I’ve talked with many inventors and entrepreneurs who get very excited about their new product.
They’ve spent years building prototypes, convincing family and friends into investing in their idea and trying to meet the person who can help them get it listed with a retailer or distributor for instant sales.
What many of them forget is that the marketing function takes a product over the bridge from the R&D phase of research and development into the sales phase of meeting with retailers, distributors and even the content for an ecommerce website where they can sell direct to the end user.
Marketing is about more than listing the features – it defines the benefits and advantages of the product – to each and every step along the supply chain. WIIFM (what’s in it for me?) is the rallying cry of each step and marketing provides the breadcrumbs to help each link understand their advantage for carrying a product thru the chain.
25 Key New Product Marketing Should Have’s:
- Correct colors
- Unique URL
- Keywords
- Defined benefits
- Good margin
- Competitive pricing
- Strong photography
- Compelling description
- Easy-to-Understand Reason to Buy
- Wow factor
- Memorable name
- A clear way to reach the end user
- Preferably a patent, a tradename, a trademark – something you can protect
- Support materials
- Testimonials
- About the company launching the product
- Independent test results
- Social media bait – how to video? beautiful photos? Reason to like?
- Instructions for assemble, care and use, battery replacement, etc
- High resolution logos
- Press release with media contact
- Background Fact Sheet
- Website with blog
- ______________
- ______________
Obviously not all the Should Have’s are appropriate for every product. It depends if you are launching a business-to-business product, a business-to-consumer product or a something else entirely. What’s your main channel of distribution? Mom and Pop retail stores? Big Box Chains? E-commerce from your website? Amazon or eBay? Each channel has a unique challenge for your product.
What are the two Key Marketing Should Have’s that I’m missing? Leave a comment below!
Want more?
For Entrepreneurs, Product Inventors and Anyone Else who wants to Bring a New Product to Market
Roadmap For Success is a 55 page PDF ebook in workbook format that you can download to take you from conception all the way through to bringing your product to market.