Author: Reda HADDOU
Date of Publication: 22/06/2022
Launching a new product in the market is never easy. However, there are a few things you can do to make sure that your launch is successful.
Tips to launch a product and be successful
Tip #1: Don't be fooled by high sales volume in the first year...
It is important to create a marketing plan with long-term effects. In particular, this means that you should take into account the following:
Natural referencing
Creating a list of prospects
Visibility on social networks
Tip #2: Don't rely too much on the buying intentions of market research
Sometimes you launch a survey with your customers, your prospect base, and you get a high number of people interested in your product. However, once the product is launched, sales can turn out to be disappointing. In fact, there are many reasons for this:
Respondents may like a concept, but not buy it, the need not being urgent
The price may be too high
The way the product is presented is not sufficiently rewarding or does not stand out among other options
Ideally, you should also propose a pre-order system in order to have firm orders before starting. Otherwise you can use an advertising test via Facebook Ads. This allows you to see if the product you are planning to launch is likely to be successful or not. However, keep in mind that, while sometimes it is useful to listen to market studies, other times you just have to trust your instinct.
Tip #3: Inappropriate advertising or communication can harm your product
It is the first advertisement that will position your product in the eyes of your customers. This means that, once you advertise your product, customers are likely to remember your first ad, even in future advertisements. Therefore, it is essential to take the time to develop a successful ad. A good first impression is only made once!
To further highlight this importance, studies have shown that a bad advertising campaign can reduce sales by up to 30%. In addition, it is necessary to do tests beforehand on small volumes, by changing your product characteristics. For example, you could try advertising your product by testing it with a different name, price, slogan, or video.
Tip #4: Take care of your packaging and visuals
Because the shelves are full of products, it's a daily struggle to stay present in shops or supermarkets. In fact, you have to differentiate yourself from your competitors and make sure that your product design and packaging are attractive. This means you should pay attention to the color, shape, and size of your product. In addition, you should create packages that have a minimalistic visual representation and at the same time provide a comfortable inboxing experience for your customers.
Here's an example of attractive packaging:
On the web, the visual representation of a product is even more important. This is because people cannot touch the product like in real-life shopping. Hence, having great pictures of the product you want to launch is key. Remember that consumers can only buy what they can see!
Tip #5: Think carefully about your product name
Too often, product names are too long, too complicated or have no meaning. However, if a product’s name is meaningful, it will be remembered and recognized on shelves among other products. So, if you want to stand out and be remembered, think of a good name for your product.
Tip #6: You have to differentiate yourself... but intelligently!
The goal is not to be completely different from your competitors, but to differentiate yourself on a major benefit perceived by your customers. In other words, what is something that your product can offer but that others can’t?
This is what you can do to differentiate yourself, ever so slightly, and increase purchasing behaviors:
Have an unbeatable price offer
Have emotionally charged products
Have a product with a characteristic no other product has
There are also several strategies you can use to differentiate yourself:
The Ocean Blue strategy - this is used to capture value and create new demand from high differentiation and low cost
The Purple Cow strategy - this illustrates the fact that having a nice looking product is not enough. Indeed, you should seek to provide qualitative products and great customer services to achieve success
The Judo Marketing strategy - the goal of this consists of competing against all existent products or services by proposing a different yet efficient solution
Above all, you must know your customers and what they expect. You will be set for greater success if you continuously tailor your product to your clients’ changing needs.
Tip #7: Give your product a long-term competitive advantage
If you don't give your product a unique competitive advantage, you will not be setting your product as a reference in the market. Moreover, if you decide to create an additional product later on, be careful to position it with an additional benefit. Only reiterating an existing benefit in a different way is not a new offer, and you risk making your sales collapse.
Tip #8: Set your price thoroughly
To define your product price, take into account the value perceived by your customers in addition to the price of similar products in the market. A way that could help increase sales is enriching your product with complementary services that are not very expensive. This technique can "distort" your customers’ price reference frame and motivate them to buy your product.
For more techniques you can take a look at our article on "How to sell a more expensive product". Nevertheless, keep in mind that it is usually easier to lower prices than to raise them.
Tip #9: Target your customers and understand their motivations
Rather than spending money on generic advertising, it is better to target a specific audience and understand what drives your customers. Also, you should know their buying process and target your marketing efforts accordingly. For example, you could create 10 different landing pages based on your customers’ needs. Then analyze the most attractive target and change your product’s marketing to match that target’s characteristics.
Tip #10: Anticipate the evolution of your product over the following years
It is not necessary to make a business plan or roadmap over 3 years. However, what is important is to think of "shield" scenarios and plan Bs in case your initial launch fails. This may include adding an innovation in case a competitor's product is released.
In addition, always plan time right after the launch of your product to adapt it to your customers’ feedback. Small adjustments based on the feedback you receive will allow you to have a more impactful and relevant product. At the same time, this will show your customers that you listened to them and care about their opinion. Finally, don't forget to prepare a marketing plan, with some of the actions you plan to take in the following months.
Takeaways
As we have seen, in order for a launch of a product to be successful, different steps should be taken into consideration. Product differentiation, product name, packaging and visuals are some of them. Good advertising and setting reasonable prices based on the price of similar products in the market are equally important to consider.
Finally, don't forget to test your product(s) before launch, understand your customers and their motivations, and make some plans about the marketing of your product(s) in the future.
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