[FREE Checklist] Launch a New Product in Six Simple Steps
Photo by Jacqueline Kelly on Unsplash
Whether you’re a B2B service provider or develop and sell products to consumers, it’s important to have a documented plan when you have a new product or service to launch to your customer base. If you want this new product to be successful, you don’t want to leave anything to chance. This new product is an opportunity to reach more customers and delight your current ones. Take a look at my very basic step-by-step guide on how to launch a new product or service successfully.
Do your research
Find the benefit(s)
Write down goals
Make your customer the hero
Develop your plan
Execute!
Do Your Research
The first—and probably most important—step in launching your new product or feature is to perform market research. This doesn’t have to be a super intensive process. Reach out to 10 of your existing customers or prospective customers and ask a few questions about their problems and pain points as it might relate to your business. If you offer an accounting service for business owners, you will probably ask them about any issues they run into when they file their taxes. If you’re a massage therapist or chiropractor, you might ask this person about the actual pain points in their body.
Don’t forget to be specific! You have a list of questions to ask them in front of you, but if you need clarification or would like your prospect to expand on something, make sure to ask them. After all, you’re just having a conversation with them!
What you’re trying to find out is what specifically your target audience needs. If they start a sentence with “I wish I could…” or “Why can’t this do this…” make sure to write down what they say. You’ll soon understand what they’re really looking for.
Find the Benefit(s)
Now that you have an idea of your customers’ and prospects’ issues, you can find out the best way to help them with these issues. Ask yourself this: how is the product or service you’re offering going to help them solve their problems? (Psst: Notice how I said “HELP THEM solve THEIR problems”... this will help you with step 4.)
Your new product or feature may only solve one problem for your customers, and that’s okay. You just need to make sure that the problem is a big enough pain point for them to generate the right amount of excitement.
Write Down Goals
A product launch without goals could result is a misaligned vision, even if you’re a one-person team. According to Coschedule, people who set their goals are 376% more successful. It’s important to identify your goals for this launch to help shape your message and strategy. This will also help you determine success and know what works—and what doesn’t work—in communicating with your customers.
Most goals can be categorized into four main groups:
Lead generation - Finding prospects
Brand Awareness - Getting prospects to know about you
Brand Consideration - Getting prospects to consider buying from you
Sales - Getting prospects to buy from you
Additionally, make sure your goals are SMART goals. SMART stands for specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and timely. Here is an example of a great SMART goal to break down this concept:
Most product launches focus on one specific goal, but you can have more than one. Just don’t go overboard!
Make Your Customer the Hero
Photo by Helloquence on Unsplash
A colleague of mine recently introduced me to StoryBrand Marketing, and it has honestly changed the way I develop campaign messaging ever since. It’s a paid workshop for marketers, but the basic premise is to make your customer the hero of your story. In step 2 you found out how you can HELP your customer solve THEIR problem. That’s the message you want to send!
Here is an example of a customer-focused message that I developed for one of my clients, a chiropractor in Grand Rapids, Michigan:
“Providing you with the tools to achieve total wellness.”
Think of your product as the guide that helps your customer (the hero) face a particular issue. This change in mindset better recognizes your customer’s journey to solve their problems, and ultimately creates more trust in your brand.
Develop Your Plan
You’ve got the information, the basic messaging, and the goals for success. The last step before launch is to plan your marketing campaign! What are the specific tactics and tools you will use to get the message about your product or service out there? Here are some ideas:
Email Newsletters
Social Media
Calling Campaign
Website Banner Ads
Website Blog Posts
Influencer Marketing
Event Marketing
Webinars
Where do your customers spend their time looking for information or solutions to their problems? These places are where you should focus your efforts. Set up a way to track the success of each platform or tactic you use. That way you will know for the next launch which tactics you need to invest more time and money into.
Execute the Launch
Congratulations! You’ve set yourself up for success by writing down a plan for your product launch. All that is left now is to execute your launch and monitor its success. Then, have another conversation with those prospects you spoke with in the beginning. Did your product or service solve their problem? What kind of feedback do they have for next time? Your loyal customers want to see you succeed. Ask them questions about how you can reach more people like them. They will be more than happy to help!
Are you preparing for a product launch? Download my free product launch checklist to walk you through your next big product launch today!