By Brian McKay
After all the time and effort you’ve put into getting your product ready, you can’t afford to fail now. This is the event that will shape the future of your product and your company. Your product launch needs to be a celebratory effort that amazes those in attendance and draws sales on its own. The last thing you want is to turn this day into a bore fest. So, here’s how to go about creating a perfect product launch event.
Start Marketing Early
If you wait too long, you’ll have missed the boat. You’ll find that many successful companies start marketing early in the process. Many of them will release sneak product peeks at this time, often as a supplement to a press release. It’s important to start making people aware of your product event early to get the conversation started. You’re building hype that will otherwise fall by the wayside if you wait too long.
Invade The Social Space
The next target is social media, and this where your marketing campaign will continue throughout the rest of the process. Developing a unique hashtag is a great way to keep the talk flowing. This is also an area where building a sense of mystique is important. Maybe, you offer a few clues about what’s to come? Maybe, you offer an exclusive sneak image or video? It all helps to build hype for the big day. Don’t forget to promote your event with paid advertising, either. This is a surefire way to build awareness.
Understand Your Audience
Your next step is to prepare your presentation for the event, and this is where things can go dramatically wrong. The key to this part of the process is to understand your audience. What type of demographic are you targeting with this new product release? The type of verbiage and material you use in your presentation will directly affect the buzz around your product. You need to be sure that you’re not going to send people off to sleep.
Don’t Forget About Security
If you’re a small business, you might not think that security is necessary. If you’re anything bigger than that, you’ll know that security is necessary. Either way, a product launch event is, unfortunately, a target for thieves. It makes sense, especially if you’re showing something of high value. All Time Security and other companies can be hired to protect your event in this case. You could just employ your own security, but that might be a needless long-term expense.
Always Have A Backup Plan
If there’s one thing I could tell you above all else about a product launch event, it’s that something will go wrong. Seriously. Whether it’s a catastrophic failure like a power cut, or the product failing to work as intended, anything could happen. You can’t always do much about this in the heat of the moment, so you need a backup plan. Go through your entire plan for the day, and ensure you can find an alternative if necessary. Without this, your launch event will be in jeopardy.
Jerry Mooney is co-founder and managing editor of Zenruption and the author of History Yoghurt and the Moon. He studied at the University of Munich and Lewis and Clark College where he received his BA in International Affairs and West European Studies. He has recently taught Language and Communications at a small, private college and owned various businesses, including an investment company. Jerry is committed to zenrupting the forces that block social, political and economic justice. He can also be found on Twitter @JerryMooney