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Unified Voices: Why Centralized Communication Matters in Product Launches
August 1, 2024
Let’s face it, if you are in marketing, product launches are going to be a big part of your life. A good product launch is a memorable experience and can set the stage for a successful sales cycle. It’s a significant milestone for any company, a moment filled with anticipation, excitement—and a big helping of anxiety. But done successfully, it can be a tremendous source of pride and a major business builder.
I have found that a centralized communications plan for product launches provides many benefits. A one-team approach kicks things off by spreading consistent and engaging messages to build awareness. One team that is anchored in all communication strategies and functions helps maintain consistency and ensures that all stakeholders receive the same messaging, tailored to their needs.
To seal the deal, it’s all about repetition. With the power of one, you create a well-equipped engine full of unified content.
Centralize the communication
Instead of different departments or teams using their own methods and channels to share information, have all your communication and information flow through one main point. First, consistency ensures that all messages are understandable and relatable. Second, centralized communication streamlines the workflow, speeds decision-making, and makes managing the project easier. Third, and perhaps most importantly, centralized communication keeps all teams on the same page and reduces the potential for misunderstandings. Or as I like to say, everyone will be speaking from the same playbook.
Shape the story
One of the most exciting aspects of a product launch is developing the narrative. Of course, the messages should be clear, concise, and specific to each audience. They need to explain what the product does and how it’s different from products that are already on the market. Think about why people should care about this product. What problem does it solve? How does it contribute to their company goals? Their image? Their happiness? What gap does it fill? That gap may be in the market, but it might also be in the customer’s life—and they may not know it.
Build a Winning Storyline
A strategic narrative is the story that connects your product to customer needs. It identifies the problem and defines a unique solution, highlighting benefits that matter to each type of constituent, using testimonials, data, or case studies to strengthen claims. But the most important aspect of building a strong narrative is to paint a picture in the mind of the potential customer: how might this product improve their lives or their company’s future?
Sketch a storyboard
A successful product launch requires a well-structured roadmap which emphasizes each component of the plan and its ownership, including timelines, tasks, and dependencies. Start this planning at least six months ahead of the launch and include key milestones along the way, which, if not met, require a go/no-go decision.
Other elements include press releases, key journalist/influencer/analyst identification, social media campaign planning, and internal communications that keep employees informed (typical outlets include newsletters, town halls, and employee intranet updates.) Building enthusiasm with this important audience is key, so if planning a launch event to showcase the product, don’t forget them. Keep the momentum going with follow-up communications, such as product reviews, customer testimonials, and updates on product availability.
Pinpoint your publics
A major component of developing an effective communication plan is identifying the key audiences you want to reach. These can be divided into internal and external audiences, and each has a distinct role to play in a successful product launch.
Internal audiences
Internal audiences include employees, sales teams, management, and boards of directors. Employees are your brand ambassadors, so keeping them excited about a new product can help spread positive word-of-mouth. Sales teams need to understand the product’s benefits and features to effectively sell it to customers. If you don’t believe in it, you’ll struggle to convince others of its value. Management needs to be equipped with the knowledge to answer questions and promote the product during interactions with external stakeholders. Finally, boards of directors need to understand the product launch in terms of the company’s overall potential growth, success, and momentum.
External audiences
This is anyone who doesn’t work for your company but for whom your product launch matters: existing and potential customers, media, analysts, investors, and dealers, if applicable. Customers and potential customers will want to know why this new product is valuable, what problem it solves, and how it improves their day. These may be vocalized needs—customers have been asking for a new widget, and you have delivered one—or unspoken needs. Perhaps customers have identified a problem but don’t realize you have a solution. Maybe customers must be shown they have a need in the first place.
Connecting with media and influencers
Media and influencers play a critical role in amplifying your product launch. Sure, you will need to write press releases with all necessary information about the product, minimizing use of superlatives—bleeding edge, unparalleled, and my favorite, best-in-class—but also consider exclusive previews with key journalists, captains of industry events and interviews to discuss the product. If your industry has influencers who have a strong following, consider seeding them with product samples for review, or propose collaborations for social media campaigns and content creation.
Media can help spread the word about the new offering and provide opportunities to share use cases, so it is important to identify a potential customer who can speak to this. Industry analysts are respected experts who can be invaluable for providing reviews and analyses of your product and how it stacks up against the competition. These third-party endorsements, while important to drive top-of-funnel awareness, can influence the buying decisions of potential customers as they continue in their journey. Investors will want to know how the new product fits into the company’s growth strategy. Finally, don’t forget dealer partners. They’re your company’s proxy so they will need comprehensive information to support their sales efforts, generate enthusiasm and be able to answer customers’ questions.
Monitor the momentum
To understand the impact of your product launch, it’s essential to measure its success. Sales data is probably the most important metric so look at pre-orders and see if your sales meet projections. Also, track the number and quality of media hits and assess the tone of the coverage. Look at your social channels, too, and pay close attention to engagement. Views and likes are great but engagement—the number of shares, comments and mentions—is higher quality. Gather customer feedback, and don’t forget employees. They are your strongest envoys and their boots on the ground assessment is essential. Ask them for feedback on what customers are saying about the product’s benefits and its reception in the marketplace.
In my experience, when it comes to launching a new product, a well-organized approach can make all the difference. Enter the PDCA management tool, a straightforward yet powerful method for ensuring your launch goes off without a hitch. First, you Plan everything out, figuring out your goals, strategy, and potential hurdles. Executing a successful product launch requires careful planning, clear communication and consistent messaging.
Next, in the Do phase, test your plan. By understanding what your audiences need to hear, crafting a compelling narrative, engaging effectively with media, influencers, analysts and partners, you can create a buzz around your new product and ensure its successful entry into the market. Then, Check. Review how things went and gather feedback. Bottom line: listen to the market, listen to your customers and employees, and listen to the media sentiment.
Finally, in the Act phase, refine the playbook based on what you learned, ensuring a smoother and successful entry to market. Remember, if you want to attract prospects, engage them with valuable content, address their needs and objections, and drive them to make a purchase. Repeat, repeat and repeat. Repeating key messages or concepts helps reinforce them in the minds of your audience.
Powerful and proven
The launch may be just a moment in time but, done well, it can create lasting momentum. Centralized communication is a powerful tool that can make a big difference. By ensuring consistent messaging, improving coordination, enhancing accountability, and enabling better feedback, centralized communication helps create a smoother, more effective launch process—with a lot less anxiety. By implementing centralized communication strategies, companies can better navigate the challenges of launching new products and set themselves up for success.
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