Alright, science marketeers, if you are working on a New Product Development (NPD) right now, then you’ll love this post. We’ve put together a quick ‘straight to the point’ summary along with a tactical plan to help you oversee that new product development launch like a maestro. We don’t just share the ‘how to’ promote your NPD, we also give you access to an actual planning template we use in these situations.
Get the basics down
First and foremost, at least 6 months before the planned launch date, we recommend that you have internal chats about the following aspects to help you orientate:
- What’s the NPD marketing budget and the expected launch date?
- What are your goals? Typically, with NPDs it’s awareness, but it’s worth asking the question. It might be that it’s reasonable to expect revenue, in which case you can set your expected MQLs target or an ROI amount. Some smaller NPDs might not warrant significant marketing spend, so careful thought should be given to your selection of tactics.
- Run through what the positioning/messaging should be with your product manager (PM) and sales teams and agree with them when the brief is due for final review.
- Gather all your key internal stakeholders together (R&D, subject matter expert (SME), PM, Marcoms, Regulatory) and impress upon them, that the Marcoms team needs final content (this is the technical product specs and performance data) by a set date, so that you can ensure all that marketing magic can actually happen. This one is always tricky, and usually a series of meetings and reminders are required to make sure your execution time isn’t eaten into.
Go do your integrated campaign
Use a blend of digital and traditional channels to maximize your reach. Think SEO, content marketing, social media, webinars, and email campaigns. Each channel should work in concert to create a symphony of awareness and lead generation.
Tactics that actually work
There is a standard set of tactics that is often in play for NPDs. Those are:
- Web product page and landing page
- Product manual (if not a service)
- Social media posts
- Quick protocol
- Product data sheet (technical flyer)
- Quick reference guide (for internal use)
- Application note (if not a service)
- Updated segmentation list (to lay the path for your marketing)
Extras
There are additional tactics to throw in, always, but how you pick and mix those depends on the usual variables; your channels, your team’s capacity to execute, budgets and not least the nature of the NPD (product line extension, new innovation) etc. These are some of the key extra tactics that we’ve often found to be considered, but for the full list, check out Qincade’s FREE tactical template that you can copy and use as your ultimate guide to executing an NPD that runs like clockwork and goes off without a hitch.
- FAQs (web)
- Tradeshows
- Sales deck (customer facing)
- Free samples to qualified folks (web)
- Press release/New product release
- Blog article(s)
- Infographic
- Poster
- eSlides
- and more…
Get your free NPD Tactical Plan Template here for the full list.
A few notes to close
Key Opinion Leaders (KOLs) can be your secret weapon. Their endorsement lends credibility and can significantly amplify your reach for a yet to be much used and loved product/service.
It is sometimes possible to generate PR buzz around your NPD, especially if represents transformative innovation for the industry, but it can be really challenging. There are not as many reporters, they’re very selective and everybody is chasing good coverage, so it is hard to secure. A journalist recently told us that it’s often not the product that gauges the interest from the editors, but the application of the product, so give that some thought when considering PR. One scaling company recently shared a tactic with us, that really worked for them in January this year to create buzz around their NPD. They made their own video for investors and customers, and then pushed it out themselves using social, emails and their own website. This generated a lot of leads and views for them, and meant they didn’t have to spend time and money chasing down big media opportunities. We have also found that more often than not, the NPDs you’ll work on are optimizations to existing products so focusing on PR is mostly not going to be worth the time and monetary investment.
Trials and demos are great sales tools. Offering those can be a game-changer, because not only do you let your existing customers and qualified prospects experience the magic of your product first-hand, but you can collect invaluable feedback and use it to iterate and improve. Remember a large number of products are not simply plug and play, so offering a free trial kit can allow customers or prospects the opportunity to try before they buy.
This one is obvious of course, but worth stating- once the product is out, the work continues. Provide stellar customer support, gather feedback, and use it to make continuous improvements. Happy customers are your best brand advocates and can lead to free word-of-mouth marketing for both the business and your new product/service.
The secret weapon: a free NPD launch planning template
To help you Qin’awesome marketers streamline this whole process, download our free NPD Launch Planning Template. This isn’t just any template—it’s a comprehensive tool designed to help you plan every aspect of your launch. Stay tuned for another Qin’tastic cheat sheet that details various campaign bundles we’ve rolled out over the years with guideline costs to help you have those internal conversations and set realistic budgets. If you’d like us to email it to you as soon as it’s ready, send us your details at: hello@qincade.com or drop us a line via our website.
Stop spreading yourself too thin over a million different spreadsheets and start launching like a pro. It’s time to show the world what your product/service can do.
