Top five truths to review before your marketing launch

Recently I had the privilege of speaking to a group of entrepreneurs and business leaders to share facts they needed to know for any marketing launch.

There is nothing better than speaking to a crowd to vet what matters most to real businesses launching real stuff. It was a great experience, and I look forward to giving the same presentation again.

Among the 50 facts I shared, there are perhaps five basics that are most important for launchers to understand. These can form the overlay for all your efforts to follow.

1. You should exercise the full power and the breadth of launch marketing.

If you can offer “something” and it’s worth offering at all, it’s probably also worth launching. This means that you can conduct a marketing launch not only for a new product or service, but also for your brand, your messaging and even your point of view and organizational changes.

2. Many companies give up marketing at the least indication that “it’s not working.” Yet if you keep on marketing, you are already one BIG step ahead of the game. Many times, it takes repeated exposures to a brand, product or idea before a prospect becomes a buyer. By giving up too soon, you fail to achieve that critical number of prospect touches.

3. On the other hand, if you don’t believe what you’re saying, don’t say it. Sometimes we’ve worked so hard on something that we feel we have to keep pushing it along, no matter what. Consider the principle of sunk costs. Peddling a bad concept? Selling a product that should be retired already? Adapt, pivot or drop it.

4. ROI is important… and you won’t always have the means to track it. Sure, it’s important to make sure you’re getting results. But there are some really great forms of marketing (media relations, speaking engagements and cause marketing are just three examples) with which you won’t always be able to quantify precisely the fruits of your efforts…especially not immediately. Don’t get caught up in bean counting. Do the marketing anyway.

5. Assure prospects that they are not about to make a mistake in dealing with you. People seldom buy what they can’t understand. Fear, uncertainty and doubt (FUD) kill the sale. Solving the problem of FUD makes the sale. Just remember, fear of regret is a very powerful anti-motivator.

Remember that basic wisdom - that which is most easily forgotten - can take you far.

Too late to launch? Not necessarily.

More often than you might imagine, customers ask our vSALaunch team if it is too late to launch (or relaunch) a product or service that has been on the market for a year or more - albeit languishing or not reaching its full potential.

Also more often than you might imagine, the answer is a resounding "NO, it is not too late". Here are a few basic questions that will aid in deciding if your offering merits a "the-right-time-is-now" launch:

-Have you promoted the product or service through advertising, media relations, trade show exposure or other broad outreach? For how long, how heavily, and with what reach?

-Is your offering unique, or is it in fact a "me too" product or service?

-Do you believe there is significant upside potential for sales growth?

-Have you reached out to every major market segment you can realistically expect to serve?

If there is untapped potential, consider your "the-right-time-is-now" launch. Your product or service launch can be as broad or as focused as needed, can address the sales messages that haven't yet reached your prospects and can capitalize on whatever degree of success you have built with your offering to date.

Nice to know that for once, time is on your side. Happy launch.

The nimble product launch

Make a plan and work the plan. We've all heard that guidance. Turns out that for today's product launches, what used to be smart is not so wise anymore, or at least not so simple.

Try instead: Learn from experience. Keep your eyes and mind open. Chart a course, then adjust as needed.


Today's best launches are conducted not by know-it-alls, but by savvy marketing advisors who have the wisdom to sail when and where the winds are fair, nudging the wheel where advantageous.

First may be the pre-launch phase in which the team builds a business case for the new product or service. Research, planning, validating that the product accomplishes the necessary goals, and making plans for sales and marketing all happen now.

Next, the soft launch: It's time to take the first steps. The team creates media relations/social media plans and starter materials, ads may be developed, a website readied and perhaps launched quietly, and sales force training and education conducted. The team agrees on how and when success will be measured, and on ways to chart the course once the launch becomes public.

And the main launch begins! Often, public relations leads the way, potentially with publicity, events, speakers, media relations, and more. The website must be up and running to serve as proof of concept and a point of reference. Support materials are available for the sales team. Advertising follows.

And it continues... Smart marketers continue the launch longer than they might emotionally feel is necessary. Remember, the fact that your team has been working on this launch for months or a year does not mean the public has been overexposed. The news is still news to them. Don't make the mistake of getting bored. Keep delivering.

And about nimble? Listen and learn from the response to your public relations, sales efforts and other outreach. Maybe there is an exciting product highlight you have underplayed. Perhaps there are objections you need to counter. Perhaps there are elements of the product that need to change. (Calling Phase 2!)

Through our vSALaunch service, our team has learned that a measured, smart, flexible approach to launch is a strong predictor for success. While we speak about your product or service, we continue to listen and watch for opportunities as well, whether for additional market segments, features that catch on more than anyone expected... and next-phase opportunities to stay steps ahead of the pack of competitors watching your every move.