Saturday, January 14, 2017

Are You Using Your Website to Launch a Product?

A blog is an important tool that your small business can use to launch a new product or service. By engaging customers early and often with your expertise and the promise that you can solve their problems, a blog is a great way to identify new leads in order to sell your latest products to them. Here are some suggestions on how to use a blog for your product launch:

Set Up the Expectations for a Product Launch on Your Blog

Customers should know when your product will launch and specifically when they can expect to receive opportunities to receive discounts and to share those discounts with their friends. Don’t surprise them with your offers and promotions. Give them fair warning that a special offer is coming their way so that they have a chance to build anticipation.
This is especially important because many customers won’t make a purchase the first time at your website. They will need to think over the decision and to be prompted by you to take action eventually. If they know it’s coming, they’ll be far more likely to respond to your promotions during the product launch.

Provide Ways to Keep Your Customers in the Loop

At the end of each blog post about your upcoming product launch, provide opportunities for your readers to subscribe to your blog or email list. Also offer an invite to connect with your company’s Facebook page and Twitter account. These are all simple ways to keep in touch with your customers. In the case of social media and an RSS feed, these provide softer reminders that will keep customers in the loop.
In the case of email, you’ll be able to directly write to your customers about specific service and product opportunities leading up to and including your product launch.

Segment Your Customers Into an Email List for Long Term Growth

If you’re just dumping all of your promotions and launches into one huge mailing list, you may lose subscribers and you won’t be able to write effective copy in order to reach all of your new leads effectively. Some subscribers may just want your free offers for now and will need more time to make up their minds. Others may want to make a purchase today if you can persuade them, but that requires making a very specific sales pitch that your less interested subscribers won’t want to read.
How you write to a lead as opposed to a more committed customer will be different, and that’s why you’ll need to write different kinds of posts that will attract both to your small business website and provide simple ways you can send emails directly to them both.

Ask Your Readers for Feedback

If you want to be in business for long, you’re going to need to plan your next product and your next product launch. Your customers can reply to emails, leave comments, or respond via social media. However, just having these outlets isn’t enough. You need to invite them to leave comments and to enter into the conversation with you.
By providing survey forms or simple prompts to share their questions or experiences, you’ll set up a feedback system that you can use to collect information for your next product. Your latest product may not solve all of your customers’ current problems, and if they’ve already made a purchase from you, they may be willing to give your next product a shot as well.

Provide Customer Support

If you’re already asking customers for their feedback, you’re going to need a way to collect and respond to their feedback. Don’t overlook the importance of training support staff or budgeting time in order to respond to social media and email queries. Your ability to care for customers personally is one of your greatest advantages as a small business. If you can’t effectively manage the feedback you receive, then you may do more harm than good when you ask for feedback, as an ignored customer will become a disgruntled customer.
However, if you can find customers willing to engage with you and to offer feedback, they may also become some of your most loyal customers. They may even help you advertise your next launch. Keep a list of every customer who provided helpful feedback, whether positive or negative, and ask them to help preview your next products before and during the launch in order to create some advance buzz.

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