Launching your vision

Imagine you’ve partnered into a startup and the product you’ve been designing for months and you’re nearly done and ready to share your new creation with the world.

Wait! S&@! Someone just launched a similar idea and you‘re not ready!!

Now what? Do you launch your product the same way the competition did? Do you quit? Do you try to add more features and make it even more different than what you originally designed?

When an entrepreneur prepares to launch their product to market, they have to compete with other startups in that same industry. It’s important to remember that competition isn’t a bad thing, it’s just the way the world is.

If there was no competition then we wouldn’t know what true success is. If each startup of the same industry received a participation reward just for launching a product, then what would be the point of trying to make a unique proposition value.

Moving on.. so you’ve made your product and have entered into the competitive business world. Now what?

What makes the perfect launch?

Now, you need to position your product in a way that captivates your target market. That can be done with these 4 tips.

1. Understand your target market

Understanding your target market is necessary for ensuring that your product has the best chance of success. Remember, retention reduces the costs of marketing. Hopefully you already have a good idea of who your target market is, but that’s not enough. Create a full target market analysis in order to better understand exactly who you’re trying to position your products or services to.

Have a deeper connection than just knowing how old they are or where they are located. Know what shapes their core values, who they follow on social media and why, where they like to shop and what trends they have passion for. Understanding what motivates your users can clear a path on how you can create a positive impact in their lives.

This analysis should all be done before you begin to show off your product or service. Before you give the people what they want, you have to know what they want.

2. Pre-launching is vital for success

Many professionals recommend that you start marketing your product at least 3 months before you officially launch. This is so that you can generate a pre-launch buzz and capture early adopters that will make your job as a marketer much easier.

Ways to generate a pre-launch buzz include:

• Create a strong social media presence. Its important that your audience has an idea of who you are so stay active in the ecosystem.
• Get influential bloggers to adopt the product. Connect with bloggers that are popular with your target market and in your industry.
• Keep your audience in suspense. Give them enough information that will leave them wondering what you’re trying to sell. For a startup this can include showing ads that give an idea of what the company values but not what it sells. (Ex: Apple ‘1984’ Super Bowl Ad)
• Build a website and optimize it so that your target market can find you and get to know your business.
• Create a video to increases engagement. Startups can create a sense of anticipation with a well-produced video.
• Email marketing. This can be beneficial since you can directly inform your audience of any news on your product even before you officially launch.

Invite beta testers from your network and encourage them to provide feedback on your product.

3. Learn from your competition

You are ready to launch into a market full of competitors. Remember that it’s not a good idea to focus all your energy on your competition since that will take away the attention of your audience and product, but pay attention to why your competitor is a competitor. Learn what works for them and what doesn’t work.

“The weakness of an enemy forms part of your own strength”- Anonymous

Take notes of your competitors’ strengths and find their greatest weakness. Never stop learning from your competitor or else you’ll become too comfortable while running the race.

4. Reach out to your audience

A company doesn’t grow just by showing off their products, they grow by establishing a relationship with their audience.

Ways to reach out to your audience include:

• Using social media to form a connection with people. Similar to creating a pre-launch buzz, social media can help the company seem transparent, professional, and dependable to consumers.
• Having many good reviews on a product. Good reviews can make or break a company. They determine credibility and helps people decide whether or not to give something a try. Encouraging users to post reviews in communities such as Medium and Quora is a sure way to spread the word.
• Create an event surrounding your product. This can include creating an event to announce your products official launch day, creating an event that promotes a cause that connects with the products values, or just creating a casual event for the audience.
• Use influential marketing to help promote the brand. This includes contacting bloggers, YouTubers, or social media public figures and getting them to try your product and share their thought about it.
• Advertise your social responsibility. Simply show how your company does its part for the community. This could be shown by talking on social media about a certain charity a company regularly assists or showing a cause they feel passionate about.
• Keep blogging. Keep sharing your company’s ideas with your growing network and people will see you as more than just a company that wants their money.

Taking that first step

There are many websites and blogs that give great advice on how to best market your service, idea, or product. There are websites that talk about why companies that have a similar product as yours has failed in its first year. It’s good to read and learn about what it takes to get a startup up and running, but you need to know what’s best for your company.

What works for one doesn’t work for all, so it’s up to the team to make that first step to carve their own path towards success.

Never settle. Never stop. Keep thinking.

Nxed is an ed-tech firm of talented creatives whom are deeply passionate about bringing universities into the 21st century by the intersection of technology and education. Stay connected with our story and leave a comment, check us out at Nxed.io.

Until then, “Keep Thinking” — Nxed team.