Product Launches

Product launches are vital to a company’s growth and expansion. Successful launches require the timing, precision and coordinated effort of a high-flying trapeze act with marketing playing a key role throughout the process.

1. Conduct market research. Know the market landscape, who are the prospects and why is the product beneficial?
2. Investigate the competition. Evaluate how your product compares to current product offerings and determine your unique selling proposition. The reasons why a customer should choose your product over the competition should be clear and concise.
3. Write a comprehensive marketing plan and test it along with the product with focus groups to measure response. Most successful product launches involve a multi-faceted approach to marketing.
4. Create a public relations plan to coincide with the product launch. Ideas include allowing the press to review your product, writing articles to send to public media, grant interviews and/or provide ready-made video interviews. Consider holding a launch event. The more opportunities you have to present your product to the target market, the more people will know the product and become interested in purchasing it.
5. Evaluate the readiness of the launch. Make sure manufacturing and distribution and sales are all in sync to guarantee product availability at the time of, and in the days and weeks following the launch.
6. Create a timeline in the marketing plan and follow up regularly to ensure that everyone involved is on schedule.
7. Train your sales staff and everyone involved in the distribution chain (wholesalers, distributors, dealers and sales reps). Everyone should be knowledgeable and prepared to answer questions about the product and ready to sell it.

Let Nonneman Communications help to make your next product launch a major success.