Launching Products Online is just as important as developing a great product. If you don’t do the product launch effectively, customers won’t be aware of your solution, potentially have a bad impression of your product, and you may not hit your revenue and profitability goals.
As such, planning early is critical. Start your product launch plan 4-6 months before launch so that when the product is ready for sale you will be ready to effectively execute a launch that meets your goals.
Product Launch Online plan helps you sequence the events that lead up to and even past a product launch date. Your goal is to make sure that everyone inside the company, your partners and target customers know about your new product.
How is Launching Products Online useful?
As a matter of fact, for a successful product launch online, you need to get people excited and build buzz around your products. Finally, you’re ready for your product launch online right? Now you need to focus on how to launch your new product offline and online.
Whereas, before that, you need to make sure that you have a fool-proof product launch online strategy in place. Why? Generally, because you have invested a lot of time and money on the main product creation.
After all, if your strategy fails, all of your hard work and money will be in vain. Not to mention, it’s very frustrating to witness the failure of a new product launch online nowadays.
What size of Launching Products Online is good?
Important to realize, not all product launching online and even those that do don’t all have the same type of product launches.
For one thing, products that are continually updated such as web-based software or smartphone apps use marketing techniques to remind customers that their product is available.
Product launches come in different sizes and types:
- Soft Launch: When your product sneaks into the market without much fanfare. Often products sold from one business to another launch this way. You don’t get a lot of attention, but maybe your product isn’t quite ready for prime time so it makes more sense for a few customers at a time to have a look.
- Minimal Launch: for smaller products or small incremental product changes, the minimal launch gets the word out without a huge amount of marketing spend.
- Full-scale Launch: To let the whole world (OK, your target markets) know about your product, aim for a full-scale launch. You’ll spend a lot of time and energy making this happen. It also has the best chance of success.
Decide which type of product launch is best for your product before you start your product launch plan.
Why does Launching Products Online fail?
On one hand, the main reason behind a failed product launch online is that; – most of them ignore the importance of creating buzz before the launch. On the other hand, many startups fail because they price their products too high or too low.
On the other hand, price is an essential factor of a marketing strategy. Whereas it’s the only element that generates revenue. But, many companies believe that because they’re new in the market, they should underprice their product in order to gain attention. Of course, that’s being weird!
In reality, according to the jmexclusives team, there are three core reasons why your product is not selling. For example,
- the market research is inadequate,
- there is a lack of awareness among the customers,
- or the product launch online timing is poor.
Not forgetting, history is full of such examples. Whereas, the new product launch campaign has a failure rate of 25-45 percent.
According to Robert Cooper, the major causes for new product failure are;
- inadequate market analysis,
- product defects,
- lack of effective marketing effort,
- higher costs than anticipated
- and competitive reaction.
Therefore, from the above examples, we could come up with the general steps.
For a successful product launch, consider elements like;
- Targeting customer pain. If you want to survive, your start-up must work to relieve customer pain that no other company is solving,
- Outperforming product competition,
- Discovering the details of your customers’ unmet needs,
- Developing hypotheses,
- Building a prototype solution,
- Testing with and through your product customers and consumers,
- Analyzing your product variance, and finally,
- Employing and picking a repetitive working strategy.
How is Launching Products Online done?
Okay, it’s happened. A little light bulb flashed on in your brain and you’ve discovered a “bright idea”! You want to create and sell a new product. Congrats! Most of us wish we could be so lucky.
But, getting started with a product launch is an entirely another endeavor. So, where do you start? How do you take that little light bulb and turn it into something useful like a lamp?
The first step is to understand exactly what you want your product to look like. Or maybe your idea is to create a customizable planner. Also, maybe it’s to create a stain-resistant pillow or blanket.
Maybe it’s a high-tech golf club. Who will buy the product? What need does it solve? Start thinking about how people will use your product is the ultimate goal.
Here are the best working strategies to get started;
But, before I guide you through my 10 best practices, please consider word of mouth marketing as the topmost priority.
Not forgetting, it’s one of the most effective ways to get the word out about your new product is simply by telling people. Don’t be shy! Tell your family and friends. Tell your Facebook friends. Ask others to spread the word.
Join groups in your community that will help you spread the word. Network, network, network. Word of mouth marketing is effective and it feels personal, which helps the trust factor
1. Research on your Competitors
Once you know how your product will look and who you may think will want to purchase this type of product, it’s time to do some spying on your competition to see if your assumptions are correct! Are there products directly competing with yours? What does the indirect competition look like for products that are related?
When launching a new product, make sure you know what else is out there! Who else is selling products similar to you? What is the price point for a competitor’s products? How are they marketing their products?
Knowing what your competition is doing will help you decide how to make your products stand out, as well as learning tips from them!
2. Find your Target Audience
Start by checking up on your competition’s social channels. Social channels like Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and Twitter are the most intimate ways brands can interact with their customers, making them a great place to start your audience research.
In addition, pay close attention to the people who are engaging with their content. What types of customers are commenting on and liking their posts? Are they mostly women? Which age demographic do they fit in?
Or rather, what are their concerns with your competitors’ products? What do they like? Do they complain about prices or think they’re reasonable?
3. Check out on Trendy Tags
Another trick is checking up on the hashtags they are using in their Instagram or Twitter posts. Hashtags can be very telling. Not only can you mine these and save them for your own brand account later, but it will also provide fruitful insights.
Especially, into what type of people they are trying to attract to their posts. All of this will help you paint a picture of who exactly your target audience is. After all, having a great product isn’t enough if you don’t know who would buy it.
4. Use Storytelling to Motivate Consumers
Gathering all this information will further help you develop a story around your product. In this day and age, consumers want to feel connected to the product, especially if it’s an invention that answers a specific need or fills a void in the market.
It’s time to put your thinking cap on and get creative! Here’s where you can use the information you gathered about your unique product indicators (UPIs) in your competitive research. Whatever makes your product stand out is exactly what you want to highlight in your marketing.
Whether your pricing is competitive or you use organic ingredients, you want to give consumers as many reasons as possible to choose your product over another.
5. Be as Resourceful as Possible
Your UPIs — combined with a great story — can give you an edge over other competitors. Depending on what your product is, you may need to get creative about explaining how customers can use it. Video tutorials and high-quality photos are going to be extremely helpful in this situation.
No one is going to buy a product if they don’t understand how to use it. Creating videos doesn’t have to be expensive or time-consuming. If you’re looking for some pointers on how to create great videos, check out this guide.
6. Story Promotions
Another angle is promoting your personal story. Do you have an interesting past? Did something happen in your life that compelled you to create this product? Some of the best brands have stories that serve as the foundation for their businesses.
Some brands, like TOMS or Ivory Ella, might even take it a step further and donate a portion of their sales to a specific organization. Social responsibility has become increasingly important in a consumer landscape that values giving back.
Tying your product to a philanthropic cause that makes sense for your brand could increase interest. Whatever your story is, you must weave it into every aspect of your marketing plan.
From your website and social channels to your paid advertisements, this story should be used as your first brand theme.
7. Create a Marketing Plan
Now that you have your product, you settled on your story and you know your audience, it’s time to devise a marketing plan to turn your big idea into something that will actually make you money.
At this stage, you’ve probably already spent a heap of money on product creation, inventory, website design and more, but, as they say, you have to spend money to make money, right?
First, you need to brainstorm which marketing channels you want to use. This will depend on the information about your audience you researched earlier in the process. You want to market your product in the places your audience is most engaging.
Additionally, this might mean social media, email, paid to advertise, etc. But, before diving into paid promotion, let’s go over some ways you can prep your ecommerce store and your products for better organic visibility.
8. SEO is important for a Product Launch Online
By all means, Search engine optimization is totally free. The only thing you have to spend on SEO is time. Optimizing your category pages and product pages with keywords and high-quality content is the easiest way to get organic traffic to your store.
It can boost your site’s visibility in the search results and eventually capture potential customers that are already searching for something similar to Google.
9. Social Media Specific Channels
Always remember, social media works hand-in-hand with SEO. Search engines, like Google, take a brand’s authority into account when ranking them in the search engine results page. Your social media presence indirectly impacts your authority.
Having engaging content on your social profiles and a healthy number of followers can positively affect your SEO. But besides that, consumers value social media heavily in the consideration phase. Most customers go on social to research brands and products…and eventually buy.
In fact, 76% of consumers said they have purchased a product after seeing a brand’s social media post. Devising a social media marketing strategy, which includes organic management and some paid ads, can generate a lot of buzz around your brand.
10. Lead Display Advertising Campaigns
Now, on to paid promotion. Pay-per-click (PPC) and Comparison Shopping Engine (CSE) ads can help you reach a large number of potential customers. But, they aren’t always perfect for new products. If your product can easily be described by keywords, great!
PPC and CSE ads are probably a great option for you to test out. If your product needs a bit more explanation, using display and video ads will better allow you to showcase the features of your new product. You can use Google’s Display Network and YouTube ads to show images and video ads to potential customers.
Is Email important in Launching Products Online?
Of course, Yes! When you get started, you may not quite have an email list built up, but make sure to put a signup form on your website! Potential customers can sign up for more information, and be notified once your product launches.
Email Marketing Made Simple: A Step by Step Guide [+ Examples] – jmexclusivesTo help build your list, provide an incentive for people to sign up. This could be a discount on your product once it launches, free shipping, or some other creative idea. If your product fits into a certain niche, research trade shows that you might want to attend.
It can help you showcase your product to potential customers or resellers and get you some additional exposure. It’s also a great place to check out your competition! Here is more about the Benefits of Email Marketing.
What is a Product Launch Event?
Obviously, launching products online is simple and easy. Furthermore, a lot of work goes into introducing a new product to the market, but that doesn’t mean your work ends the day of the launch. A Product Launch Day is one of the most important aspects of the entire process, so it’s important to make sure you get it right.
Consider doing a soft launch with some family members or friends to get the necessary feedback on your product before you announce it to the world. This may help minimize the number of snafus on the actual launch day.
Notably, Product launch events are essential to the existence of businesses. But are also critical to a startup.
In other words, Product launches are designed to achieve the specific purpose of creating awareness and publicity. Not to mention, for a particular product/brand and are meant to generate a lot of buzz about the product/brand.
Here: Launch like Steve Jobs: 7 Ways to Build Buzz for Your Next Product Launch
Which are the Best Steps for a Product Launch?
Once you’re finally ready to launch, allow your product to take center stage. One of the best ways to drive buzz around a new product is to turn your launch into an event, complete with a giveaway or contest to win free products.
Use your social channels as billboards for the event and promote the launch with paid ads to your target audience. Use Instagram to collaborate with influencers in exchange for free products and allow them to show your product off to their followers.
The following ideas will help to boost awareness around your product and your brand so you can set up your business for long-term success!
Best practices in launching products online include;
- Define your target audience.
- Know how to reach your audience.
- Know the problem you’re Solving.
- Understand the buying Journey.
- Secure your online Identity.
- Validate your Product.
- Know your competition and be creative and lucratively Different.
- Make sure it hasn’t been done before.
- Learn more!
What’s More!
Once you know how your product will look and who you may think will want to purchase this type of product, it’s time to do some spying on your competition. For instance, to see if your assumptions are correct! Are there products directly competing with yours? What does the indirect competition look like for products that are related?
When launching a new product, make sure you know what else is out there! Who else is selling products similar to you? What is the price point for a competitor’s products? How are they marketing their products? Knowing what your competition is doing will help you decide how to make your products stand out, as well as learning tips from them!
Summing Up,
Even Amazon‘s $685 billion market value couldn‘t save the Amazon Fire. Launching a product online takes a lot of work — and it‘s something that can elude even the largest companies in the world.
Amazon‘s Fire phone flopped so hard in 2014 that people barely remember it today, and that‘s even after the ecommerce company cut its cost from $200 to 99 cents. Amazon misunderstood and misinterpreted the industry it was trying to launch in — and they assumed that the weight of their brand was enough to carry their marketing strategy.
This proved to be a costly and lasting mistake; it‘s doubtful that Amazon is going to be jumping into the smartphone market any time in the near future.
Still, Amazon‘s blunder did a lot to teach marketing companies about the value of an online launch strategy. If your company is considering an online product launch, there‘s a lot you can learn from case studies and from existing product launch tactics.
Resourceful References;
Finally, I hope the above-revised guide on how launching products online was useful to your next product launch online campaigns. However, for more details, information, and questions, please feel free to Contact Us or Submit to the jmexclusives.
In addition, you can leave your contributions through the Comment Box below this Blog. Below are more useful and related topics to your selling products online research. Including,
- What is Email Marketing?
- How do you Sell Products Online?
- How does Mobile Marketing work?
- Return On Marketing Investment: What Is It?
- What’s the Meaning of Affiliate Marketing?
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