According to this report, over 30,000 new consumer products are launched annually.
A product launch is a strategic event that defines the company’s position in the market, while solidifying its future success.
In this guide, we will explore what a product launch is, its key stages, how the launch occurs, why marketing is crucial for a product launch, and more.
What is a Product Launch?
A product launch is an activity that brings a new product to the market and makes it available for consumers to explore and purchase. It aims to introduce products and demonstrate their unique features and benefits to potential buyers, pique their interest and inspire them to make a purchase, thereby driving initial sales.
A product launch encompasses a range of activities, including conducting initial market research, developing a product strategy, executing a marketing campaign, and managing public relations, among others. Then the target audience becomes aware of the product’s existence, its value, features & potential use.
Key Stages of a Product Launch Event
A product launch occurs in three major phases, each with its own set of goals, actions, and plans.
Pre-Launch Phase
The pre-launch stage typically lasts from a few weeks to several months, depending on the goals of the organization. This involves in-depth market research into market size, target audience & their needs, emerging trends, and potential business opportunities. Based on these insights, a plan is drawn up for what the product should be like. Next, a competitor analysis is conducted to identify gaps and potential opportunities.
Along with product development, the pre-launch phase involves strategic planning to enter a larger market. Teaser posts and videos are created to generate buzz and hype about the product. The product is promoted through high-profile influencers, high-quality posts are uploaded to social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn, and various other activities are carried out.
Launch Phase
On the launch day, the product is unveiled as planned. Guests are introduced to the product’s features, given live demos, provided with hands-on learning experiences & engagement opportunities, etc, to help them get familiar with it. This also involves going live on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn in order to build a strong social media presence and generate buzz around the launch.
Post-Launch Phase
You built a product and have launched it in the market, but it’s not all over just yet. The post-launch phase is essential for the product’s long-term success. The first task involves gathering insights from the audience about your product launch. What is the audience’s opinion of the product, how do they feel about it, how likely would they be to make a purchase, etc. This is also the phase where you onboard and initiate customer support formalities for the buyers.
The product features are updated based on its performance and feedback generated from the audience. Additionally, marketing and promotional activities are then continued to maintain interest and boost sales. To educate users and enhance their product experience, engaging posts are placed on websites in various forms, such as blog posts, tutorials, guides, videos, and podcasts.
In short, the goal after the launch is to build a loyal customer base, fulfill their expected needs, and sustain the product’s impact in the market for a long time.
An Overview of the Day of the Product Launch
On the day of the product launch, the CEO, developers, product team, media & business partners, and key stakeholders are all present at the event to welcome the guests. The host opens the event with a keynote speech and builds some excitement. Next, a senior company executive presents the company’s vision before unveiling the product. This includes aspects like delivering a thorough product presentation or live demo, establishing the problem it solves, sharing the journey of its creation, and highlighting its features, benefits, and unique selling points.
After that, detailed information is provided on how to purchase the product, pricing details, and if any special offers on the launch day. Attendees are given the opportunity to interact with the product to get a hands-on experience with it. This is followed by media interviews, interactive Q&A sessions that help generate insightful discussions and media coverage. Product launch events typically end with a sense of excitement and anticipation for the newly introduced product.
Why is Marketing Crucial for Product Launches?
Marketing plays a pivotal role in product launches. It helps generate awareness, build excitement, and communicate the value of a new product to the target market. With effective marketing efforts, you get an opportunity to capture the attention of your audience in a crowded marketplace for your innovative product. When you run pre-launch campaigns and demonstrate teasers of your offerings, you create buzz for the official launch among audiences.
New products often come with exciting features and benefits, and they solve problems in an innovative way. Marketing helps the audience become better aware of the product, understand how it works, and educate them about the problems it solves for them.
Your effective marketing strategies assist you in creating a unique value proposition and message for your product, which sets it apart from competitors and reaches your target audience in an engaging way. You get to develop a go-to-market strategy for your product as well as create a comprehensive plan that includes its pricing, distribution channels, promotional activities, and more. In short, marketing ensures that a new product will not only enter the marketplace, but also succeed in the long run.
Product Launch Checklist
- Know your customers, their needs, and pain points with a thorough market research initiative
- Conduct competitor analysis and know their core strengths, weaknesses, pricing, and marketing strategies
- Develop a product development roadmap.
- Set a specific goal for the launch
- Create a product page on your website
- Build a strong brand story
- Design your go-to-market strategy, including pricing, packaging, and distribution channels.
- Conduct a dry run before launch
- Educate the sales team on product features and capabilities
- Develop a post-launch plan
How Airmeet Can Help Host a Virtual Product Launch?
Airmeet is a powerful platform for hosting virtual and hybrid product launches. The platform offers everything you need to showcase your latest product, create buzz around it, and make a name for it in the market. With Airmeet’s strong focus on creating interactive experiences, it’s a great choice for your next online product launch.
Let’s understand how Airmeet can elevate your virtual product launch into an unforgettable experience.
1. Branding and Customization
Airmeet offers extensive branding and customization features to tailor your product launch to represent your brand identity. From the registration page and the virtual stage, to the reception & networking area – your event experience can be seamlessly personalized, with your company logo and colors. This will improve your brand recognition and make the launch a memorable event. You also get to upload an engaging welcome video to showcase your brand to your virtual guest.
Airmeet’s branding and customization capabilities can help you communicate your message effectively and showcase your product offerings in an engaging and immersive way.
2. Virtual Exhibitor Booth
Airmeet offers virtual exhibitor booths that are designed to mimic the experience of a physical booth exhibition. Through our virtual booth, you can display company information, showcase your product video & images, interact with the audience through a live demo, and generate leads in a virtual environment with ease.
3. Interactive Tools
For engaging product launches, Airmeet offers a range of engagement tools such as live chat, real-time polls, and interactive Q&A. These features are designed to boost real-time interaction and engagement between speakers and audiences in a virtual setting.
During product presentations, attendees can directly pose questions to the speaker and address their concerns using the chat feature. Polls can be used to gauge audience interest in a product’s specific features.
Airmeet also has a “raise hand” feature that lets attendees join the speakers on stage during a live session. Another great feature that Airmeet provides to enhance audience engagement is “emoji reaction.” It enables participants to share their emotions and react promptly to the host and speaker, giving organizers immediate insights into attendee experience vis-à-vis their content.
Airmeet provides a dedicated “breakout room” where participants can have comprehensive discussions about the product features and benefits. The platform offers gamification elements such as leaderboards, point systems, quizzes, and challenges, allowing you to gamify your product launch.
4. Backstage Area
Airmeet offers a dedicated backstage area for speakers, hosts, presenters, and event planners to get ready before stepping onto the live stage. Your speaker can review their product presentation, practice delivering details on product offerings, and have last-minute discussions with hosts or organizers. Airmeet ensures that each speaker is thoroughly prepared and ready to present an outstanding presentation at the product launch event.
5. Networking Features
To foster engagement and build a community around the new product, Airmeet offers a set of networking features such as speed networking, networking lounge, and fluid space. At the product launch, you can allow attendees to network with others using the “social lounge”.
Plus, you can allow attendees to have a one-on-one live chat where they can talk about product features & capabilities and share their thoughts on it with each other.
If needed, you can allow your guest to create a private round table or discussion tables with up to 50 participants, so they can engage in larger group discussions on the product.
6. Event Analytics & Reporting
For your virtual product launches, Airmeet offers powerful analytics and reporting features. After the launch, you will have access to the event dashboard, which provides in-depth insights in real time. You can track metrics such as total attendees, participant demographics, audience engagement, top sessions, and more.
You also get sponsor and booth engagement data, such as unique booth visits, views & clicks for sponsor tabs, leads generated, and so on. With its extensive suite of analytics and reporting capabilities, Airmeet offers data-driven insights on online product launch events.
7. Customer Assistance
Airmeet puts customer experience at the forefront, offering organizers robust support to ensure their product launches are a huge hit. Airmeet offers 24/7 email ([email protected]) and chat support, as well as a “Customer Support Lounge” where you can get immediate help.
For more comprehensive support, Airmeet offers “AirCare Services” that include event setup, In-event technical support, extensive platform training, dry run, hybrid event consultation, stage manager, and more.
Final Thoughts
Product launches are not all about just unveiling the product, it is about communicating its value and solving customers’ problems. The objective of a product launch is to pique the interest of potential buyers by demonstrating its unique features and qualities, and inspire a purchase.
Launching a new product is a truly exciting initiative, but it can also be challenging. You need to carefully plan each stage, as a well-executed launch strategy not only makes the product market-ready but also positions it effectively.
Host your next product launch with Airmeet to make it an extraordinary event that leaves your audience in awe.
Frequently asked questions
Monitor essential KPIs (key performance indicators) for product launch success, like event attendance, website traffic, social media engagement (likes, shares & comments), sales revenue, customer acquisition cost (CAC), market share growth, and return on investment (ROI).
On average, a complete product launch, from pre-launch to post-launch, takes six months to a year. Remember, it can be extended or reduced depending on the scope of your event.
