Everything you need for a successful product launch

If you have an amazing idea that you want to introduce to the world, you’re going to need a plan. You may have the best new product, but it will all mean nothing if nobody knows about it. That’s where a product launch comes in. If you want to learn about what a product launch is, why it’s important to plan your new product launch, the best ways to launch, and much more, you’ve come to the right place. Read on to get a synopsis on how to launch a product.

What is a product launch?

First things first, let’s learn what a product launch is. Essentially, it is the debut of a new or renewed product to the market. It is the moment all your hard work has led to, the moment you build up to, and finally, show the world what you’ve been making. It is the culmination of bringing your product to life.

It is crucial to build buzz around your product, maybe even gather pre-orders and fill your potential customers with excitement before launching a new product. But why?

Why it’s important to plan your product launch

It’s often said that a goal without a plan is just a wish. Having a plan is a way to minimize your chance of failure and have a clear process you can follow. Instead of teaching you why it’s important to plan your product launch, we will just show you some pros and cons of a new product launch, and you can decide for yourself.

Advantages of a product launch

• Excitement and awareness: When you use social media, email, articles, events, and press releases to inform the public about a new product coming soon, it builds up anticipation and thrill. They become familiar with the product and may convert easier after your launch.
• Building trust: Through sneak peeks, demos, free trials, or free samples of your product, you can introduce the product without starting sales. You will familiarize your potential customer with the product and build trust. It can also be done through word-of-mouth, communities, and being active on social media.
• Test run and experience: When building up buzz around your new product launch, you will get questions and inquiries that’ll help you prepare for what’s to come after you launch a new product. You will get to hear feedback and learn more about what your customers want.

 

Disadvantages of a product launch

• Need for investment: Launching a new product is not a one-day job. It involves all of the efforts you take to prepare for it, and it’s going to be costly. However, there is a way to fund your product launch in the most beneficial way. That way is called Crowdfunding, and we will discuss it later on in this article.
• Difficulty of planning: The way you plan your product launch is essential to its success. Each product requires its own way of launching. It takes a whole lot of research, time, and energy to find the perfect plan.

The benefits obviously outweigh the cons. There’s no such thing as a free lunch, right? If you put in the work, educate yourself, and thoroughly plan, it will pay off.

How to prepare for a product launch? (Step-by-step)

Before the big day, there’s a lot to take care of. If you have an almost ready product and the right team, you are already thinking about launching. The main work you will do regarding a product launch is preparation. So, let’s get right to the point. Here are our 8 steps to preparing for your new product launch.

Define your target audience

This one is a no-brainer. When you have a product, you have to know who is going to buy it. Who can you intrigue and excite before a product launch? Who are your early adopters? All of these questions need to be answered before launching a new product. Here are some key characteristics you need to define:

• Age
• Gender
• Spending habits
• Interests
• Occupation

Having a particular target group in mind will help you choose a direction for your marketing efforts, decide the style of content to produce, your messaging, and much more.

Understand the buying journey

Once you have your target defined, you need to get into their mindset. Usually, there’s a couple of stages your potential buyer goes through before finally converting. Those stages include awareness, consideration, intent, and purchase. Depending on which stage each customer is in, they require different treatment. Here are some questions you can ask to understand your buyer’s journey more deeply:

• What are their main pain points?
• Where would they find you?
• What or who influences their buying decisions?
• What can lead them to buy your product?

Put yourself in their shoes. Tell them what they want to hear, and your efforts will pay off.

Secure your online identity

Whether it’s a domain for a website, an Instagram username, or a trademark, you have to acquire them before launching. Some domain names might be taken or held for a high price, and those tedious details need to be figured out.

Create a brand book

Before launching a new product, you need to build a strong understanding of what your brand is. A brand book defines all the necessary elements of your brand and serves as a guide for all your departments. Here are some things a brand book may include:

• Name of your brand
• Story of the brand, its ethos, mission, and vision
• Brand logo (with acceptable uses and variations)
• Icons, color palette
• Fonts, sizes, and styles
• Brand messaging, tone of voice

 

Do a demo or give out free trials

Tease your potential customers with previews, demos, and free trials before launching. This way, they will become familiar and get used to your product, thus increasing the chances of converting when you launch. Plus, this is a sure way to get some feedback from potential customers. The preparation period before the official new product launch is a crucial time when you need to listen to your target customers. A tiny tweak may make your product more appealing and make your product launch even more successful.

You can reward your early adopters by giving them early user incentives. This will also build up the buzz about your new product launch and raise awareness.

Define a clear-cut strategic plan

Just as with any other plan, you need to have info from your research, goals, and other criteria you want to meet. Here’s a rough list of what you will need:

• Market research report/evaluation
• An understanding of your competitive landscape
• SWOT analysis
• ROI metrics
• KPIs for measuring success
• A killer marketing strategy (with social media countdowns, email announcements, etc.)

Create an onboarding scheme

The first impression is going to stick. So, you have to map out the experiences of your first customers clearly. Whether you’re making hardware or software, it is crucial to imagine how someone would interact with a totally new and unknown product. Will they need a tutorial? Do you need to write “open here” on the package? The smoother the process, the faster they will adopt your product.

Launch!

Finally, all the hard work is going to pay off. This is the shortest part of a new product launch, but just as important as the rest. However you decide to do your product launch, make sure it’s in your own style and shows off your product’s personality. We talk more about ways to do your product launch later on in this article, but for now, good luck!

What are the main reasons for product launch fails?

It’s important to make your product launch plans with every possibility in mind. Don’t just try to do the right things. Remember also actively to avoid the wrongs, and prepare to deal with them if they are ever to occur. So, we thought it would be good to teach you about the most common reasons leading to product launch fails, and we hope you will avoid them.

Here are the top 4 reasons:

• Not doing proper market research

What problem is your product solving, and is there an actual gap in the market for it? How will your product be different from competitors, and why will it be better? Here are some questions you have to ask right when you set out to build a new product. As a result of improper market research, many companies create products that have no demand and ultimately fail.

• Not listening to feedback from customers before a new product launch

Gathering feedback should be an essential part of your product launch steps. You are making the product for them, so it should be what they want.

• Rushing the launch or being unprepared

Timing is everything. Launching before you’re ready is a common practice, and it works for some. Our advice is to have a very clear product launch strategy, go over your product launch plans a couple of times, and take the leap. Don’t just wing it or try to play safe.

• Confusing customers with your messaging

How you look on social media is crucial in this day and age. If you use inconsistent messaging or something unfit for your product, it might leave the wrong impression. The last thing you want is for your potential customers to think you’re trying to scam them.

Popular ways to launch a new product

You can launch your product in many different ways. You can use a combination of multiple or focus on just one, but here are some examples for you to choose from:

• Go big and do an official launch event like Apple does every time.
• Launch on social media with ad campaigns and countdowns.
• Launch on online platforms like Product Hunt.
• Launch your product with Crowdfunding

How to launch a product with crowdfunding

Crowdfunding is the easiest way for newcomers to do a new product launch. It’s an all-in-one platform where you can gather feedback, raise funding, do pre-orders, marketing, and finally launch with a bang. Before we get into the how let’s talk about why you should launch a new product with crowdfunding on Kickstarter or Indiegogo. Here are just a couple of reasons:

• It provides an enormous marketplace where you can increase your organic reach.
• You will validate your idea and get feedback.
• Get pre-orders from actual customers.
• You get an approximate metric for demand and produce accordingly.
• Build a community around your product.

Now that you see its benefits, let’s dive into the steps you need to take to launch your product with crowdfunding:

• Build a community

This is the first and most important key to having a successful or even a million-dollar campaign. You will need to build an email list and a following that will help you build a community of loyal customers and make not only your product launch but your product in general a success.

• Hit your goal quickly

With the help of your community, you can reach your goal faster than ever. The sooner you reach your goal, the more it signals to the platform that your product is useful and relevant.

• Rise to the top of the platform

If your product performs well on the platform, the chances of it getting recommended to visitors are higher. Thus, you will get a higher organic reach.

• Build momentum and blow up

Keep up the good work, keep updating your community on your progress, and you’ll see your product keep going up.

Of course, you can always get the help of a crowdfunding agency that will help you with branding, content, promotion, email marketing, and ultimately, reaching your goal.

Final thoughts

A new product launch is not a small task. It takes lots and lots of preparation, time, effort, and funds to make it successful. This article outlined what a product launch is, its pros and cons, steps for preparation, as well as crowdfunding, and how it is the easiest way to launch. Follow our product launch steps, and you’ll be on the right track.