A good product launch is a sign of a top seller — so how do you ensure yours is a success? Read our 8-step guide on how to have the perfect product launch.
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Launching a product is a critical milestone for your business. It is your company’s debut to the market, and while a failed first launch won’t necessarily doom the endeavour, getting it right out of the gates can make the rest of the journey a lot smoother. Here are eight tasks that business owners should get done to ensure a perfect product launch.
Product Launch Checklist
Launching a product is a critical milestone. Read our guide to ensure your product launch is a success.
1. Customer Research
Before you launch your product, you must do enough customer research. Interviewing your target demographic will let you make any last minute changes required to further align your offering. For example, the kind of words you can use in your marketing campaign may have shifted while you were developing your product. You can also use that information to further validate the product’s potential.
2. Make Sure Everyone Knows the Marketing Plan
If someone’s working at your business, they’re going to be involved in the product launch. If your team is small, then everyone will take on multiple roles. They need to be ready to handle several aspects of the launching and marketing plan, should one aspect need extra help. As an added bonus, your team will also have a more unified message, which can help when speaking to customers.
3. Have Future Iteration Versions in Mind
Whenever you have a bit of free time, you need to spend it towards planning the next version of your product. Having those potential future iterations in mind will let you react faster to customer feedback. This is important because the first version of your product will inevitably have flaws. The quicker you can work on those flaws, the quicker you can launch the next version.
4. Establish the Brand Online
The first thing people are going to do upon hearing about your product is to check it out online. If they find nothing, that might be enough to push them away from buying it.You need to establish yourself online by having a presence on social media platforms, such as Facebook and Instagram, as well as a website with eCommerce capabilities.
5. Develop a Launch Plan
Simply putting your product up for sale doesn’t mean people will buy it. They need to know about it. Developing a launch plan is crucial to your product launch’s success. This involves knowing which news outlets — online and offline — will be interested in talking about your product, as well as having connections to a few influencers. You should also have a full marketing campaign in place, ready to convince people that your product is worth their money.
6. Start Selling Before You Launch
One of the best strategies businesses can utilise is pre-orders. Pre-orders not only give your business a stream of early revenue but also add hype to your marketing campaign. People who are convinced by your articles or videos (both of which should be part of your pre-launch marketing campaign) to buy early will have a monetary and emotional investment in your product. That investment can transform them into brand ambassadors, which can further improve the product’s actual launch.
7. Line Up Your Metrics
You cannot successfully measure whether or not your product launch is successful without the right metrics. For the most part, you’re looking for revenue. While a single sale may make you emotionally fulfilled, you need more than that if you want to make a successful business. Think about how much money you would need to make for it to be considered successful. Generally, it should be enough to fuel the business’ next initiative. Take a look at your plans to see what those numbers actually are. You may not have it down to the cent but you should at least put time into making an informed estimate.
8. Speak to Influencers Before Product Launch
Influencer marketing works, but only if you execute it correctly. For a product launch, it is best to reach out to influencers before your offering hits the shelves. This ensures that they have early access to your product and can make an informed decision about being a brand ambassador in time for the launch. Your product’s reach will also be expanded greatly from the lengthened time your product can spend being advertised to their audience.
Launching your product is a big moment for your business. Unleash your product right, and you’ll make the future a lot easier. While effective planning requires a great deal of time and resources, you’ll likely see the return on investment if the right steps are undertaken.
