Throughout my career, I’ve carried out many product launches. But over the last few months, while working on a product launch for a new client, I started thinking about how complicated some product launches can be. This doesn’t have to be the case, especially for your first product launch.
I recommend creating a playbook for your business outlining 3-4 product launch tiers and what each involves. Then, when you launch a product, you can specify which tier of product launch you will use, and everyone in your business will know what resources and strategies to use.
As each business is unique, each business’s product launch tiers will be different. The amount of resources and the types of strategies you assign to each tier are entirely up to you and will vary from business to business.
I’ll start by discussing what you need to do before launching your product. Then I’ll dive into the tiers, showing you how different types of product launches can be divided into 4 tiers. Finally, I’ll give you an idea of some strategies you can use within your product launches.
Before launching your product
1. Identify the purpose of the product
The type of product launch you do will depend on the purpose of the product you’re launching. Some products are made to be the hero product, attracting new customers to complete their first purchase. For these products, look into building acquisition funnels to introduce new customers to your brand and drive first sales.
However, acquisition products won’t be the only type of product you’ll be launching (hopefully). Retention products tend not to be bought on first order, but encourage customers to return for further purchases. These products are usually promoted less on paid channels and more through channels like email. Some products are made to increase the average order value (AOV). For example, you might launch accessories that will be popular as a cross sell alongside the hero product.
Additionally, you may launch a product knowing it won’t achieve huge commercial success, but it will help build your brand persona and add credibility. For example, HexClad is known for selling pots and pans, but wants to be recognised within the wider category of kitchenware. Therefore, they launched aprons and other kitchen accessories. These products may not generate as much revenue, but help build the brand narrative.
2. Define your KPI goals
Before launching any product, you need to know what your key performance indicator (KPI) goals are. Basically, ask yourself how you will know whether your product launch has been a success. Once you’ve identified these, you know which data to track to see if your launch is working and if it’s on target to meet your goals.
3. Understand the platform
Your strategy needs to be tailored to the platform(s) you are launching on. For instance, if you’re launching on Amazon, starting with ads might not be an effective approach because new profiles without reviews lack credibility, meaning your ads won’t be shown as highly.
A more effective approach on Amazon could be to use the Vine programme (if eligible). Through this programme, you can gift items in exchange for reviews, building your social proof and allowing you to start Amazon ads. Alongside social proof, you should also leverage A+ content to boost your conversion rate.
4. Find the right messaging
When planning your ad messaging, it’s important to focus your message around a single unique selling proposition (USP). If you have a couple of messages you think might work, it’s crucial to A/B test each one separately to understand what works best for your audience. Ensure you create different landing pages to match the different ad messaging when A/B testing.
5. Put your product out there
Sometimes you won’t know which strategies will work best for your product until you’ve launched your product onto the market. But you can’t launch your product and just hope people will randomly stumble across it. If you’re unsure which strategies will work best for your product, you need to decide on a couple of the best traffic-driving strategies to test and observe what your customers respond to.
6. Refine the product
Product quality is key. Therefore, as part of your product launch, you will want to gather customer feedback. Before launching, you’ll already have done user testing, but also having customer feedback will further identify any issues with your product and provide social proof that can be used in future marketing (if the launch is successful).
Tiers
Tier 1
If you’re doing a tier 1 launch, you’re going all out. You’ll be putting in the most time, money, and resources into the launch that you have available. You’ll be launching on all the channels you use, aiming to reach a wide audience from the start and gain significant traction in performance and sales. For example, you’ll likely be sending out an email campaign, promoting special offers, and running search, shopping, and social media ads, all directing potential customers to a dedicated landing page.
When conducting a tier 1 product launch, be aware that it can sometimes fail. Unless you’re a large business with the resources to take higher risks with your investment and the ability to deal with the complexities of a full, hard launch, you’re not going to want to be doing this all the time for all your new products. Instead, reserve this tier for launching new hero products, entering a new market with an existing product, or introducing significant changes or improvements to a current hero product.
Tier 2
If you want to carry out a larger product launch but find yourself constrained by limited resources or you would simply prefer not to invest the substantial amount required for a tier 1 launch, there are still viable options to achieve a significant impact. Rather than attempting to launch across all your channels, scale back slightly. You could launch on the majority of your channels, excluding those with typically lower performance, less engagement, and higher complexity. This approach allows you to maximise your reach and potential success as part of a larger launch, without overextending your resources.
Tier 3
A softer tier 3 product launch gives you the chance to test a product idea to see if it will work before investing more money. After all, if things don’t go as expected, you don’t want to be stuck with large amounts of product or lost investments.
A tier 3 launch tends to include basic launch strategies, focusing resources and marketing efforts on only your most promising channel with the highest ROI (which is likely Meta). This could involve ordering the minimum number of products your manufacturer will allow and testing selling them. Or you could launch a pre-sale with a discount to see if the product gains traction before even needing to purchase any products.
The main benefit of tier 3 launches is that they reduce the risk of losing large amounts of investment. This rehearsal-type launch gives you the chance to find out what the ad costs would be, how the unit economics would work, whether people actually want to buy the product, and much more.
Cost-effective and one of the quickest and most accurate ways to receive feedback, it can ensure your product gains some traction. It can also allow brands of any size to ensure all the basics are covered before diving into more advanced strategies.
Tier 4
Finally, a tier 4 product launch is the bare minimum of product launches. Usually reserved for launching new product colours and designs, or slight changes to product features, tier 4 launches will only be launched on your core channels like your website or marketplace. This might be combined with a single email informing customers and subscribers of the launch. But other than this, no additional resources will be invested in marketing the launch.
Would you like some specialist input into launching your eCommerce product? Just drop me a message.
Product Launch Strategies
1. Run a giveaway
A giveaway can spark interest in your new product. Everybody loves free stuff, so people are more likely to enter the giveaway. Not only does this create awareness for your brand and desire for your product, but it also allows you to build a list of email addresses for email marketing.
Once you decide to run a giveaway, you need to let people know about it. The best way to do this and reach a wider audience is through paid social ads. Don’t forget to extend the promotion to relevant private Facebook groups to further reach your target audience.
Wrendale Designs took this approach with their recent product launches, running a bundle giveaway on their Facebook page.
This Facebook post takes users through to a form on their website in order to fill in their name and email address.
2. Use different offers
Just as everyone loves free stuff, everyone also loves a bargain. While this could include discounts on products, it doesn’t have to. Offers come in all shapes and sizes, from large percentage discounts to free gift offers when the customer orders multiple products. Personally, I recommend bundle offers. Creating a bundle with a single SKU makes it easier for customers to make a higher AOV purchase and helps your contribution margin, ensuring your can afford to pay the acquisition cost by not reducing the product purchase price. Bundles that include at least three products or products from across two or more categories are particularly effective, as they introduce customers to more products which tends to increase customer lifetime value (LTV).
This is the approach beauty and skincare brand E.L.F took with their Glow Up with Me bundle. Listed as one SKU, this bundle includes items from multiple categories including eyes, lips, and face.
3. Generate scarcity
Creating scarcity around the product creates a fear of missing out in potential customers. This could be scarcity through a limited number of products or scarcity through a time limit to use an offer. Try adding a countdown timer to your time-sensitive offer emails or a counter on your product page showing how many people are viewing the product or have it in their basket. However, it’s important to note that this shouldn’t be fake scarcity as if you’re always showing the same scarcity numbers, potential customers could get suspicious and lose trust in your brand.
For example, Pretty Little Thing included a countdown timer in one of their emails, creating a sense of urgency and scarcity to purchase before the end of their sale.
Whereas, Barry M are generating scarcity on their website by listing the number of people who have recently bought and the number of people currently looking at the product.
4. Product drops
Following on from generating scarcity on your product pages and in your emails, you can also create scarcity by running product drops. Unlike the ever changing ebbs and flows of stock levels of other products on your site, product drops are designed to be time or supply limited. Whether the product drop is for a limited edition version of a product, a one-off collaboration, or a product linked to a particular event, the fear of missing out on the product drives sales.
For example, to celebrate pride month, M.A.C. collaborated with Viva Glam to create a product drop of a limited edition pride eyeshadow palette.
5. Email automation
Whether you’re an established brand that already has an email subscriber list, or you’re a new brand just starting to build your subscriber list through methods like giveaway competitions, it would be a waste not to take full advantage of these email opportunities.
If this is the first product launch for your new brand, setting up email automations like welcome, cart abandonment, and post-purchase flows can encourage your subscribers to return to your site and make a purchase.
In addition to automated email flows, both new and established brands would benefit from implementing email campaigns with time-sensitive offers, leading to increased traffic and conversions.
Make-up brand Revolution leveraged their email subscriber list when they launched their new contour and highlighter sticks. In this email, Revolution encouraged subscribers to return to their site through the call to action (CTA) “shop now”, as well as implying scarcity with the heading “Snatched in seconds”.
6. Sell outs
If you have limited stock or you’re selling out faster than expected, ensure you provide the opportunity for customers to be emailed when the product is back in stock or allow them to pre-order the product. Don’t let these wannabe customers be faced with a sold out notice, forcing them to buy from a competitor, never to return to your site.
For example, one of Dr Martens new products has sold out in a few sizes. When customers select a sold out size, they’re given the option to input their email address in order to get an email when that size is back in stock again.
7. User-Generated Content
User-generated content (UGC) that real customers create after purchasing for you is like gold dust. It provides valuable feedback on your product, helping you understand customer preferences and areas for improvement. UGC extends the reach of your brand and boosts product awareness, as satisfied customers share their experiences with a wider audience. This content can be repurposed to update the creative for your paid ads, keeping them fresh and relevant. Adding UGC to your website serves as powerful social proof, building trust with potential customers. And best of all, UGC can often be obtained at no cost, making it an economical and effective marketing tool.
Many brands including fashion brand Dolly and Dotty show a selection on UGC on their homepage.
This home page selection then links through to a specific “customer gallery” of UGC.
8. Influencer partnerships
Continuing the theme of UGC, one way to obtain UGC is by partnering with influencers. Working with influencers costs money and can become quite expensive (even with smaller influencers) without a guarantee of achieving your desired results. To ensure you still gain value from the partnership even if the content flops, negotiate for other useful extras, like a product review quote or the rights to use the content in ad creative. Explore different types of collaborations and evaluate the potential benefits against the costs and risks.
Coffee brand Nespresso leverages influencer marketing. For example, they partnered with beauty and fashion influencer Fleur de Force to promote their iced coffee products.
9. Product seeding
If working with influencers is too expensive for you, product seeding can be just as effective, if not more effective. Product seeding involves arranging to send a free product to influencers within your industry, with no strings attached.
Although the influencer is under no obligation to create content featuring your product, they often will. While sending out free products comes at a cost, seeding provides the benefits of UGC and influencer marketing without the high costs.
For example, beauty influencer and make up artist Amie Christine was gifted a brow gel and mascara from Rimmel London which she created content with on Instagram and TikTok
10. Collaborations
Collaborating with big players in your industry doesn’t always mean working with influencers. Working with industry leaders, charities, or other brands through strategies like endorsements and product collaborations can also enhance your brand’s credibility and increase brand exposure.
For example, blanket and bedding brand Bearaby regularly runs collaborations. One of their most recent collaborations was with sustainable water bottle brand S’Well to create a bundle containing a product from each brand. S’Well created a water bottle and Bearaby created a napper blanket especially for this collaboration with matching colours and a collaborative design.
11. Paid traffic
Of course, there are always the traditional marketing methods you can use to promote your product launch. Your normal Google search, Google shopping, and paid social ads may be a common form of marketing, but the reason they’re so popular is because they really work (when done right).
For example, beekeeping brand Hiveology recently launched a new bee hive range and used traditional Google shopping ads alongside other product launch marketing campaigns.
Product launches can feel overwhelming, but they don’t have to be. Whether you go all out or keep it simple, it’s important to tailor your tiered playbook to your business size, resources, and goals.
If you would like some advice on product launches or need assistance with executing your launch, just get in touch.