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Of the more than 30,000 new products introduced into the market each year, a staggering 95 percent fail. It’s a frightening statistic for businesses planning to launch a new product.
But why do so many products fail? The reasons vary, from lack of resources to having a poor product that nobody wants to buy. Often, a good product fails due to an incomplete or substandard product marketing strategy.
Some companies don’t even have a marketing plan in the first place. It’s a shocking fact, given that marketing is arguably the most critical task for any business, particularly when you’re launching a new product. Sure, you may have the best product in the market, but if no one knows about it, you won’t make a sale.
That’s why you need a solid marketing strategy before putting a product on the market. But what exactly is product marketing? More importantly, how do you create a winning product marketing strategy?
If you’re asking yourself these questions, you’ve come to the right place. In this comprehensive guide, we tell you all you need to know about how to market a product successfully.
Keep reading to learn more.
What Is Product Marketing?
Product marketing refers to the process of moving products or services from concept to customer. The process is at the center of product management, marketing, and sales.
Successful marketing effectively coordinates these four elements:
- Product
- Price
- Place of distribution
- Promotion strategy
In an organization, product marketing is overseen by the product marketing manager. However, the task also requires the input of the product manager and sales team.
The primary purpose of product marketing is to connect consumers to products. Effective product marketing thus requires a thorough understanding of your target customers as well as the product you are pushing.
Why Should You Have a Product Marketing Strategy?
One of the common reasons small businesses fail is because they adopt poor marketing initiatives. A carefully planned product marketing strategy helps you identify the ideal product and to market it to the appropriate customers. This helps drive sales and profits.
A solid product marketing strategy relies on customer data to make the right decisions. With the information you have about your clients, you can decide which products to develop and which product marketing techniques are likely to yield the best results.
Factors to Consider as You Create Your Product Marketing Strategy
Now that you know how a product marketing strategy can benefit your company, it’s time to look at how you can create one. Here are five essential factors to consider as you develop your strategy.
Your Competition
A major step in developing an effective product marketing strategy is to know who you’re up against. Go a step further and understand them. That means finding out their strengths and weaknesses.
Analyze reviews about your competitors. Ask lots of questions during your market research. Purchase your competitors’ products and test them yourself.
From your findings, you can determine how your product or service differs from theirs. What do you offer that your competition doesn’t?
Be sure to assess the market as a whole. How saturated is the market, and is there room for a new product? Are there potential customers that your competitors haven’t reached yet?
Remember that even if the market is saturated, you can still enter and claim your share. You only need to be more creative and innovative.
Your Messaging
After identifying what differentiates you from the competition, it’s time to capitalize on that in your marketing messaging. You want to highlight your key differentiators in your messaging to influence your target audience.
Marketing messaging includes everything from your slogan to your sales copy to the way you describe yourself on various online platforms. It’s any messaging that’s designed to boost your brand and sell your products or services.
Make your main differentiators the driving force behind all your marketing messages. For instance, if your key differentiator is your low prices, emphasize that. If it’s the fact that you always serve fresh, healthy food, bring it to the forefront.
Your Audience
No business can develop a strong product marketing strategy if they have zero knowledge of who they’re marketing to. Ask yourself these questions:
- What does your typical client look like?
- How will they behave?
- Where and how will they buy your product?
The answers to these questions help you know what to expect when introducing your product into the market. For instance, will customers purchase the product on impulse? Will the product be purchased frequently, or is it a high-ticket item that is bought once in years?
Analyzing your competition can prove helpful here. That’s because you’re targeting the same clients they sell to. You can apply any information you learn from them here.
Your Financial Goals
A common mistake startups and small businesses make is to launch a product without first understanding how much they need to spend and what they need to earn. Failure in such a case is inevitable.
Part of creating a successful product marketing plan is to set simple, realistic financial goals. Figure out exactly what you intend to achieve financially.
Set a time frame for every goal. For instance, how much do you need to be making in the first month, the sixth month, the 12th month, and so on?
Find out the financial reserves you have at the moment. How long can these reserves keep you afloat in case you don’t turn over the amounts you expected?
The Diversity of Your Marketing Strategy
On average, enterprises use eight marketing channels to reach customers. The idea is to be seen in as many different places as possible at any given time.
Adopt as many product marketing strategies as you can. Some proven product marketing efforts include SEO, PR, affiliate marketing, email marketing, Adwords, Bing Ads, and different scent marketing strategies.
Leverage the Power of Product Marketing
In today’s highly competitive marketplace, implementing an effective product marketing strategy is essential. Such a strategy can help you reach the right customers at the right time and with the right product.
Would you like to read more great content on product marketing? Please keep visiting our blog.
