Before a big product launch, there are many moving parts and there’s a great deal going on. It’s hard to keep everything straight and there are bound to be at least some minor problems. But if you avoid these five major mistakes, your product launch should go smoothly for the most part and these will only be little snags along the way.
Not-So-Hot Product
Many marketers pick any old product because they think that their marketing prowess alone will sell it, failing to consider the needs of their customer base. If your product doesn’t live up to the promise of its marketing, you’ll have a disaster on your hands. You’ll lose customers and damage your reputation, and there may not be a next product launch. The core of any good launch is a good product, so take the time to create one that meets your customers’ needs.
Not Starting Early Enough
Many businesses start planning just a few weeks out of their launch and then find that either they haven’t allowed enough time to fully promote the product and get interest going, or they run into trouble along the way. You should start planning your launch well in advance. Depending on the size of the product, a good guideline is to start planning about two months ahead of the launch day.
Who Are You Targeting?
Businesses often have a good product but don’t fully flesh out how to communicate its unique benefits to their market. With so many products flooding the market, why should a person buy yours? You need to clearly identify this and figure out how to communicate the unique benefits to your prospective buyers.
DIY
If you try to do everything by yourself, you may run into serious trouble. First, there’s all of the work that goes into the pre-launch phase. You’ll be burning the candle at both ends trying to get it all done. There are also skills you may lack or that others could do better. Finally, if you have an online sales force of affiliates and partners selling for you online, you’ll greatly increase your reach.
Neglecting to Test
Finally, many businesses fail to test their products and gain feedback from their target market. This feedback is objective data that tells you how your market really feels about your product. It tells you what changes you need to make to your product or messaging in order to make your launch a success.