Product Launch Best Practices

Product Launch Definition

A product launch is when a company decides to a launch a new product on the market. The launch will be the first time the customer has access to the new product. This can be an updated version of an existing product, or a brand new innovative product. They are done to attract potential customer’s attention to the new product using a pre-planned strategy to generate as much intrigue, excitement, and therefore sales as possible. The strategy usually consists of a schedule of carefully planned events or advertisements in the run up to the release of the product with the goal of creating public anticipation. This is common in the music industry, for example, when agencies run advertising campaigns on social media, TV, and radio previous to the release of an artist’s new single or album.

Challenges Associated with Product Launches

• -Lack of Preparation

Companies can get so wrapped up in the design and the manufacturing of their products that they leave marketing them properly until the last minute. It is important to take full advantage of your marketing function, assigning a proper team dedicated to the product launch to ensure that all the necessary prep is done before release.

• -Targeting the right audience

Targeting the right audience when launching a product is essential so that you find the people that will appreciate your product the most. To do this, you must fully understand your product and aim your advertising at the right demographic. This should not be done based solely on stereotypes, but rather by studying which demographic searches for things that are similar to your product or rather, alternatives. In this way, you can then research what social media channels this demographic uses the most frequently so that you are able to advertise in the right places for efficient targeting.

• -Launch Management

It is usually a good idea to dedicate a team to a product launch. This way, no one person is spread too thin with the extreme organisation and planning that launching a new product entails. Many product launches fail, but this risk can be minimised with a dedicated team of staff members that can help each other and the business to successfully carry out the product launch and generate sales.

To avoid some of these challenges, we have brought together some of the best authors in the industry providing templates and how-to guides on perfecting the product launch.

Find out more about Product Launch here

What a product launch really is by MBaskool.com: What Product Launch is

How to avoid failure on Harvard Business Review: Why Most Product Launches Fail

Tips on planning a successful product launch: 7 Key Elements to a Perfect Product Launch