6 Simple Strategies to Make Your Next Product Launch a Success

As a business owner, one thing is for certain - you’re a master of your craft, an expert in your field, and a thought leader in your industry. So, developing the next big product that will send your business soaring to new heights may come naturally. But for many, marketing that new product may not be as easy.If you’ve spent months or even years developing the next big thing you know your customers are gonna love, don’t let all of that hard work fall flat. Check out these six simple strategies that will help your business’s new product get the lucrative launch it deserves.

Peak interest with a video

If you really want to sell your new product, the most effective way to get your message across is in a video. In fact, visitors retain 95% of a message when they watch it in video vs. only 10% when they read it in text.It’s true - making a video can be a lot of work. If you think this strategy doesn’t belong on a list of simple strategies, rest assured that in this golden age of video content creation, there are loads of tools to help you simplify the process. Even a one to three minute homemade-looking video on a social platform such as TikTok or Instagram’s Reels can convey a powerful message.And, if you’re looking to make something a little more in-depth, look no further than the tools you most likely have right in front of you. Your smartphone’s video recorder, combined with a long list of free video editing options, has made professional-looking video creation accessible to the masses.

Build an email list

Your audience loves feeling like an insider. It isn’t difficult to sell your latest and greatest new product to your brand’s die-hard loyalists. The trick to reaching beyond this inner circle is in cultivating more enthusiasts. How, you ask? One way to do it is by inviting your audience to join a specific mailing list that will give them exclusive content.By building a separate mailing list specifically for these customers, you’ll have the perfect avenue to leak updates and sneak peeks of your new product up until launch day. To boot, this list can receive special pre-order privileges or an exclusive discount when your product launches.

The beauty of an email list is that it can be used well beyond your product launch to keep the conversation going and continue cultivating the loyalty of this inner circle over time.

Distribute samples

Depending on your product, giving away samples can go a long way in helping you to boost sales. Researchers have described the results of sampling as nothing short of incredible.In one Indiana supermarket chain’s in-depth analysis, distributing samples helped them increase sales by as much as 2,000%.As much potential as this strategy promises, it simply won’t work for all launches because not all products or services can be sampled. But if your product is sample-able, here’s a method that may take your sample excitement to the next level.Build an entry form with an entry cap on the number of people who can submit the form. For example, distribute samples to the first 100 people who enter. The 101st entrant and all subsequent entrants will see a message that says something like, “Sorry, try again next time.” That cap may turn some people away but, in turn, will create a real sense of urgency and also an aura of exclusivity among your audience.

As a bonus to distributing samples, you can ask sample recipients to post what they think of your product on social media. We’ll talk more about this later on.

Offer your new product as a prize in a giveaway

Giveaways are ideal for creating hype and excitement around any venture your business may be taking on. Product launches are no exception. As a giveaway prize, offer up your new product to one big winner. Or award new products to multiple winners for even more enthusiasm.You can employ your giveaway to do double duty by incorporating an email list opt-in for those who want to receive updates on future product launches, announcements, or giveaways.

Collect and display testimonials

There’s no better marketer for your new product than a customer who tried it, loved it, and is willing to share their experience. In fact, 87% of consumers place as much trust in a product endorsement as they would word-of-mouth.Share your product with a few loyal customers in exchange for a review. Although you can’t require that the testimonial be favorable, odds are, if they’re already a fan of your products, you’ll get a good review boasting about your latest and greatest.An added bonus about customer reviews is that you can use them again and again, displaying them anywhere you market your business. Add a few high-rating reviews to your website, to your sales deck, or even to the footer of your emails.

Create a hashtag contest

Much like product reviews, incentivizing posts on social media is a great way to curate a gallery of persuasive content. Not to mention, social media posts are even a little extra because photos and videos are typically more fun and engaging to look through than a list of written reviews.Create a branded hashtag around your launch. Keep it unique yet simple to remember and then encourage posts by offering incentives. An easy way to round up all of the posts using your hashtag is by building a hashtag contest.

By setting up a hashtag feed in contest software such as ShortStack, all the posts using your hashtag can be pulled into a list of entries and then displayed in a gallery. You can enable voting to turn it into a voting contest or simply select one or more winners at random.

In Summary

When you and your team have poured endless hours into your business leading up to your new product’s launch, it’s crucial that all of that hard work pays off. With a few simple strategies, like creating a video, doing some email marketing, or even a combination of several strategies such as offering a giveaway with an option to join an exclusive email list, you’ll find that your launch can be more lucrative than you ever thought possible.