How do you create a marketing plan to promote your brand's new item (Checklist) |
Your strategy for marketing could be the difference between stellar sales and a flop launch. Make a plan of marketing for the launch of your brand using this list.
An intelligent person once said, "By failing to prepare, you are preparing for failure."
In the case of launching an innovative digital product we can't be more in agreement.
For help in setting yourself to be successful to achieve your goals, we've created a six-point checklist for building your plan for marketing. Follow these steps to create a marketing roadmap you can use for every new launch of your product.
Checklist for marketing plans to launch products
You can download a PDF copy of the list here .
Step 1: Establish objectives for the launch of your new product.
It is possible to have the largest marketing budget, and most expensive devices, but until you establish goals your plan for marketing will be like a boat that has no rudder, i.e. directionless.
Marketers have a poor habit of establishing undefined objectives. We can say things such as "make the most profits" and "drive involvement" without really digging into how achieving those goals will look like.
Why do we do that? It's because it's hard to recommend specific universal marketing goals or ways to gauge success. Each creator is different and has their own Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) in line with the goals they have set for themselves.
The setting of goals that are unique to your company, brand as well as your product may aid in deciding which metrics to track prior to the launch.
If, for instance, you are trying to gather the sign-ups to your pre-launch for your brand new online class, you could monitor the amount of website people who sign up to receive your pre-launch email updates.
In contrast If your aim is to gain new customers by using advertising on social media platforms You would be able to track how many people are clicking on the Facebook advertisements, and the percentage of people then buy your product.
For setting the appropriate objectives for your business plan, we recommend the Goal framework SMART.
By using the SMART goal framework, design your goals to meet five criteria:
Specific: Create specific goals which narrow down specific areas of your company.
It is measurable: Make sure that you are able to quantify your goals and monitor the progress you make.
Achievable:It's fun to dream of the big picture, however goals with no concrete targets could quickly turn into a demotivating experience. Keep your goal challenging but feasible.
Relevant: Check that your objective is in line with your values, brand and business objectives.
Time-bound:Give you a reasonable timeframe to reach your goal. Deadlines are a way to hold ourselves accountable. They provide us with a timeframe that we can work toward.
It could be: "By adding a pre-launch landing page on my site, I will collect 100 pre-launch emails prior to the launch date next month."
With specific metrics in mind and a realistic target with a strategy to get there You can set yourself up for a successful launch. The way you design your action plan as will depend on a range of factors -- including your target audience.
Step 2: Define your target audience
The answer is as crucial when preparing for introduction of a brand new product.
The reason is that you can't promote your product effectively if you don't know who you're marketing to.
Your target audience is the group of potential buyers you're planning to sell your products or services to. To ensure that your marketing is efficient, you need to learn about your prospective customers as people, not just demographics.
That's where buyer personas come into.
Content marketing consultant Amy Wright explains : "Buyer personas describe who you would like to be your customers and what their day-to-day lives are like, the challenges they confront, and the way they decide."
The buyer's persona could look like this example for one Spotify's customers who are targeted by the company:
Check out forums, online communities and read reviews on products that are in your field. Ask yourself:
What do my potential clients talking about on the internet?
What are the challenges they have to face?
What are their goals?
What do they value?
Which language are they using?
If you understand what your target audience thinks, it will help you present the reason why your latest product will be a perfect fit for them.
Your target audience is eager to discuss their thoughts and suggestions with your. 64% of customers are looking for brands to engage with them, and 90% of consumers are more positive perception of businesses who seek feedback.
In the event that you start discussions in your own brand community it helps you build relationships and bonds over values that are shared. You will get to know your customers more personally, which helps in creating marketing content that is a hit with them.
One great example of learning about your customers is via Tiffany Williams, founder of Rich Girl Collective .
( allows creators such as Tiffany to establish community-based brands, interact with their audience and even sell digital goods on one platform. Test it to see if you like it with a no-cost 14-day trial. )
The more effectively you get to know the people you want to reach and the better you are able to adapt your advertising to the needs of your audience and demonstrate what your product can do to assist them in achieving their goals. It's important to know this information to proceed with the next phase.
Step 3: Establish your unique selling proposition (USP)
Once you've figured out all the details of the issues of your intended audience's, needs, and goals, you can determine your unique selling point (USP).
Beginning with the outcome you'd like to give to your client, and then go in reverse to figure out what your product does to achieve that outcome. That's your USP.
Your USP, also called your value proposition will answer two of the following questions:
What is the problem my product can solve for my customers?
What makes my product different in comparison to my competition?
When you define your USP by stating the product's ability to help your audience meet their goals or overcome the real obstacles. That's the most important aspect of a successful product launch. 35% of startup are unsuccessful due to a lack of requirement for their product or products or.
Also, there's no fit between your product and market. The measure of your product's market fit is what you can do to ensure that your product will meet customer demand. Your USP pinpoints that product-market fit and explains what sets your business apart from others and entices potential buyers to select your company.
If you aren't sure the factors that make your product stand in the market, do some market research and learn about the competition.
Are there any pain points which your competition doesn't solve? What do you offer different? It could be that you have a class with more visual lessons than other courses on the same topic and perhaps your knowledge offers a unique perspective from other creators within your field.
Your USP will also assist you in figuring out how to market your product.
Take Death Wish Coffee as an example. The majority of coffee brands emphasize features such as flavor or smoothness however, Death Wish has a distinctive method of describing "the world's strongest coffee".
Death Wish knows that their ideal customer wants extra-strong high-quality, strong coffee. So their marketing messaging highlights this distinct feature. Their USP isn't likely to appeal to everyone who drinks coffee however, it reveals what makes them unique and focuses on their market.
All in all, when you understand what makes your product special You can emphasize that in your messaging. Use the same language that your intended audience is using in discussing their issues points. Your message will be a hit with those who are your ideal customers.
You're nearly ready to share that messaging to the world But first we must ensure that you can do it without spending a dime.
Step 4: Determine your marketing budget
As a creator, you probably don't have the budget to pay for an outbound sales team as well as an in-house marketing team but that's fine. You must decide what you could afford to spend on marketing prior to launching ads or commissioning your designs.
It's good to know that you don't have to spend the resources of a 6-figure marketing budget in order to implement a winning strategy. Actually, more than one-third of small-sized businesses are spending less than $10,000 on advertising each year.
As you figure out your budget, you might want to allocate money to costs like:
Software and tools to create contents, connect with your followers, and manage campaigns.
freelancers such as writers, graphic artists, video editors, and web designers.
Paid advertising, such as sponsored content such as paid search ads and social media ads. (We'll discuss more on paid social advertisements in the next section.)
Once you have your budget set, you're ready to move on to step five and pick the most appropriate marketing platform for the launch of your new product.
Step 5: Select your marketing channels
Different tactics resonate with different audiences, and not every platform can be used by every creator, budget, and product.
Additionally, there are many more online marketing channels out there than any individual creator can tackle by themselves, which is why it's crucial to choose the right ones for you and your customers.
Here are a few of the most popular channels to take into consideration when putting together your marketing plan.
Email marketing
Marketing via email is an essential element in any digital marketing strategy. It is estimated that over 4 billion people are expected to use email this year. They will send around 320 billion emails per daily.
Both customers and marketers love emails. Customers and marketers alike love it. 73% of consumers consider email to be their top channel for advertising messages. 59 percent of marketers mentioned email as their top source of ROI in 2018.
Email can also be a cost-effective alternative for small-sized businesses that have a tight marketing budget. It costs around $42 for each dollar spent Email is one of the most lucrative return on investment (ROI) in any marketing method.
Here are some resources to help you grow your email lists, pick an email platform, and get the most out of email marketing.
Social media marketing
Social media marketing is best when you mix the organic and paid strategies. Social media marketing that is organic allows you to interact with your community and potential clients, while paid advertisements on social networks help you gain the attention of your customers.
For generating buzz around the new item, Twitter is a solid option. In one instance, a designer and marketing expert John D Saunders utilized a video on Twitter to launch a new online course:
John's YouTube video was a way to let the audience understand what to anticipate from the training and received high-engagement by retweeting 30+ times and over 200 likes.
On the paid social side Ultra-specific targeting tools can allow you to reach the right people faster than what organic advertising could. In excess of 60% of marketers say that paid social media ads have been at least somewhat efficient for their company.
Facebook advertisements are a low-cost option for small-scale businesses as well as solopreneurs who want to put their latest items placed in front of a bigger market. As an example, business trainer Melyssa Griffin utilized this video ad to promote her Pinterest course for bloggers.
When the correct audience segmentation set up, Facebook ads like Melyssa's can result in digital revenue for creators.
These are additional sources to help you master social media marketing:
Marketing content
Content marketing cost 62% less and generates greater than three times the leads as traditional marketing. It's a cost-effective method to connect with your target audience and establish your knowledge and develop relationships with potential clients.
The ideal readers will find your blog's contents through search or other distribution channels.
They gain knowledge from your writings and then begin to trust your knowledge.
They sign up for your mailing list, or they follow them on social media.
You keep them updated about your product launch.
They're excited to buy your brand new product, be supportive of you, and continue to benefit from your expertise.
The trick is creating blog posts with real value not simply longform product advertisement copy.
It is important to compose your blog content in a way that is search engine optimized (SEO) with SEO in mind. SEO makes it easier for the people you want to reach your site when they search for relevant keywords and phrases. It's the reason more than 64 percent of marketers actively invest time in SEO.
These are a few sources to assist you in establishing SEO and Content Marketing:
Web site and landing pages
Imagine this: your launch marketing strategy is going as planned.
Potential customers are flocking to your website, ready to learn more about your products, sign up for pre-launch updates, and eventually buy. You need to create an effective landing page to make the effort you put into it be worth it.
Testing your ideas for products.
Create your list of emails in the lead up to the day of your launch.
On your pre-launch landing page provide a quick description of your product, and explain why they should sign up for more information and to be informed when your product launches.
Check out Nicole Saidy's product description of her online class, Become a UI/UX Designer .
Nicole is aware that the process of transitioning into user experience design could be overwhelming -- but she's here to help. She assists her customers to find out if the service is the right one for them through addressing the issues they face.
Here are some additional sources for creating page designs and landing pages that bring in sales:
Once you've selected your marketing channels it's easy to think that you've reached the end of the checklist. However, there's a crucial step to make the most out of your launch marketing, and to set yourself up for successright now, and throughout the several product launches that are to follow.
Step 6: Record your progress and continue to track
The sixth and last step, tracking your results and iterating on your marketing, is much more of a continual process than a checklist task.
During and after the launch of your product, review the objectives you defined at the beginning of step. If you're not achieving your objectives, then you'll have the chance to gain knowledge and adjust for the next time or even refresh your marketing strategies.
As an example, say your email marketing campaigns don't perform as you'd hoped. Your open and click-through rate is lower than what you'd like them to be however, you have time to make changes prior to the day of launch. You may want to do some A/B tests .
A/B testing (or split testing) is the process of changing various elements of your emails one at a given time, and then watching how these changes affect the effectiveness of your emails.
If you were to test A/B various subject lines, such as your clients would receive identical emails with the exception of the subject line. When you compare the open rates, you will see which subject line performs best, and use that knowledge in future email campaigns.
In the end, keep in mind to try new things, and allowing yourself to make mistakes can help you grow as a creator.
Perhaps you realize that a certain marketing channel may not be the best fit for your business or audience. This is valuable data to incorporate to the next phase of your product launch plan.
"Experiment! It's challenging to figure out what to do online marketing, and each group of possible customers is a bit different. Therefore, you'll need to test to find out what's effective (and which ones aren't). With everything you do think about, evaluate and tweak your methods to enhance them. There's no one magic bullet here!"
"To be successful in running a company, you must first get comfortable running an unsuccessful business, because most of the time the success will come later."
Within the Startup Curve , invented by Y Combinator founder Paul Graham , failure is an inevitable phase. It happens right before your business starts heading upward toward growing and scaling.
The bottom line is:
Be open to experimenting on your marketing strategies to determine which strategy is most effective for you as a brand, your product, as well as your target audience. By keeping your goal in mind and a little perseverance, you'll be on your way to an effective launch strategy that you can implement for several product launches that are to come.
Craft a go-to-market plan for the launch's success
You've put in the effort to make an item that people will appreciate. A well-crafted marketing strategy will help all that effort pay off on time for the launch.
In case you're wondering, here's the steps needed to develop a marketing plan to launch your new product:
Create SMART goals for the launch of your product. Determine what a successful launch means for you and the metrics you'll track.
Set your goals for the audience you want to target and learn about them as people, not just demographics. Do some research on your customers and speak with them in order to find out more about their challenges and goals.
Establish your unique selling proposition (USP). What are the factors that make your product or service most suitable for your ideal customer? How can you differentiate yourself from your competitors?
Determine your marketing budget. It's not necessary to pay an arm and a leg to develop a campaign for marketing that boosts sales.
Choose your preferred marketing channel. Marketing via email is essential However, there's several other channels out there to choose from. Determine which platforms are compatible with your goals and audience.
Monitor your performance and keep iterating on your marketing strategy. The more you learn about your customers, the more successful your subsequent product launch marketing plan will be.
Be aware that you may not get it 100% right initially, and that's okay. There will be some trial and error, until you've found what works for you and your customers, you'll be a product marketer with launches day sales to prove that it.