The move to remote work and online shopping has led to a boom in new products and services. Now, it’s up to digital marketing teams to get the word out.
Sales managers know every challenge presents an opportunity. This truism played out when the world made the shift to online living and brands responded by launching new products and services that wouldn’t otherwise have existed.
Now that we’re living in hybrid times, that creativity and bold thinking continues. In some ways, the pandemic proved what successful brands have always known: if you want to grow sales, it’s essential to launch new products. According to research from McKinsey, “more than 25 per cent of total revenue and profits across industries comes from the launch of new products.”
While developing a great product your target audience wants or needs is the top priority, this will only get you so far. In 2023, a strong digital marketing strategy is critical to ensure people know about your new product or service.
With so many online channels and easy access to information, it’s hard to know where to start. In all cases, it will depend on what you’re selling, your target audience and where they choose to spend their time online and off.
Five ways to effectively promote a new product or service
Understand the content your target audience wants
This is about knowing your customers, their pain points and their buying journey – awareness, consideration and decision. Think about your marketing strategy as a way of helping customers move through each stage of the journey. Then build a buyer persona for your ideal customer.
A buyer persona is a fictionalized version of your target shoppers based on research. It describes who they are, what they want, their challenges, their interests and how they make decisions. Use these buyer personas to personalize your outreach – something that customers demand in today’s market.
Fast fact: 66 per cent of customers expect companies to understand their needs and expectations.
Create a Google My Business page
Google My Business (GMB) is a free business profile that shows up on Google Search and Maps. It includes the name of your business, location and category. It may also include other information Google has indexed from across the internet.
There are a few ways to promote new products on GMB:
- Go to the posts tab on your dashboard and create an “offer” or “what’s new” post to announce new products and introductory offers. Be sure to include a photo and call to action.
- Go to the photos tab and upload photos of your new products to your GMB profile.
- Add new products to the products/services tab.
- Post frequently asked questions about the new product on the Q&A section of your GMB account.
Implement an email marketing campaign
Eighty two per cent of consumers open emails from businesses and 76 per cent of email subscribers have purchased products promoted in email marketing. Those are numbers you can’t ignore.
Use ideal customer profiles and buyer personas to segment your email audience based on what’s relevant to your business. This can include purchase history, interests, demographics and where they are on their buying journey. Once you know who will be receiving your emails, create promotional content they will appreciate. This can include things like exclusive offers, a series of emails to build anticipation and a personalized video.
Tip: Evite existing customers and people who have shown interest in products on your website and social media channels to register for a regular newsletter and new product announcements.
Put your social channels to work
Showing up where your existing and target customers are is a powerful way to build excitement for new products. This can take many forms:
- Writing blog posts explaining the key features of the new product and how it can make life better.
- Creating shoppable videos that allow users to click on products and be directed to where they can buy them.
- Developing training and demonstration videos to help people experience products.
- Promoting online and in-store sales.
- Hosting an online event. For example, Facebook provides a one-stop shop where you can create, market, host and even collect payment for online events. These events can take many forms, including product releases.
Tip: Instagram has more than 2 billion active monthly users and half are using the site to discover new brands, products and services. With 91 per cent of active Instagram users watching videos each week, the platform has a range of features to highlight visual content, including Instagram reels, IGVTs, live videos, stories and photo/video posts. You can use any or all of these to promote new products.
Reward existing customers and entice new ones
As a sales manager, the goal is to turn shoppers into loyal customers and ultimately champions of your brand. One way to do this is to use the launch of new products to enhance your relationship with existing customers by bringing them into your promotion and marketing strategy. Create a prelaunch opportunity to give your best customers a first look/demo of your product. Encourage them to review it and post about it. It’s a powerful way to show them they are valued while getting the word out about your new product.
Turn your target audience into customers by introducing new products with a special offer just for them. This can include exclusive first-time customer pricing, buy-one get-one free offers, an additional gift or bonus points in your loyalty program.
Launching new products is essential to grow sales, but this can only happen if people know and are excited about these products. Developing a thoughtful promotion strategy is the best way to build awareness and interest in new products with your target audience.
