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Deep Dive Wednesdays
Crys A.
October 09, 2024
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Hey guys,
“Sooner or later, those who win are those who think they can.”
✍️ Paul Tournier
Let’s get into it👇
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DEEP DIVE WITH IBRAHIM
Launching a new product? Grab this checklist to supercharge your profits
Heyy!
Before you go on, make sure you’ve signed up for SuperSummit 2024. There is more info on it below.
For today’s email, I want to discuss Product Launches. It’s always amazed me that when a brand releases a new product, they don’t treat it like a massive moment for the brand! When done right, it’s not a lot of extra work to make a product launch a big deal, but it goes so far from a marketing, hype, and awareness standpoint.
A brand that has been crushing product launches since its brand launch is Lemme, a vitamin brand by Kourtney Kardashian and Simon Huck. It’s an omni-channel play and it’s a non-invasive way to make noise, get attention, and let more people know who you are.
I want to break down how I recommend you think about product launches to make a bigger impact. It’s no small deal to launch something that has taken weeks, months or even years to develop. Whether it’s a new product entirely or even just a new variant (additional flavor, color, scent, size, etc.). If you don’t believe me that launching additional variants can be as big of a deal, then you need to subscribe to Cadence’s email list and follow them on social—they let the whole world know when there’s a new color and it’s a huge revenue driver.
For a successful product launch, you should be prepared across:
Website
Ad creative
Email & SMS
Organic social
And you want to make sure you have a strategy for pre-launch and a plan in place if you sell-out of your product too. You have to keep in mind that as soon as someone hears about your product and comes to find it, you need to be prepared on all channels. Every channel, whether it’s your website or your Instagram profile, is now a high-intent funnel. Here is what I would recommend you do for each:
On your website
With your website, think of this as your retail storefront. You wouldn’t launch a new product at a store in Soho or on Rodeo Drive and not make it a big deal, right? So why would you do the same for your website? It needs to be loud and everywhere, from your homepage to your cart up-sells.
Make sure you update your above-the-fold site experience or website banner to show the new product.
On your collections pages, it should be the first product that shows up, with a NEW badge on the product image.
Update your slide-out cart and Shopify checkout extensions to prioritize showing the new product as the first upsell.
Update the on-site pop-up to include messaging around the new product whether or not you offer a discount.
If needed, build additional modules on the PDP itself that help explain the product better — what it does, how it works, what comes in the box, how to use the product, how to set it up, common FAQs, etc. Think of the PDP as a landing page.
If you decide to run a pre-launch sale for your best customers, you should direct that traffic to a dedicated landing page where you can speak to those customers slightly differently. Then, kill that URL before you officially launch the product (without a discount).
In your ad campaigns
For new products, you want to have ad creative that’s ready to be shown to past purchasers, site engagers, and also your bread & butter prospecting campaigns. Adding creative for a new product into a learned campaign will reinvigorate its performance.
With product launches, you want to make sure the ad creative specifically calls out a new product, shows the product in-use, and directly addresses the benefits. You just have to earn the click to the site, not fully sell the product—let the product page or landing page do that.
Lastly, if you can, you should try to compile video reviews from your VIP customers or content creators, in advance, to include in your ad creative at launch. If you’re selling something in beauty, apparel, or with novel application (like mouth tape), then having creator content helps people see how to use or wear the product.
With Email and SMS
Your lists are your first opportunity to generate awareness and revenue with a product launch. My recommendation is prior to launch, you entice your best customers to purchase early (maybe top 5% or 10%) and for the rest, send them a teaser. Maybe it’s a blurry product image over email or text that entices people to sign up for a notification of when the product launches.
Once the product goes live, I prefer to send 1 email per day, for the first 3 days, and exclude purchasers before each send. For your best customers, you can add a VIP discount or early-bird special. On SMS, I would send the launch day message, and only sub-sequent texts if there’s engagement (link clicks, email opens, etc.).
In case your product sells out, you want to also have a SOLD OUT email and SMS ready to fire off. That should lead to a PDP with a email sign up or phone number sign up to be notified when it’s back in stock. As soon as the product is back, use email and SMS to notify people you’re back and to hurry before the product sells out again!
On organic social
Regardless of how large or small your brand is, if you have a new product launch, the first place most people will go is to check your social channels. Website? It can be hard to remember the exact domain, so naturally, people search Instagram or TikTok—that’s why you need to think of these platforms as funnels.
When you have a new launch, be loud with the post—maybe take over the top 3 posts with a new set of pinned posts. You can add a highlight on the profile that specifically talks through the product, unboxing it, what makes it different, why it’s such a big deal, etc. It should feel like you’re walking someone through a QVC-style shopping experience.
The product tease
As you’re leading up to the launch, people need to get excited about the new product. This video was a great way to tease the new Lemme Wake Up (caffeinated gummy) and got people in the comments going crazy, too.
The sell out
You should expect your product to sell out, and if necessary, you can manufacture it. Apple does it all the time.
To prep for the sell-out, you should have a version of the PDP ready to go up to collect emails & numbers to notify those who want it. You can collect email first, since it’s low friction, and then offer to collect SMS with a discount. As soon as it’s back in stock, notify the people, open the floodgates, and collect that sweet revenue!
Keep your tech top-tier
When you launch a product, you need to ensure all your tech is working properly. Subscriptions, reviews, back-in-stock notifiers, your email pop-up, your slide-out cart, your upsells and all your pixels are firing with the right events.
A couple of tools I personally recommend:
Alright folks, that’s it for today!
Have questions or feedback for me? Ask/share here.
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