Launching A Product On A Limited Budget

Entrepreneurs, from Small Medium Enterprises (SMEs) to large-scale corporations, must always remember that innovation is the key to surviving for a long time in the market, especially in a competitive one. They must continuously be able to change and redesign old products, or introduce a newer one. This is now where the challenging part starts. In introducing something new, you have to ask yourself a few questions: Will the long-time consumers buy this new product? Will they trust my services? Will I have repeat customers? Will they be willing to sacrifice money to try something from an unknown vendor? Will I even be able to attract any customers at all? The answer for all of this is no, unless you can advertise it effectively in its initial release on the market. Here are some tips you can follow in launching something new from your company:

Actively advertise. Something big is happening soon; something new. Nothing is harder in marketing than marketing new products or services, especially for newcomers. Old companies have a leverage because people already trust their ability to produce quality items, but how about for the newbies that no one has heard of before? The first step in launching your name and product on the map is active advertising. You will have to exert tremendous amount of effort in posting online ads, answering inquiries, and attempting to entice everyone into buying your product, or availing your services. When someone is asking something about your new product on your social media page, make sure to engage professionally and promptly. This is the first step in showing the people that they can trust your business.

Invite influencers. Do you need brand ambassadors but simply lack the funds for it? Do you wish to get TV stars to put a good word for your business? Influencers do well for the business, especially when they tell their fans about it. There are many kinds of influencers but the most affordable out there are leading bloggers. To give you the mental picture, good blog sites appear on the first page of google search results because they have solid fanbase or readers that visit their blogs often and value the bloggers’ insights. This means that whenever a blogger would post positive feedbacks regarding a product/service he has just received, his readers would also consider getting the same. Therefore, if you will be able to satisfy these influencers, they will be the one to voluntarily market your business by making a good review. Be careful though, because influencers can influence their market in different ways. They can make you, just as how they can break you with a bad review.

Give out promos and discounts. Initial launching of products is very challenging especially if your product is something that is different from the usual form. The main challenge for this is landing the first satisfied customers; and what easier way to do this than by offering opening promos and discounts? Sure, the company might be barely recovering costs in giving the promo by doing so, but this gives a margin of safety for early adopters so that they are compensated for the risks of an untried product. Discounts tell people that if they try your product and become dissatisfied, they would not have spent too much, having availed of it at discounted price.

Do an act that the media cannot simply pass on. You probably are aware of people attempting to (and often) succeeding on beating a world record on something like the biggest burger made or the tallest cake? Sure enough, stores that perform stunts like that do not intend to sell burgers that big as an ordinary product. They most likely won’t even sell it at all. You see, these activities are not made to get a title or certificate from an organization. It’s all about the media buzz. This is effective for both startups and long-time players. If you are launching a new store, what better way to put your name on the map than being the one to beat a world record? If you want to put your company’s name on the map, be creative in coming up with a sensational event that people will talk about. This way, you can promote not only your products or services, but also your business name and identity.

Smaller companies must learn to think smart when launching a new product or service. Remember to capitalize on your unique strengths and not to go head on against giant companies with more resources. Your objective is not just to tell people that you have something new, but to invite, entice, and encourage them to try out and accept your new product. If you are attempting to introduce a radical innovation, show them how reliable your product is to assuage their fears. Think of product launching as the first step in successfully marketing your product and business.

*Originally published by the Manila Bulletin. C-6, Sunday, November 8, 2015. Written by Ruben Anlacan, Jr. (President, BusinessCoach, Inc.) All rights reserved. May not be reproduced or copied without express written permission of the copyright holders.