The effectiveness of a product launch is determined by the steps you take before launch day arrives.
It’s a fact: The more time you invest in planning and preparation, the smoother your launch will go and the more impressive the results will be.
And one of the most important things you can do to ensure success is to be tuned in to what your customers and prospects want and then give it to them.
So how do you zero in on what your buyers want and how best to communicate with them before you launch?
a) You think really hard about it and make a decision.
b) You hold a meeting with key staff and make a decision.
c) You ask your target audience, then decide.
If you answered “c” – you are correct.
(If you answered “a” or “b” – shame on you – but keep reading anyway.)
One of the most important steps you can take in advance of launch day is to survey your audience (your list).
Survey your audience and ensure you know what they want.
Survey the audience you are able to connect with directly (your in?house list subscribers and customers) and be certain you are familiar with their current priorities and what’s most important to them.
Do so within 90 days of your launch to test and validate your beliefs and assumptions -the ones that must be true for your launch to be a big success.
Even if you’ve spoken with and/or surveyed customers before developing your product, Marketing needs to separately survey the marketplace as part of the launch process in order to be properly prepared with the facts about market and customer realities ahead of launch day.
Purpose of the Launch Survey
The Launch Survey is used to gain direct insights into the how those on your Launch List are thinking right now, prior to the product becoming available for sale. It is important to uncover more details about:
- Questions – questions about (your product) that must be answered
- Objections – concerns, issues or worries that could be objections to making the sale
- What They Want – understanding what your prospects “want” most from your product
- Urgency – how urgent and important is your product
- Lurking Issues – unforeseen issues that may be a factor to take into consideration
As you can probably see, having the answers to the above questions is extremely powerful, because it enables you to ensure your pre-launch communications and sales page copy are “tuned in” with what the prospects on your Launch List are most interested in and concerned about.
Making sure these questions and needs are fully-addressed in your pre-launch conditioning sequence will make a huge difference in sales from the launch.
And if your selling motion includes offline sales and/or tele-sales, then you will be positioned to ensure your sales force is properly prepared, armed and ready to close sales from day 1.
Here’s a set of recommended steps to take:
1. Choose a Launch Survey Tool
You need a Web-based survey tool to conduct your survey. Here are two recommended, affordable survey tools you can use:
Each tool supports 10 or more survey questions (more than you need for the Launch Survey) and should be more than adequate for your purposes.
2. Conduct the Launch Survey
At a minimum, you should ask the following two questions:
Question 1 – “What are your top two questions about (your product)?”
Question 2 – “What are your two biggest concerns, issues or worries that we need to properly address for you to be totally comfortable using (your product)?”
You may also want to ask a few additional questions (no more than 5 maximum to keep your response rates high), to understand the prospect’s level of interest and likelihood of buying. These are completely optional. Here are some additional examples:
Question 3 – “What are the three (3) most important things you want to get from using (your product)?”
Question 4 – “How important is it to solve [the problem your product addresses]?”
a) as soon as possible, b) in the next 30 days, c) in the next 60 to 90 days,
d) within 6 months to a year, e) no real urgency at this time.
Question 5 – “What else is on your mind about (your product) that you want to see addressed?”
It is time now to set up your survey. Log in to your survey tool site and create a new survey. Then create your Launch Survey.
For the fill-in-the-blank answers, make the comment fields 55 characters wide and 8 lines long for best results.
Be sure to test your survey by taking the survey yourself to make sure everything is working fine and looks the way you want it to.
3. Be Patient
Send an email with a link to your Launch Survey to everyone on your Launch List. Let your survey run for two to three days so that you can receive maximum response. It’s typical to see an average 3% response rate to surveys of this type within one week.
4. Analyze the Completed Survey Results
Next, analyze the survey results and extract the findings you are looking for:
- Common questions
- Common objections
- Common issues/concerns/worries
- Common wants, needs and expectations
- Surprises or unforeseen issues
- Level of urgency
Look for, and make a list of, common patterns that are likely to be shared by the majority of your prospects.
5. Address the Major Questions, Objections and Issues
You now have a list of the most important things that you must address to make the most sales.
You will have to decide how you will address each one or each group of related items. Places where you should address them include your Sales Page, your Launch Blog and in pre-launch content you provide right before launch day – where you address every concern and objection in detail.
Also, be sure to use the “buyer language” (a Devid Meerman Scott term) you uncovered in the written comments from your prospects, because when you use their language (instead of your own or “product language”), it will resonate with them better and show you are “in tune” with your customers and market.
6. Finally, explain how you are giving them what they “want,” as they have described it to you, and how (your product) enables them to achieve their objectives.
Always remember that, as people, we are always most interested in our own selfish needs and desires, and not what some product or service does or how it does it (unless it satisfies our own selfish needs in some unique and interesting way).
So how do you zero in on what your target buyers want?
Survey them, and find out!
To your success,
Rick Braddy
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Blog: How to Effectively “Tune In” Before Your Launch http://bit.ly/bhLHAr
RT @rickbraddy: Blog: How to Effectively “Tune In” Before Your Launch http://bit.ly/bhLHAr
RT @rickbraddy How to Effectively “Tune In” Before Your Launch http://bit.ly/bhLHAr
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