Launching a new product feels a lot different than launching your first product. 

Sure, there’s likely the same sense of excitement and anticipation about pushing something you worked hard on out into the world. But, there’s also a greater sense of expectation—and maybe even pressure.

You already have an existing customer base that trusts you and a brand you need to uphold. You’ve gained knowledge about your audience and what product launch strategies work (and what ones don’t). You probably have a bigger staff, which has transformed product marketing from a one- or two-person show into a cross-functional activity between product teams, research teams, marketing teams, sales teams, and more. 

So, while that buzzy feeling remains constant, everything else about launching a new product feels a whole lot different. 

5 Steps to Build Your New Product Marketing Strategy

Here’s the truth: From first products to new products, it’s tough to come up with a default strategy that works across the board. 

If you’re an established business with thousands of team members, your approach will involve far more resources and complexity than a small, scrappy business that’s getting a new product off the ground. 

But, though the logistics can differ, good marketing is good marketing—which means the basics are the same regardless of where you are on your business and product journey. 

Need to build a from-scratch marketing strategy for a new product? Here are the fundamental steps that always apply. 

1. Iron out the basics

Before you start pushing your product and your message out into the world, it’s important to ensure that everybody is on the same page about the product itself. 

This will prevent any errors or misunderstandings—which is especially important if you have numerous different people and teams participating in your product launch and marketing. 

Create a simple reference document that spells out the facts about your new product and upcoming rollout. This should include: 

• Product name and description
• Product cost
• Value proposition 
• Launch date
• Marketing budget

You might include other details—like additional dates if you’re giving exclusive access to certain people, discount codes that will be active for the launch, or even boilerplate brand phrases that people can refer back to. 

Does this seem unnecessarily basic? That’s exactly the point. It’s often the most important details that get lost in the shuffle, especially during a busy and thrilling time like a product launch. Creating this single source of truth keeps everybody aligned on the most important thing: the product itself. 

2. Identify your target customer

Effective marketing all comes back to knowing who you’re talking to. When you understand their goals and challenges, you’re better equipped to craft messaging that resonates. 

Since you’ve made it through product development, chances are you’ve already done some hefty market research and identified the ideal buyers and users of your product—which will make this step pretty straightforward. 

Even so, make sure you and any other relevant stakeholders are clear on:

• Is the target customer for this product an existing customer of your brand? 
• Is the target customer a brand new one who needs help solving an entirely different problem?

If you haven’t already, it’s also worth developing some customer personas that will keep your customer front of mind as you plan out the rest of your marketing efforts. This could include customer metrics and data like: 

• Demographic information about your customer
• Their background and personality traits
• Their goals and motivations
• Their challenges and problems
• Their preferred devices, outlets, and sources of information

Add all of this information to the document you created in the first step, as it’s helpful context to rely on and refer back to. 

3. Determine your channels 

Now that you know what you’re launching and who you’re talking to, it’s time to figure out where you’ll promote your new product. 

Today, there’s no shortage of places that you could spread the word about the newest addition to your product launches. You could: 

• Create an email marketing campaign
• Submit guest posts to relevant publications and sites
• Partner with influencers
• Host a contest or a giveaway
• Announce your product on Product Hunt

That’s by no means an exhaustive list, but will get your wheels turning about some of the strategies that you could use. As you choose the best ones for your launch, remember to keep your target customer in mind. Where are they spending their time online? What channels are they paying attention to? That should guide your efforts. 

If you’re targeting the same or a similar customer, it can be helpful to look back at some of your previous product launches to understand what marketing channels made a big impact—and which ones you’re better off skipping this time.  

4. Create your timeline and messaging

With all of that groundwork in place, pulling together your new product marketing strategy can really be as simple as plotting your channels and messaging on a calendar or timeline. 

Start from your launch day. That will obviously be your big product announcement, but then you can pepper in teasers before that and other promotions afterwards. 

Again, the specifics of your messaging and marketing will hinge on your particular product and audience (so we won’t get into the nitty-gritty of that here). But, your goal in this step is to create an actual road map you can follow to share the news of your new product. 

 5. Monitor what’s working (and what isn’t)

It’s out there—your new product is live and you’re eager to watch the orders come rolling in. You’ll also need to do more than push your product out into the world and hope for the best. Ensure you’re equipped with the proper cloud based order management system to keep your orders and inventory in sync. 

Keep a close eye on how your product marketing strategies are working. Are you hitting your sales targets? Are you getting the engagement you expected? Is there anything you can tweak or change on the fly that could boost the effectiveness?

You only get to launch this new product once, so stay committed through the process so you can make the most of that time when excitement is high. 

Give Your New Product the Announcement it Deserves

Launching a new product is a thrilling time for any business, but it can also be a little daunting. What if it doesn’t meet your existing customers’ expectations? What if you forget something important? What if it completely flops? 

The good news is that coming back to the basics is the best way to iron out a new product marketing strategy that appeals to your target customer and gets them just as excited about your announcement as you are.

As you prepare for your launch, there are a few more tips to keep in mind: 

• Remember and reward your existing customers by offering an exclusive discount or a sneak peek
• Leverage your existing product line by suggesting complementary products during checkout
• Use multiple channels to promote and sell your product, and make sure you have systems and software in place to carefully monitor them all
• Ensure your customer service team is prepared for increased demand during launch time so that they’re ready and able to assist customers with discount codes, availability, product questions, and more

Does all of this guarantee that your launch will go off without a hitch? Not necessarily. But, some careful planning and strategy certainly doesn’t hurt.