to ask; hence you must station people that will be online 24 hours round the clock to help you respond promptly to their questions and complains. The fact that we have people from all over the globe with different time zone that are part of the online community makes it necessary to always have a representative online.
f. Ensure Your Request for Contact Details from Your Online Visitors
The good thing about directing people via your social media platforms to your official website makes it easier for you to request and get their contact details. It is to your advantage to create a database for those who show interest in your product after the launch online. With their contact details, you are able to effectively carry out and follow up marketing activities and also you can easily communicate with them when you have a new product that you feel they would need. Just ensure you get any or all of the following details from those who visit your website; phone numbers, email address, postal address et al.
g. Give out Freebies on Your Website and Social Media Pages
Another key factor that may help you to effectively launch your product online on social media platforms is to give out freebies. The truth is that when people know that you are giving out freebies, they would visit your website to see how they can benefit from it. Just ensure that you add conditions to the freebies you are giving out that will be to your advantage. For example; you can give out one of your product to anyone who buys at least a product from you or to someone who refer people to you. Whatever conditions you attach to your freebies, make sure it is simple and easy to fulfill.
These are the steps needed to effectively launch your product online using social media platforms. Be sure to adhere strictly to these guide and you can rest assured to make head way.
20-Point Action Checklist and Formula for Executing your Product Launch Plan
- Organize resources for successful Product Launch
- Plot your product launch objectives
- Gather market intelligence
- Develop an action marketing plan with a budget and time frame
- Craft a supportive PR strategy
- Position your product effectively
- Ensure that your product is ready for launch
- Guarantee that the sales channels are ready
- Create marketing and sales tools
- Develop programs for new products
- Track and monitor the launch progress
- Measure the effectiveness of products
- Monitor the execution of the product launch plan. This will be more effective with a dependable launch team that can communicate the results with the entire group.
- Ensure that the ingredients that will help towards the success of the goods or services are on ground. This involves making available proper tools that are used by professionals to handle the pressure that may arise especially during unexpected circumstances.
- Do your best to determine your prospects, the analysts and the media before launching. You must make sure that the product launch is geared towards the right audience to ensure better sales and popularity.
- Make sure that you give enough of the right information to the public about your product so that you can build credibility and acceptance in the market. This makes selling more effective and easier.
- At the same time, continue to educate your people about your products so that they know what they are talking about. Treat your sales force the same way you will treat your customers.
- Make sure that everyone in your company is involved in the product launch campaign. Communicate with them regarding the plans, goals and the progress of your new product.
- Identify what works and what does not. This way, you will not be using the wrong marketing strategy in your product launch.
- Track and monitor the plan every day. Do not anticipate the outcome of the launch; and make sure that you hold your team accountable so that they will have to do their job well.
If you take the launching of your product ideas seriously, then you would successfully create awareness for people to know about your products or services. Do all that is stated above and you would be on your way to getting massive clients.