Launch Your Product with Confidence: Avoid 8 Common Mistakes.

Launch Your Product with Confidence: Avoid 8 Common Mistakes.

by | Blog, Project Management

Launch Your Product with Confidence: Avoid 8 Common Mistakes. #seo #productlaunch

Introducing your product to the world doesn’t have to be daunting or expensive. All you need is a well-organized plan, a step-by-step approach, and an understanding that small hiccups are a normal part of the process. Here are 8 common product launch mistakes and how to avoid them.

Disorganized planning

The first and most crucial stage of a launch is organization. Start by mapping out your project from start to finish, and creating a timeline for each step. Don’t rush this process; give yourself ample time to plan before moving on to the next step.

Schedule enough time for the launch

It’s natural to feel excited and eager to launch your product as soon as possible. However, don’t rush through the process. Allow yourself at least three months before launching. As you plan, you’ll understand why haste is not advisable, given the many moving parts. Launching too early can lead to stress and mistakes.

Identify your Ideal customer

By now, you should have a clear understanding of your ideal customer. Use this to create an ideal customer profile. This will enable you to focus your efforts on the clients most likely to use and purchase your product.

Focus on the end result.

While it’s tempting to showcase all the new features of your product, remember that customers are most interested in how it improves their lives. The end result is what will ultimately persuade them to buy your product.

Cost-effective advertising

Advertising can be pricey, but there are alternatives. Generate useful content for your audience and share it on social media and the web. Many people search online for new products, so make sure they can easily navigate to and browse your website.

Get to know your audience better

You may think you know your followers, but real insight comes from metrics and feedback. Use this data to better understand your audience’s wants and needs.

Don’t go it alone

With so many moving parts in a launch, consider enlisting a launch strategist. Their expertise could save you time and prove invaluable.

Collect feedback post-launch

So, you launched your product a couple of weeks ago, and everything went smoothly. But don’t assume everyone was impressed. Gather metrics and feedback to understand the real impact of your launch. Reach out to your audience to find out if they enjoyed your product but would prefer slight adjustments to certain features.

Hope you find these tips helpful! The more often you launch, the more tricks you’ll pick up in key areas and before you know it, you’ll be a pro.

If you want to learn more about launching a successful product, click here to schedule a call with me.

Steps for a successful launch

Steps for a successful launch

by | Blog, Project Management

Launching a program or product for the first time is an exciting step in your business. As a core component of your overall business strategy, it deserves the same level of commitment, planning, and attention-to-detail that you invested in creating the product (or program) itself. In fact, the launch itself could be the sole factor in determining your overall success. Some entrepreneurs have lamented that launch planning takes more time than creating the product itself!  Because the launch is so important, we’ve broken down the process into four critical steps. Follow these steps, and you’re on track to a successful launch.

Determine your launch plan.

The first thing you need to do is understand the scope of your launch project. Every new product or program launch requires a buzz in order to attract early adopters. Questions you’ll need to ask yourself, in order to generate that buzz, include:

·       Who is my target market and what sort of content will resonate with those prospects best?

·       What resources will I need?

·       Which part of my marketing funnel will I target?

·       Which key performance indicators will impact my business the most?

Telesummits are a prominent way to boost your brand. With a telesummit, you can assemble an innovative panel of thought-leaders and industry experts to help you drive your brand’s credibility, visibility, and the curiosity of your target audience. This is an incredibly effective way to reach a broader audience, gather more prospects, and get people talking.

Define clear goals and objectives.

Once you’ve established a launch plan, it’s time to determine the metrics you’ll use to measure your success. Clearly defining your launch goals ensures that everyone on your team is working towards your desired outcome. Good goals are specific, measurable, have actionable steps, and a defined time-frame. Types of goals you may want to consider:

·       Sales goals

·       Prospect goals

·       Product awareness goals

·       Customer goals

If you’re unsure which goals you should be pursuing, your best bet is to start with the end in mind and work your way backward. For example, if you’re attempting to determine a prospect goal, you would look at your desired revenue, determine the number of customers required to achieve that revenue, then, using your past sales, determine the number of prospects you’d need to reach to achieve the “win rate” you’re seeking. Once this has been established, you’ll create an appropriate way to measure the goal.

Outline a support plan and secure resources. 

After your goal planning is complete, it’s incredibly common to come to the realization that you’ll need additional assistance to execute properly. Assess your current team based on your launch plan and your goals then determine whether they have the skills and time to execute your plan flawlessly. If that’s not the case, now is the time to begin delegating and outsourcing work. If you’re feeling low in confidence, don’t be afraid to hire a launch consultant to guide you through the process. Project Managers can be another helpful resource that allows you to focus on the work you do best while ensuring that the launch process flows smoothly. It’s also a great idea to consider having freelancers on standby, should you need help on short notice. A virtual assistant, copywriter, graphic designer, or other freelancer can help you ensure that you meet deadlines without having to do everything yourself.

Create a promotion strategy. 

How you present your program launch depends on your target audience as well as your product type. There are a variety of ways to get your message across, and often the best promotions present information to your audience using various platforms and channels. If you have an audience that is seeking more details than a simple ad campaign or video can provide, telesummits are an ideal medium to add to your strategy. Virtual summits provide your audience with an opportunity to engage with your brand and its promoters. They also provide you with a platform to gather additional information from your audience via surveys, social listening, or direct conversations. These types of “audience-centered” activities allow you to tailor your messaging and strategy directly to your target market, which in turn fosters more conversions.

Launching a product or program is a serious but exciting endeavor. It requires commitment, hard work, planning and dedication if you’re intent on reaching your goals. To avoid becoming overwhelmed, you’ll want to ensure that you fully understand the scope of the work before you dive into your launch. When you’re able to approach the launch in a calculated manner, you provide yourself with the stability of knowing what to expect, when to expect it. As a successful entrepreneur who has created a stellar product or program, you’ve already got what it takes! It’s also important to realize that you don’t have to bear the weight of the entire launch process by yourself. If you’re interested in exploring a telesummit as part of your strategy, schedule a free consultation with us. We’d love to help you reach your launch goals and share the successes we’ve had with others. Happy planning and launch day!

It’s A Hit! Attracting The Most Amount Of Buzz Around Your Latest Product

It’s A Hit! Attracting The Most Amount Of Buzz Around Your Latest Product

by | Blog, Contributed Post, Project Management

*Contributed Post

Buzz! Excitement! Activity! All these action words are what we want out of a new product launch. When launching a new product, you need to ensure you’re hitting the ground running. This can be very difficult when you have limited resources, but every coltish business that has very little by way of finances has to make the most of what they’ve got. And if you are looking at creating a lot of excitement, you need to gather that buzz as soon as possible. So, what are the best ways to generate excitement when you are launching a new product?

Hitting The Trade Shows

Trade shows are, yes, and expect that you may not think it’s feasible. But the amount of buzz and excitement you can get from launching your product onto the general public and clients is insurmountable. Because you can get visceral, immediate reactions, you can capitalize on this. By making it an event, you are going to get far more interest than by launching it quietly, or going through your standard channels. You should take advantage of trade shows so you can entice new markets.

Hitting Up The Influencers

Of course, it’s not what you know, it’s who you know. A lot of people don’t go and buy a product because you tell them too. They want the proof, and the best way to ensure that you are trustworthy and are providing a good service is to align yourself with influences. You may have tried the traditional advertising approaches, but if this doesn’t translate into sales you’ve got to get the right recommendations. So if you’ve got a blog that’s bringing in some traffic, by aligning yourself with an influencer in your industry, you are going to get that extra bit of credibility.

Hitting Those Keys

And never forget the old-fashioned approaches, from social media to email marketing. Consider this as the undercurrents that are continually ticking over. While you are making big attacks in key market areas, you should still have a consistent and reliable social media and email marketing approach to help bring new customers on board. In this respect, if you anticipate people are going to swamp your site, ensure you have the adequate business cloud solutions in place, because if it gets to the point that your website gains huge traction, and products are flying off the digital shelves, you have to cope with this buzz. Yes, it’s something that everybody does, but this is because it’s such a fundamental part of every company’s advertising strategy now. A new product is a simple way to re-capture the imagination of your current audience, and bring new people on board also. Social media marketing is probably one of the most important processes now, but never neglect your email marketing.

Because buzz and excitement can be generated by a few simple clicks of the mouse, it’s best for you to encourage the online and offline interest equally. While email marketing and social media, as well as influencers, can do a lot more for your business than the real world in some scenarios, you still have to pick up the pieces with the tangible aspects, such as trade shows.

5 Tips To Launch A New Project Successfully

5 Tips To Launch A New Project Successfully

by | Blog, Project Management

As a small business owner, you are likely your own project manager! Especially in the beginning, many entrepreneurs start out as a one-man show.

Launching a new project can be daunting and is often the hardest part. Depending on the scope of your idea, it can seem complicated, overwhelming or intimidating.

A few simple outlined steps can really clarify your vision and make the task seem less scary. Here is the 5-step process I recommend when preparing to launch a new project:

  1. Do your homework. Have you ever tried to build IKEA furniture without reading the instructions? It usually ends badly! Take the time to do your research so you can launch your project successfully the first time. Do digging on numbers, projections, other companies who have done similar projects, read articles, etc. Don’t spend forever on this step, but budget an hour or two each day leading up to launch.
  • Set up a clear and focused plan. Write down WHY you are doing this project and WHERE it will take your company. Make sure the destination/outcome is worth all the energy you and your team put into it. Keep the plan simple and focused, with a solid roadmap of how you will get from start to finish. Include DATES of when things will happen.
  • Build the project team or acquire training. Choose exactly who you want to be working on this project with you. This may look like picking people from your team with the most experience or talent relating to the project or bringing on a contractor. Utilizing people with expertise in project launching can make or break your bottom line! If you choose to go at it alone, get the necessary training so that you feel confident about what you’re doing.

If you’re looking for the launch manager to help you launch a new project, let’s chat. I specialize in making your project launch run smooth, successful and profitable! Click HERE to schedule a call.

  • Communicate expectations clearly and effectively. A great team can only do their job well if they know exactly what it is! Make sure to be clear and effective when communicating what you want. Be present and available for questions and suggestions. Your goals for the project should be crystal clear and the expectations you have for each member laid out in a way that is easy to understand. Also, make sure everyone knows how and where to communicate about details of the project. This could be through email, a project platform, a work-based chat group, etc.
  • Trust the process. If you’ve done your best to research, set up a plan, build a team and create solid expectations, the next step is GO! You may not have all the answers and it may be frightening, but in order to push forward you’ve got to set sail. You can tweak and adjust as needed throughout the project journey.

I hope this helps you feel more confident about launching new projects in your business! If you want more information or need help with the technical aspects of your project, I have some openings on my calendar this week for consultations. Let’s see how we can get your project running the most effectively so you can gain maximum profit!

Book a call with me HERE.

Have a great week!
Robyn