Lance Trebesch, CEO, TicketPrinting.com
The Perfect Product Launch
Your team has completed the product you’ve been waiting for: the top-of-the-line, the crème de la crème, the very object your customers have been clamoring for. This is the real deal, the item that will jump start sales and put your business on the map. You’ve looked it over from every angle, and you have complete confidence in the product. You know it’s perfect.
How can you ensure that everybody else knows?
It doesn’t matter how amazing your product is. If you’re unable to communicate that sense of excitement to existing and potential customers, your launch is compromised. You’ve got to sell the concept before you start selling the product.
Don’t Jump the Gun
While a certain amount of pre-publicity isn’t to be scoffed at, you don’t want to throw too much effort into developing a campaign around a product that hasn’t been completed. You may not realize that your marketing team is grinding their teeth because they’ve been asked to create a campaign for a product when the design team hasn’t even agreed on the specs!
Advance publicity should be intriguing but deliberately vague. Leak a few details. Consider how Apple handles a product launch: fans know that a new phone or iPod is coming, and they know a few features they can expect, but that device isn’t revealed until Apple is really ready to reveal it. Or, recall the introduction of the Segway. A confusing code name and a few tantalizing sketches were enough to start the whole country wondering and waiting for the big announcement.
Social media marketing creates an entirely new angle to advance publicity. Now you can instantly connect with your customer base to create a dialog around what they want. Use crowd sourcing to discover their perceptions and any important thoughts they might have on the concept or the campaign. Collect feedback on those ideas and messages that you have put out, so that you have a good sense of how they’ll be received at the actual launch.
It Takes a Hive to Generate a Buzz
When you’re ready to put that publicity team into action, go full-tilt. Your product launch team shouldn’t be stealing moments from their “real” jobs to try to fit in work on the new product. Create a team that’s dedicated to generating the buzz you need to put this launch on the map. The more resources you dedicate, the more results you’ll see. Put creative minds together and let them take charge.
You’ll want to bring together a variety of talents: personnel from Product Management, Public Relations, Marketing, and Events Management. A designer and a copywriter can help them implement their strategies in visual terms. Assemble a group you can entrust with the task and then give them the autonomy to get the job done.
While you can’t neglect traditional channels, your team should be creating a unique and compelling campaign to be transmitted through social media: the shareable experience. Whether this a viral-style video produced by the team, or clips created by the consumer, shareable content gets the word out. Your team should also create online forums to discuss the product, and moderate those forums regularly. Don’t forget tangibles such as free samples, gift codes or coupons, and information kits.
Under-commit and Over-deliver
It may be tempting to trumpet to the sky that your product is the greatest show on earth, the solution to all your customers’ problems, that it will boost their IQs, increase their earning potential, cure bad breath and clear up their skin, but you probably already know why you shouldn’t do this. Your customers are most likely fairly savvy regarding modern media as well as in terms of understanding the ways in which your product can enhance their lives, and you’ll impress them more when you deliver something that exceeds their expectations, rather than selling an ideal they may or may not agree with.
Pick and choose from among your product’s features. Decide which details everyone really needs to know about, and which should come as pleasant surprises. Give the reviewers something to wax poetic about! If you’ve already said it all, there’s no room for you to go above and beyond. If you say too much, you risk negative feedback from those who may disagree with your assessment. Give the product a chance to speak for itself.
Get It in Writing
While your online campaign may take wing, don’t neglect the power of real world items: your event collateral. In limited areas, printing posters and flyers can help spread the word, as will mailed paper invitations if there is to be a launch party. Small items such as stickers, key chains, bottle openers, mouse pads, small toys, or stress balls can provide a lot of advertisement. Printing details about your product and launch on slightly more expensive items, such as USB drives or T-shirts is a great way to reward early adapters, top vendors, and other important people who have helped to share your message.
Stop, Look, and Listen
From the moment you launch, your team should be monitoring the response. This will allow you to emphasize positive reviews and to deal with complaints as they arise, rather than after they’ve spread across the Internet and become consumers’ primary perception of your product. Refute negative rumors with demonstrable fact. Ignoring this kind of press will only hurt you in the long run. Instead, if the Internet buzz turns unpleasant, create a page reiterating the truth, so that when potential customers Google this so-called fact, they’ll find your response to the allegations.
However, if there is some truth to any negative rumors about your product, you need to take instant responsibility for any failure. If a recall is necessary, it should happen sooner than later. If you can issue a patch or find another way to fix the product, do it! Don’t let it be said that you were aware of a flaw in the product and ignored the problem. Remember, your social media networks and online forums let you hear customer feedback firsthand. Listen and respond.
Do the Math
Just as you took a scientific approach to product development, you should treat your launch with precision. Monitor your networks, survey customers, and keep your eyes on current trends to measure sales impact. Market Mix Modeling remains a powerful tool for gauging performance. Track ROI from materials to consumer use. Capture impressions based on geography and time, along with any other variables that could affect your sales.
Good measurement of consumer response helps you adjust your launch in the right direction if you’re off course, and it lets you know if you’re making the impact that you want.
Ride the Wave
If your initial effort is successful, you should hang tight. Riding the wave doesn’t mean the product will take care of itself. Once a surfer gets on top of a wave, he or she can’t just walk away! Instead, focus your intention on the momentum already generated. Continue to invest in those efforts that have been proven to work for you.
Be sure to recognize your ambassadors. Whether you’ve identified a vendor whose performance has positively affected your launch, or an individual whose influence has provided you with free, unsolicited publicity, let these important players know that you appreciate their efforts. Maintain good relationships with those who have helped make your launch a success and they’ll continue to help you in the future.
You can reduce your marketing budget once word of mouth and positive perception of your brand can be demonstrated to carry the launch long term. You can also cut costs by encouraging remote meetings, communication, and the sharing of information. Continue to manage your networks, allowing the conversation with your customers and your advocates to shape the development of the launch along and guide you through upgrades and new product development.
You’ve worked hard to create your new product.
Putting the same attention to detail into your product launch is the best way to demonstrate your own belief in the product. Use the resources available, monitor feedback constantly, and respond whenever appropriate, and find success!
