Launching a product is a leap into the void. With so much noise in the world and on the internet vying for consumers’ limited attention, the release of a new product or service often goes unremarked or is soon forgotten.
Getting seen requires standing out in front of your target audience.
This is where digital marketing comes in. A strategic campaign can capture consumer interest, drive awareness, and build buzz that puts you in a position to succeed and find potential customers.
What is Digital Marketing?
- Digital marketing is the promotion of products and services through digital channels.
- Search engine optimization (SEO) is a digital marketing strategy that focuses on increasing visibility on search engines.
- Social media marketing involves utilizing social platforms to promote content, engage users and build relationships with customers.
- Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising is another form of digital marketing which involves paying for clicks to certain types of online ads, such as banner ads or text ads.
What are the benefits of using a digital ad campaign?
Drive leads to conversion Master audience segmentation Get the most out of your ad spend Optimize your website for success
- Digital ad campaigns can be monitored in real-time and adapted quickly.
- Digital ad campaigns can be targeted to specific audiences based on age, demographic, location, and interests.
- By utilizing digital ads you have the ability to measure a user’s actions and optimize your strategies as needed.
- You can use predictive analytics tools to better target potential customers and maximize your ROI.
In this guide, we’ll explore key elements to consider as you plan your new product launch.
Strategies for Bringing a Product to Market
So, what can you do to properly prepare and strategize for a successful launch? Steps you can take include:
- Define your launch goals– What are your desired outcomes for the launch? What are the goalposts and what metrics will you use to measure success? If you don’t have clear objectives in mind, it’ll be difficult to determine whether the launch performed well. For instance, common goals may include: Driving awarenessIncreasing the total number of downloads or users finding a product-market fitCapturing new customersIncreasing revenue
- Use a multi-prong marketing approach– To maximize visibility to your target audience and ensure that you’re reaching as many target consumers as possible, you should use a combination of digital marketing strategies, including pay-per-click campaigns, influencer marketing, content marketing, and SEO. What track you take will necessarily depend on the specifics of your product or service and its customer base.
- Gain consumer insights– Customer feedback is important. Creating and releasing a successful product or service requires an iterative design process. There must be significant trial and error and back and forth with actual users. That feedback helps you better determine a product’s target market fit, consumer demand, and final form. Rob Holland, CEO of Feedback Loop, says there are four critical particular areas of the product development process where customer response is indispensable: Early-stage discovery concept testingComparing options message testing
- Create sharable content– Content remains one of the most cost-effective ways to educate consumers and prepare them for a product launch. Your goal should be to create high-quality content that discusses your business or related topics in social media posts that readers want to share that information on your behalf. For that, it must be relevant, accurate, easy to read, and of tangible value.
- Leverage referrals and pre-launch giveaways– There are several ways a business can fuel excitement and anticipation surrounding a product launch. Both giveaways and referral programs drive word-of-mouth advertising and entice eager consumers to act as brand ambassadors.
What to Know: The Majority of Product Launches Flop
Did you know that 75% to 90% of product launches fail?
A successful product launch is a rarity. That’s because, as Harvard Business Review notes, companies often stumble into the following pitfalls:
- The company doesn’t have a plan to ramp up production if the product initially succeeds
- The product underwhelms, falling short of its claims
- The new item exists in a product limbo
- Consumers don’t understand the product and the company failed to educate them
- There’s no market for the product
- The consumers could be priced out
Many of these flaws point to a dearth of market research and preparation. There’s no clear strategy, especially when it comes to educating consumers about what the product does, what purpose it serves, the value it adds, and the niche it fits into.
As such, before launching a product, conduct adequate market research and implement effective strategies to customize and incentivize your launch.
What Are the Most Common Product Launch Mistakes?
That’s because, as Harvard Business Review notes, companies often stumble into the following pitfalls: The company doesn’t have the plan to ramp up production if the product initially succeeds The product underwhelms, falling short of its claims The new item exists in a product limbo Consumers don’t understand the product and the company failed to educate them There’s no market for the product The consumers could be priced out Many of these flaws point to a dearth of market research and preparation.
What are the key areas of product development?
That feedback helps you better determine a product’s market fit, consumer demand, and final form. Rob Holland, CEO of Feedback Loop, says there are four critical particular areas of the product development process where customer response is indispensable: Early-stage discovery concept testingComparing options Message testing Create sharable content– Content remains one of the most cost-effective ways to educate consumers and prepare them for a product launch
Launch Your Product with a Digital Marketing Agency
Ultimately, the success of a launch will be largely determined by the quality of the product and its fit in the marketplace. However, even the best products will flop if consumers are unaware of the unveiling or fail to perceive the product’s value.
What are the stages of a product launch?
Our team of experts can work with you to build a digital marketing roadmap that will guide you throughout the pre-launch, launch, and post-launch phases. The most common phases are:
- Market Research: Research and analyze potential markets, target customers, and competitors
- Product Development: Design, test, tweak and manufacture the product
- Marketing Campaign: Develop a strategy to promote the product
- Distribution/Launch: Ensure there are adequate distribution and supply channels in place for selling the product.
For that, a digital marketing strategy can enhance your launch and put it in the best position to succeed. And by working with digital marketing strategists such as Semgeeks, this massive undertaking becomes much more feasible.
Our Marketing team of experts can work with you to build a digital marketing roadmap that will guide you throughout the pre-launch, launch, and post-launch phases and help your online presence.
Ready to launch your product the right way? Semgeeks can help.
Sources:
Harvard Business Review. Why Most Product Launches Fail. https://hbr.org/2011/04/why-most-product-launches-fail
Forbes. 85% Of Products Fail When Companies Don’t Talk To Consumers—This Company Is Changing That. https://www.forbes.com/sites/garydrenik/2021/09/21/85-of-products-fail-when-companies-dont-talk-to-consumers–this-company-is-changing-that/?sh=284ba37b2aa2
