What is the best way to market a new product?
The method of marketing a product is the process of introducing a product to the market, promoting it, and then selling it to the customer. Marketing involves understanding your target audience and using strategic positioning and messaging to increase revenue and demand.
The method of marketing a product is an important part of the marketing strategy of any business, as it is the main driver behind making your product known to the public. Let’s take a look at the impact of product marketing so you get a clearer idea.
Challenges of bringing a new product to market
Let’s start with some bad news. According to Christensen Clayton, a Harvard Business School professor, more than 30,000 new consumer products are launched each year. But unfortunately, 95% of them fail.
You may be wondering the reason behind this failure. There are many factors that may lead to such results such as lack of customer demand or wrong pricing structure.
but that is not all. Many experts point to poor product marketing processes as a major reason for the failure of these companies. As Kurt Schroeder explains in a post for The Business Journal: “There are a number of reasons why new products fail to sell; But the frequent reason for most of these companies is the lack of accuracy in sales and marketing planning and implementation.”
The sales of products do not follow the principle of “produce them and people will flock to them.” Even the largest companies, such as Apple, aggressively market their new offerings in order to generate buzz and attract customers.
How you market a product will be a big part of the success of your company and product. But what steps can you take to get it right? Follow these seven essential steps to successfully market your product.
The best way to market a product
Understand your audience
The first step in any successful marketing initiative is to understand exactly who you are marketing to, as trying to sell meat to vegans will never end well. Therefore, you need to conduct target market research before proceeding with production.
Answering the following questions may help you define your audience:
#. Who is the ideal customer?
#. What demographic information should you be aware of?
#. What outlets do they use to get their information?
You also need to dig a little deeper by answering this key question: What problem does your product solve?
To be successful, the demand must be based on your product satisfying a need.
If you can’t think of a single pain point that your product addresses, that’s an indication that you’re solving a problem your customers don’t really have.
“Many organizations need to get better at asking the right questions in order to address the right problems,” Buzz Points CEO Dwayne Spradlin explains in a Harvard Business Review post. “Your products should solve your customers’ problems in really compelling ways. Most product companies spend very little time immersing themselves in the reality of the customer.”
One of the ways you can understand your customers is by selling directly to them in the beginning. As entrepreneur Tamara Monosov advises in an article for entrepreneurs, “This will give you confidence that there is a demand for your product and it will also create customers who can be contacted to get feedback on the product and packaging before you grow your business further.”
By having these early conversations with your target market, you will not only have a better understanding of their goals and challenges, but you will also have the opportunity to make necessary adjustments to your product, pricing structure, or whatever.
Understand your product
Not only do you need to understand your audience, you also need a deep understanding of your product especially when it is in the early stages. You have to think of yourself as an expert who knows everything about the product and can accurately answer the following questions:
#. What is the product?
#. How it works?
#. How much does it cost?
#. What are the challenges you might face?
#. What distinguishes your product over the products of your competitors?
#. What advantages do you offer to your customers?
While it is undoubtedly important to understand the ins and outs of your product, you also need to make sure that you have an understanding of how to roll it out and integrate it into your target market.
For example, which of the following quick sales pitch options do you find most effective?
Option A: This tool we created uses the latest technology that we have spent months perfecting.
Option B: This tool will help you connect with your customers better, maintain the relationship between you, increase your sales, and improve your bottom line.
If you’re like most people, Option B resonated a lot more than Option A.
This is because rather than getting sucked into product features, special focus is placed on results. Your customers don’t care about things behind the scenes, they just want to know what added value your product gives them.
Create a plan
We cannot talk about how to market a product without having a road map plan. Without it it would feel like a wild ride without a map or GPS.
Fortunately, you have enough flexibility to create a plan that works for your company and product. Here are some questions that may guide you in the process of creating your plan
#. What are your goals for revenue? Over what amount of time?
#. What is the maximum amount of your investment?
#. How many products do you need to sell to achieve your goal?
#. Is this the kind of product that customers will buy in multiples?
#. Do you have existing customers interested in offering this product?
#. What are the biggest challenges you face in convincing customers to buy this product?
#. What steps will you take to overcome these challenges?
With this thinking applied, you can begin to develop different tactics and strategies to get your product to market.
Remember that you need to be flexible. Launching a new product is a learning process, and your plan may require some tweaks (or even major changes!) along the way.
Prepare for awareness
Imagine that your doorbell has rung. You go to open the door, and you find a salesman standing there with a vacuum cleaner, and then he says, “This vacuum cleaner is amazing, you should buy it.”
What are you going to do? Maybe you’ll close the door in his face.
As a business, you are well aware of all the benefits and advantages that your own product has to offer. But your customers will not have the same knowledge immediately after seeing your new product.
Any new product launch requires a high degree of customer awareness in order to be successful. You need to help your customers understand not only what your product is, but why they need it in their lives. So how do you do this?
By creating various educational tools that your clients can rely on. These can include things:
# A short explainer video on your website or on social media.
# A blog post that walks them through how your product works.
# An FAQ page that answers common questions potential clients ask.
# A free trial that gives them access to your product (if applicable) so they can learn by doing.
# A dedicated person to answer customer questions and provide tutorials.
# There are plenty of other things you can do. But it is important to remember that you absolutely need to educate your customers.
When companies blindly assume that their potential customers are well-informed about a product and simply choose between brands, they shift from a learning-focused mindset to a competitive one. As Marc Quinn explains in an article for Business Insider: “A smart consumer will choose to buy from a company that makes them aware of the issue.” And offers multiple solutions to it. This will build trust and enhance customer loyalty.”
Promotion, promotion and then more promotion
All of this ground work is important. But you are probably wondering: when can you actually promote your product? When will you start attracting more people?
Promotion is a major part of launching your new product. However, your promotional efforts will fall on deaf ears if you don’t take the time to understand it first. Then you can start covering your target market with news of your new product. There are many different ways to do this:
# Targeted social media ads
# Posting on websites related to the project field
# Benefit from influencers who belong to the same field
# Attending conferences or giving lectures
How can you ensure that your marketing messages actually reach the consumer? Try some of these techniques:
# Use testimonials from your existing, happy clients. Social proof is huge, and 88% of consumers trust online reviews as much as they trust personal recommendations.
# Use stats and numbers.
Learn what works
Unfortunately, not everything you do will be effective. Some of your marketing efforts will result in huge returns, while others will look like a complete flop with your consumer base. But this is really normal especially when you are just starting to market your product.
What you have to do is not drain your energy and time on initiatives that do not move you forward. Be sure to schedule some time to look at your results and analytics and determine how your efforts resonate.
# What really works well?
# What is not working well?
# What adjustments need to be made to continue moving forward?
By taking an outside perspective on the things you do, you will continue to learn what is most effective for your product and target market getting you closer to a successful product management strategy.
Repeat what works well
Do you expect the results of the sports diet in the morning after the first day? No! This same rule applies to the way a product is marketed.
You probably won’t see results after doing things once. Posting a single update on social media will not lead to an influx of sales. Crafting a single blog post won’t clutter your email with inquiries from eager customers.
The secret to successful marketing is to maintain consistency and as we just mentioned repeat what works well.
Ashley Davis said in a post to Skyline Social: “When you work in marketing, you are right to say that it will not work. But not because this marketing channel is not suitable for your business, but usually because you have not maintained it long enough.”
According to Davis, “The companies that achieve the best results (in terms of increasing both leads and sales) are the ones that are consistent in their marketing.” “They regularly send clear and consistent messages to potential customers. Not just for weeks or months, but for years.”
So while you may be eager to launch your new product, remember that success does not depend on an individual strategy. Rather, a successful product will require a large dose of patience and a real investment of your time and effort.
a summary
Marketing a product is the process by which a company introduces a product to the market. Being a product marketer (or product marketing manager) means that you’re at the heart of your company’s marketing, sales, and product teams.
You are an integral part of the success of your product, as you act as a link between the product, the company, and the customer, and you seek that all these departments are in constant harmony. Therefore, start developing the latest marketing strategy for your product to ensure its success among the target audience and customers.