Few business owners would argue that a key component for launching a product or service is marketing. However, there is a bit of a chicken / egg aspect to creating marketing for a launch, since you probably have made a lot of assumptions during the process.
You can take educated guesses about what your customer wants, but until they actually engage with your product or service, you don’t know for sure.
Have you correctly identified your customer’s needs? Have you tapped into their emotions to trigger a purchase? It’s likely that you got some of it right and will need to adjust some things.
As I have been thinking about this post, there are some marketing components that many companies seem to get wrong. As you’re evaluating your launch, you might want to check for any of these.
Vague language
What is your thing and who is it for? If you don’t nail this, your launch is unlikely to be successful.
How many times have you read marketing for technology or services and found yourself wondering what the heck this product or service actually did?
Jargon can have people blank out. Industry outsiders might have no idea what you’re talking about.
Err on the side of plain language. If you’ve been in the industry too long, show your copy to someone who is in a different industry and ask them if they understand what you’re talking about. If they don’t, explain it to them and then use that language to ensure that everyone understands what you’re selling.
Poor placement
Have you left delicious messaging breadcrumbs in places where your ideal customers might find them?
And, have you left enough of the right kind of messaging?
The best copy in the world won’t convert unless your ideal customers see it.
Sometime online is the right place, and sometimes flyers and handouts are called for. Where would your customers look for information?
Not checking on your checkout
Someone has decided to buy your thing! That’s fantastic. However, some issues with your technology leave your customer frustrated and unable to complete their purchase. They abandon their cart and you lose the sale.
Make sure you walk through your entire checkout process to ensure your customers can actually pay you!
Endless upsells
Don’t beat your new customer over the head with endless upsells once they have decided to purchase something. So many times I have regretted making a purchase by having to click through more and more desperate-sounding special offers that I will never see again if I don’t pay an additional $97 or $297 RIGHT NOW!
Sometimes these offers make sense and a customer might want them, but more often they sound like Chicken Little yelling, “The sky is falling! The sky is falling!”
Awkward onboarding
I had the worst experience with a well-respected web development platform. The links in the email to set up my profile didn’t work. They didn’t send me a temporary password to get started. They didn’t have any quick videos to acquaint me with their setup process. So unprofessional.
And this was a big company that should know better!
You need to show your new customers some love and support. Please don’t antagonize them. Help them become happy customers who refer people to you.
As you can see, a good marketing launch is about knowing your customer, focusing your marketing on their needs, making it easy for them to pay you, and showing them some love when they do.
