The chances of making a profit from online businesses have gone up. Just about anyone can start an online store, and the risks associated with it are also fewer. However, launching a new product online is no easy task.
There is a lot of work that goes behind launching the product, but the first thing you have to do is envision your product. Think about how the product can solve your customer’s problems and how exactly might your finished product look like. Also, analyze the market and your competitors. All that can be a little overwhelming, but you have to do it in an organized way.
In this article, we are going to break it down for you and show you seven steps to launch your new product online-
Step 1. Should The Product Even Exist?
This is one thing many enthusiasts skip. Your idea may be great, and your product design may be unique. But is it on demand at the moment?
Here are some questions that you should, first of all, ask yourself even before thinking of launching your product-
- Does the product have a demand in the market?
- What makes your product better than the rest?
- What are the USPs?
- Are there enough resources and raw materials to back up your product?
- Is the product cost-competitive?
- How much ROI are you expecting?
All these questions are fundamental in terms of selecting the right product for the right market. Figuring out all the answers will show you a better picture of your product’s place in the market and how it will perform.
Jeff Lenny talks about these specific aspects in a more detailed way.
You can check out
https://jefflenney.com/product-reviews/product-launch-formula-review/ to see his ideas on product launches.
It might even give you new ideas about an alternative product that looks even better on paper.
Step 2. Make Sure You Have A Whole Team
Product launching is all about collaboration. The chances of its success increase significantly when you have expertise in all the fields related to it. Since it is not possible to do it all by yourself, you will need a good team.
Your team should consist of employees like a project manager, a marketer, an R&D team, a technical team, sales, and a public relations team. All of them will perform different roles in making your product a success even after the launch.
The project manager will be responsible for observing the workflow. The R&D team will make sure they provide accurate forecasts regarding the products, and it’s resources, the marketing team will manage online campaigns, and the public relations team will provide valuable consumer feedback.
You have to make sure you have the right team before the launch of the product to ensure and maintain the success of your product in the long run.
Step 3. Find Your Audience
A lot of the selling factors depend on your targeted consumer base. So it is again time for a little research. If you are unsure about your audience, then take a peek at what your competitors are doing and get up to speed.
Tap into social media and find out which social channels your competitors are choosing. Observe their posted contents and take note of the people that are engaged with those contents.
For Instagram and Twitter, check what hashtags your competitors are using and whether they are getting engagement and reach through those hashtags. You can use the most engaging hashtags for your product later on and get a better insight as to who your competitors are targeting.
Through that, you can make a demographic about the customers and see what type of people are engaged most of the time. You can make assumptions about a lot of things like gender and age demographics, customer feedback, and pricing based on the data gathered from social media alone.
So, it is best if you and your team scour through the internet for the most accurate data you can get.
Step 4. Plan Out Your Schedule
This is essential more for offline products since there are plenty of external elements involved, but even in the case of online product timing is critical.
Like we previously mentioned that there goes a lot behind an online product launch. And you have to make sure the entire operation runs smoothly. If it is a physical product, then make sure all your distributors are geared up and ready to go.
There are also Email announcements or pre-launch online campaigns that you can do if you want to generate more hype about your product. These things have to be organized to make sure your launch turns out to be a success.
Step 5. Sell A Story First
People will only try out your product once they feel connected to it. Your product has to be more than just a problem solver. It has to be something with which the audience can relate.
This requires some brainstorming. You have to create a compelling story that makes you stand out and be placed into the minds of the consumer. Think about it this way, when you hear the word “Mercedez” you think about luxury. When you hear “Nike,” you feel about dedication, determination, and athletic performance.
These are just small examples of how your story can help.
As to creating your story, focus on the USPs your product has and think about how you can portray them to your audience in a more engaging way.
Step 6. Nail The Marketing Campaign
Visual contents are your safest bets in terms of marketing. This is more important for online product launches.
Online marketing has tons of options. So first you need to take a moment to decide which channels will be useful for you. Here again, you can check the data you have gathered and see what channels are used by your competitors the most.
You would want to place your marketing campaigns in places where you will get the most customer engagement. The channels can be email marketing, social media campaigns, or even paid advertisements. Use Instagram, Twitter, and Youtube to get more engagement. Facebook is relatively more competitive than the rest when it comes to marketing.
To get the attention of your customers, you will need engaging visual content, Create infographics with exciting facts about your product, and what it can do. Make video tutorials showing how to use the product. These things will make your product more familiar to the audience.
To generate more traffic into the website and online store, use SEO. SEO is one of the cheapest ways to increase audience engagement organically. Optimize your website, store, keywords, and provide quality content to get Google to notice you more, and bring reach out to more customers. SEO takes time to build up your audience but is a sustainable way to get engagement.
Step 7. Soft Launch and Post Launch
You can do a soft launch with a few selected people to figure out the mishaps that may happen in the hard start and fix them immediately. As for the actual launch, you can either use your brand to do it or use influencers to showcase your brand and product.
Before the launch, you can also give the option of pre-ordering your product and using it. This way, the product can create a buzz in the market. And after the launch, make sure your team is fully responsive to the audience. Ensure social engagement.
Final Thoughts
Now that you know all the steps required, you can accurately make a budget and come up with a plan that ensures all the seven steps. Online product launch is all about knowing what your customer wants and keeping them engaged. Make sure of these things, and you are good to go.