Business Success Blueprints How to SUCCESSFULLY LAUNCH YOUR PRODUCT YOUR BLUEPRINT TO SUPER SUCCESS The definitive Entrepreneurs Circle Guide to launching a product.
Product Launch You ve had an idea, finalised the details, ploughed through the implementation, and now FINALLY have your next big thing ready for its great big reveal. But you ve got no idea how to reveal it to the world...sound familiar? Good. It sounds like you re in the right place. Our Product Launch Blueprint will count you down from your cadet training to lift off and Houston, we certainly WON T have a problem! This Blueprint will teach you how to get your next product off the ground and into the stratosphere: What a Product Launch is all about - A product launch is never just about one thing being launched. It s also a statement of intent; you telling the world what you re about, where you re headed, and why it should pay attention. We ll go over what a product launch does for you, the product you re launching, and your business as a whole. How it can Benefit Your Business & Be a Success Discover how to launch a product with style - and avoid a crash landing! How to Rejuvenate Existing Products Product launches can breathe new life into current products too. We ll show you how you can get your customers to fall back in love with their old favourites. Build a Buzz - There s nothing quite like creating a buzz around your business and its next big thing. Creating hype is usually a great way to increase exposure, demand, AND sales of a new product. We ll discuss hype in more detail in the Blueprint itself. We ve even included advice on creating a plan of action to ensure you don t need to call Ground Control! And we ve also included some example template emails you can amend and send. Good luck launching your next big thing. Stay close to this Blueprint and you won t go far wrong. Let us know how you get on, and remember: you can always request extra help from mission control by calling 0121 765 5551 or emailing support@entrepreneurscircle.co.uk. Let s get ready for lift off..! The Marketers
What Is a Product Launch? A product launch is the grand debut of a product into market and is the crucial moment when your customers get to see it for the first time. It s a brilliant way of building a buzz around your product or service, and can be the push that prospects need to become paying customers. A product launch has two purposes; either to launch a new product or to re-launch an existing product. Before you consider a product launch you need to ask yourself these three crucial questions: Is this product different from your others; does it look or feel different? Is it priced differently? Does it meet the quality customers have come to expect from you? Is there an incentive to buy it there and then? A product launch creates hype around your product and screams: you re really going to miss out if you don t buy me this instant! Take Apple as an example. They bring out an upgraded iphone nearly once a year and every time thousands of people camp out overnight to be the first to snap one up. THAT S what we call lift off! One such product that was a failure to launch was the Blackberry Z10. Never heard of it? Neither have most people! Launched with no real buzz, this is one smartphone that flopped before it even had time to take off. The moral of the story? The way you launch your product matters! How Can Product Launches Benefit Your Business? Product launches work because they create a buzz around your products and services. They position you as a leader in your industry and get your prospects really excited about what you ve got to offer. You create visibility for yourself. Even a small product launch will build a buzz around your product and will get people talking about you. It will help build your name and brand recognition, which is the key to growing a business. You build your credibility. If you give away great content during your product launch, people can experience for themselves how knowledgeable you are and your credibility will shoot through the roof. You sell your other products and services. Not only does a product launch give you the opportunity to sell one particular product, but if your launch successfully creates visibility and credibility, your sales of other products can increase too. People will not just be interested in the product you re launching, but they ll be interested in YOU and what you have to offer.
How to Make Your Launch a Success Determine your purpose You ve got a great product that deserves a launch event. Now what? Well, of course you want your event to lead to a boost in sales for your new product. But you need to decide how you re going to achieve that and how your product launch event will contribute to that outcome. Scout your location At your product launch, you want as much of your target audience in attendance as possible. Therefore, the location is key. You need to think about proximity and how easy it is to get to. You also need to think about how your location reflects your product and your brand. A trade show for instance, is a great location as you won t need to encourage your target customers to attend they ll already be there! Give your audience a reason to go Often the most difficult aspect of holding a product launch is not deciding who to invite or where to hold it; but adding value for your audience and giving them a reason to go. How do you attract your audience? You need to add something to the event that makes it exciting and makes it different. That s why it s important to create incentives. If you sell your products at a discounted rate at the launch, there is more chance of building excitement around your product and getting people interested. For example; We have a very special product bonus this week, the first 50 buyers get a free special gift! 3. Reduced price for fast buyers! This is another brilliant way to motivate people to buy straight away, simply offer them a discount when they order before a certain date. It doesn t even need to be money off the product; it could be free postage or free gift wrapping. Follow Up To continue building momentum for a new product you need to follow up with your target audience. Send them an email after the product launch to maintain the buzz around your product, and also use this opportunity to gather feedback from people that have bought your product. Feedback is important for two reasons: Customers appreciate what other buyers have to say You won t know what you need to improve on unless you get feedback Here are some incentives you can use: 1. Before it runs out! Creating scarcity in the amount of products available is a good trick, but make sure it comes across as a positive and not that you just didn t order enough! So here are a few examples that would work: We re running a live training event, but only have 50 places left! Our new product is selling for just 50 until 4th March; get your hands on it NOW before this offer runs out 2. First buyers get a bonus! This is a great thing to do as it will encourage people to buy immediately rather than waiting it out.
How To Rejuvenate Existing Products Evolving your existing products can work to keep customers excited about your brand and allows you to boost your sales. But before we look at how you can do this, why would you launch an existing product? Well: You may have had to recall the product because there was something wrong with it the first time around You didn t get the return on investment you were hoping for It s the anniversary of a key product and you want to celebrate it It s been a while since your product has been in the spotlight You want to remarket or rebrand an existing product Of course, there could be any number of reasons why you d want to rejuvenate an existing product. But whatever your reasons may be, here are a few ways you can do just that: 1. Package Deals Everyone loves to get something for nothing, and one of the best ways to rejuvenate an existing product is to offer it as part of a bundle. Not only does it give your customers that added extra, it also makes them feel special and who doesn t love that? You can even tier your package deals (e.g.: VIP, Gold, Starter) to add an air of exclusivity and offer your most valued customers a bigger bargain. 2. Rebranded and Remarketed If you think you missed the mark with your product the first time around and want to appeal to a new audience, it s not too late. By rebranding and remarketing your current products, you can make them feel shiny and new! 3. New Pricing Structure If you priced your product too highly and no-one bought it, relaunching it a cheaper price could boost your sales. Likewise if you went in too cheap and aren t hitting your profit margins, taking the price up a notch or two could increase sales too. The trick here is perceived value how much do you customers think they re getting for their money? How Do You Create a Buzz? You want to get people talking about your product, but how do you do it? Create anticipation To get people excited about your launch you need to build anticipation. You could develop a holding page on your website; reflecting your brand image with a few words that get people excited about your launch and make them aware that you have a new product out. You can ask people to fill in their contact details on this page, so that you can keep in touch with them in the build up to your product launch. This means you can build anticipation and your database at the same time. Update your website On this note, make sure that your website is up to date. Have you ever been on a website that clearly hasn t been updated for months? It looks unprofessional and if you want to launch a product, it s vital that you mention its launch on your website. Invest in PR Using a PR Agency to write press releases for you and to help you get your name heard for all the right reasons can really increase your chances of success. Get talking to them as soon as possible so that the press is out when you do launch your product. If your budget is stretched and you want to do-it-yourself, give your Member Success Team a call and request our PR for Business Blueprint!
Use Social Media Social media is a very powerful way to quickly build a buzz around your products and business. Make sure you have a Facebook and Twitter account set up months before you launch so that you can acquire followers and build a solid database ready to read your news when you launch.. Take risks Think outside the box and reflect on what makes your product different. What is your product s USP? Doing something unique and unusual is essential in getting people talking about you and your product. So, once you have figured out what sets you apart from the crowd, you can start to create a buzz. Plan of Action Coming up with a coherent plan of action is the only way to ensure that your product launch runs like clockwork. To make sure you re ready for the big day, follow these four phases of preparation for a successful product launch. 1. Launch planning Set your goals; determine what the product offer will be, how much money you want to make, what your USP is etc. 2. Pre-launch This is all about creating a buzz for your product launch, so this is the stage when you invest your time into your marketing campaign to build anticipation for the event. Think about PR, social media, email campaigns etc. 3. Mid-launch This is the stage when you ll make sure everything is in place around the week of your launch, to ensure success. 4. Post-launch In this stage it s all about following up from your product launch, to maintain the buzz and also to learn from your launch and to gather feedback. Planning The Launch Set your goals What is your ideal return on investment? How much do you want to grow your email list by? Do you want to increase your visibility? Decide exactly it is what you want to achieve before you plan your launch. What offer will you have? What incentives are you offering? What will people gain by being there? Will they receive content? A discounted price? A giveaway? What packages do you want to include? Set a date Set a day and time for your launch and try and clear your schedule leading up to the launch so that you have the time to fully prepare for it. Choose a location Make sure it s in close proximity to the people you want to be there. Make sure the location reflects your branding and your business. Create the sales page Where will people be directed to buy? A sales page or video? If so, create it.
Pre-Launch Create the email campaign Draft up all your launch emails (have a look at the templates we ve included for inspiration), and send them! Create anticipation Plant seeds of anticipation with launch emails, blog posts and with a holding page on your website to build intrigue and excitement before your official marketing campaign kicks off. Prepare other marketing material Will you be writing sales letters? If so prepare them; find a print company and get your envelopes and addresses ready. Will you be doing email marketing? If so, look into CRM databases like Infusionsoft or MailChimp. Will you be using social media? Make sure your accounts are set up so you can start recruiting followers. Be original Let your creative juices flow! Think of how you can make your product launch different; how will you make yours stand out? Create urgency Will you only be able to buy for a limited amount of time? Will it be limited to a certain number of buyers? Will you have a special bonus for the first 50 people? How can you create urgency to get people to buy? Update Website Have you chosen a design company to update your website? Is it up to date and does it mention the product you re launching? Your product Do you have enough of your chosen product to sell at the launch? Make sure you re well prepared and have estimated your need correctly! Mid- Launch Post on social media Create a buzz and build excitement by being active on social media. Get emailing Send out a reminder email to all your guests that you want to attend. Brief your staff Make sure your staff are up to date with what s happening and know the product inside out so they can sell it at your launch. Post Launch Follow Up Follow up with initial buyers to make sure the sign up process works flawlessly. What s more, don t forget to follow up with readers to tell them about how the launch went and create social proof. Review What did you learn from the launch? How can you improve it for next time? Ask for feedback Ask for feedback in the week following the launch to see how you can improve it for next time, and also to gather testimonials that you can use in your future marketing campaigns and also include on your website.
Template So, now you know everything there is to know about planning and running a product launch, here are a few email templates that you can swipe and deploy! Email 1 Subject: A VIP invite JUST for you, {CustomerName} Exclusive VIP Invite: Secure Your Place on the Priority List Hi {CustomerName} Here at {BusinessName}, we ve been working on something top secret for a while now. And I m not going to lie; it s been pretty difficult to keep schtum. I ve been desperate to shout about it from the rooftops and while I m still sworn to secrecy for a little while longer, there are some things I can let out of the bag It s a new {Product/Service} and it s going to blow your mind It s the best thing we ve ever done YOU can get on our Priority List to gain exclusive access at out Launch Event! Yep, that s right this email provides you with VIP access to our launch event happening on {InsertDate}. And while I can t reveal to you all the details just yet, I can give you three reasons why you ll want to be there: 1. You ll get the lowdown on EXACTLY what this new {Product/Service} is before anyone else! 2. All VIPs on our Priority List receive an exclusive discount 3. There are only {XX} places on the list, so you really will be one of the chosen ones Click HERE to get on the Priority List! You need to hurry though registration closes at {InsertTime} and there are only {XX} places on the list. Talk to you soon! {YourName} {BusinessName} Click HERE to get on the Priority List! PS: This invite is only going out to a select few VIPs, but you ll need to sign up soon!
Template So, now you know everything there is to know about planning and running a product launch, here are a few email templates that you can swipe and deploy! Subject: Time is Running Out Email 2 Hi {CustomerName} The Priority List for our exclusive product launch closes in HOURS and your name still isn t on it! You have until {InsertTime} to book your place but you need to hurry over half the places are now GONE and we predict that the rest of the spaces will go before the morning is out! Click HERE to get on the Priority List! As I said in my previous email, I can t let the cat out the bag as to WHAT this amazing new {Product/Service} is. I can however, give you three reasons why you ll want to be there: 1. You ll get the lowdown on EXACTLY what this new {Product/Service} is before anyone else! 2. All those VIPs on our Priority List receive an exclusive discount 3. There are only {XX} places on the list, so you really will be one of the chosen ones So what are you waiting for? Talk to you soon! {YourName} {BusinessName} Click HERE to get on the Priority List!
Template So, now you know everything there is to know about planning and running a product launch, here are a few email templates that you can swipe and deploy! Subject: The BIG Reveal Email 3 Hi {CustomerName} The cat is out of the bag, the secret s out, the cards are on the table {Insert information about the new product / service here} I m sorry you missed the chance to get on the exclusive Priority List and get first access but you can still get an incredible discount if you want to be one of the first to try it out! Click HERE to see just how much discount you can get! Don t miss out again this offer is only open until {InsertTime}! Talk to you soon! {YourName} {BusinessName} Need some help? If you need any more help, give your Member Success Team a call on 0121 765 5551 and they will be happy to answer any questions you have.
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