You have a brand-new product and you’re sure it’s going to be a great hit. Now all you need to do is get it in front of your customers so that they can realise how wonderful it is.
One of the most common ways to do this is via a product launch. However, a product launch can be expensive and if you’re not careful, it can also miss the mark completely. In fact, according to this article by Massachusetts University, 95% of product launches fail.
Here are some tips on how to make sure your launch isn’t one of the failures.
- Plan, plan, plan
Before you launch your product, you need to make sure you’re well-prepared. To do this, you need to explore any potential pitfalls so that you can mitigate them as much as possible. Furthermore, you need to really know your target audience. What do they need? How will your product solve a problem for them? Why will they attend your launch?
- Decide the purpose of your event.
Yes, you are launching a product but what is the event’s actual goal? Is it simply to alert attendees to the product or do you want to demonstrate it to them, highlighting why it’s different from its competitors? Are you going to make the event unique so that it sticks in their mind?
A launch can be expensive and time-consuming, so you need a clear vision to help it succeed.
- Pick a venue
A venue is very important. If you have 50 people attending, then you don’t want a venue that holds 300 as it will make your launch seem unsuccessful. Likewise, you don’t want a venue so small that you have to turn people away.
If you need to use sound, lighting or AV equipment, make sure that the venue caters for this. If you’re planning on serving food, then again, there needs to be provisions made. Transport links to the venue are a must too, to ensure people can get there.
If you want to reach an audience beyond the venue, then arranging for the event to be streamed onto a webcast platform is an ideal way of giving it more exposure. Furthermore, if you’re on a budget then you can use a webcast platform to host an entirely virtual event, helping to ensure that costs are kept lower.
- Invite the right people
Naturally, you should invite potential customers – especially ones with which you have a close or long-term relationship. However, when sending out your invites, try to include relevant influencers, reviewers and critics as well.
- Build momentum
There is no point in holding an event if you aren’t going to build some momentum around it.
Hopefully, if you have invited people connected to the media or those that are well-known, then some of this momentum will be generated by them. However, for them to willingly share excitement for your event, they must feel excited about it themselves. You need to ensure they know what the event is about, why it’s unique, what will happen there, and who else is attending.
Aside from this, spread the word via social media, webinars, blog posts, your website, trade press, and local/national media.
- Give them an experience to remember
When the launch arrives, your job is to make it memorable for all the right reasons.
Although the launch is focusing on your product, you need to make it feel like the event is actually about the attendees. How you can help them, how valued they are as customers, how important their happiness is, and so on. It’s essential to make them feel special.
Make sure all presentations are ready and run smoothly. Make sure any audio-visual equipment has been tested and is set up correctly. Ensure all streaming or webinar equipment is ready and operational.
- After the event
When the event has finished, don’t forget to share details of it on your blog and social media. Share links to any webinars or presentations too, so others can see first-hand how successful the event was and how special your product is. Reach out to attendees and thank them for coming, asking them for feedback where necessary.
