7 Pre-Launch Campaign Best Practices You Need to Know

Establishing a successful startup or business demands more than a cutting-edge product design or catchy brand name - in fact, they’re just the basics.

Kicking off the promotion campaign before launch allows marketers to test the waves, distinguish their audience’s needs, and improve the product design to make it market-compatible.

But given the evolving trends and changing customers’ needs and expectations, marketing has become more spontaneous than ever. The tips and tactics used to advertise your upcoming projects previously may not carry the same impact. We have listed the best pre-launch marketing strategies you should know to make your startup a success.

What is a Pre-launch Marketing Campaign?

A pre-launch campaign underlines the marketing efforts employed to create awareness and build anticipation in the audience about your next product before its official release. The purpose is to gather a community of people who are interested in your product and will eventually become your potential buyers.

Carrying out a promotion campaign before launch allow marketing professionals to assess different advertising channels, discover the right tactics, and plan effective pre-launch marketing strategies. It can take many forms, from social media channels and email marketing to paid ads and exclusive teasers.

A pre-launch campaign benefits your upcoming release with the following outcomes:

• A loyal audience eager to purchase your new product.
• An extensive social media following and email list based on your subscribers.
• An intuitive, user-friendly website perfectly optimized for search engines.
• Partnerships and collaborations with social media influencers that relate to your niche.
• A list of appropriate marketing channels that suit your business model and bring favorable results.

What Makes a Pre-launch Campaign So Important?

While your development team prepares the product for official release, the marketing department builds the customer base that is ready and excited to make those initial purchases.

Spread Brand Awareness

Whether you’re making your first appearance as a startup or adding another product to the lineup, announcing your early arrival ensures a better response at the official release.

The idea is to educate the relevant audience about your business, how the new product or service will benefit them, and what makes it superior to its counterparts. Leverage social media, email marketing, and other advertising platforms that align with your business niche to maximize your outreach.

Generates Leads and Sales

A successful pre-launch campaign isn’t all about creating buzz around your product; it’s also about compelling people to sign up with you. Promoting your product or service in advance through a website can attract early adopters eager to get their hands on what you're offering.

The more immersive and credible your campaign is, the more people will line up on the waiting list for the upcoming launch. The more leads you gather before the final release, the higher the number of sales you’ll draw afterward.

Build an Email List

As an entrepreneur or marketing professional, identifying your target audience and gathering leads isn’t enough. You need to connect and interact with your potential customers, giving them an impression of exclusivity. There’s no better time to win your customers over than the preliminary launch phase.

Most marketers offer exclusive content and services to their customers in exchange for their email addresses. As more people sign up on your platform, you get a list of interested subscribers that will be your top priority after launch.

Facilitate Product Development

Attracting valuable leads to your website landing page is important, but you need a bunch of early adopters who are ready to test your product before it is officially introduced. Even if you’ve had your product tested by industry leaders, it’s crucial to have your customers' point of view before the formal release.

Give your subscribers a chance to be early adopters of your product, value their response, and fine-tune your product based on their feedback. So by the time of the launch date, your product is perfectly ready to cater to its relevant audience.

7 Best Marketing Practices to Conduct Your Pre-launch Campaign

A pre-launch campaign is like the countdown to a rocket launch - it builds anticipation, creates excitement, and gets people fired up for what's to come. But like any good countdown, it needs to be done right.

These marketing campaigns last from a few weeks to several months based on the target market, product in development, and allocated budget for the promotion. Regardless of how much time you have until the launch day, adopting these seven practices into your campaign policy will make your launch a success.

Build a Lead Generation Landing Page

Without a proper landing page in place, there’s no way of knowing whether your marketing tactics are paying off in the form of leads. An intuitively designed page lets you capture leads, view incoming traffic, and improve your website’s ranking on search engines.

While people usually confuse a landing page with the entire website, it’s a solo page that welcomes users when they visit your website. It should be immersive and compelling enough to force visitors to sign up for a free trial, get early access to the product, or book a sales call.

Instead of following a standard template, incorporate the following elements when creating a landing page to make your campaign successful:

• Vivid call-to-action (CTA) - Carefully plant a CTA on your homepage that directs users to take the next step.
• Exit pop-ups - The small pop-up boxes appear when visitors attempt to leave your page, making them think twice before closing the tab.

Value Your PDPs

A website drives traffic from multiple sources. Your potential customer might interact with your website organically through a Google search, or your social media ad could catch their attention. Getting a person to click through is easy, but converting them into customers is the real challenge.

Like the landing page, perfecting your PDP (product details page) to lock customers is equally important. Since smartphones drive the most sales on a website, design your PDP in a mobile-friendly interface to give your customers a better experience.

Describe your upcoming product or service in detail, along with its special features and USPs that make it stand out. Elevate the descriptions with infographics and visual content to make them more readable.

Promote Your Brand through Content Marketing

With limited attention spans, displaying content about your product in long-form blog posts may not entertain the end user. Harness the power of content marketing to develop users’ interest in your brand and product. It includes the following elements:

• Infographics
• Webinars
• Video Tutorials
• E-books
• Live Videos
• Case Studies

Effective content marketing not only helps you create a need in the audience but also educates the customers about product information that you're launching.

Even if the product is yet to launch, let your audience know what makes it relevant, how it will solve their problems, and what sets it apart from the competition. Link relevant research and infographics, and conduct webinars to validate your idea and build credibility in the eyes of your customers.

Conduct Social Media Campaigns

Among all major advertising channels, social media platforms drive the most traffic to e-commerce websites and tech startups. While it's beneficial to test various marketing channels, these digital platforms can broaden your reach and connect with audiences that you may have missed otherwise.

With social media, you can create targeted campaigns that speak directly to users who fit your ideal customer profile. For instance, who else do you want to market your delivery service to? "Anyone" might be the general answer, but by specifying demographic and interests, you may discover that your primary target market is busy professionals!

Collaborating with influencers and celebrities is an efficient way to expand your reach, spread awareness of your product, and build credibility for your brand. They have a massive following of engaged fans, making them the perfect partner to help you reach new audiences.

Carrying out market research before initiating the launch campaign helps you gain valuable insights into your customers' preferences and behaviors. Once you identify what your audience wants, you can fine-tune your approach and make a bigger impact.

Publish a Press Kit for PR

Although digital marketing platforms and paid advertisements bring sufficient traffic to your online interface, your startup also needs some press coverage to earn a reputation.

Creating PR kits - promotional content that enable journalists to promote and advertise your brand - is an effective way to build hype and get the public talking about your future launch. A PR kit should include the following information:

Company Background and History - Slight glimpse into the history of the company, the story of the founders, their objectives and achievements, the mission statement, and milestones for the future.

Introduction of the Top Management - Introduce the management circle of the company starting from the CEO and top managers as well as sales and marketing heads. Discuss their fields of expertise and current roles in the company.

Product Description and Factsheet - Explain the distinctive features of your upcoming product that makes it stand out in its league.

Build a Rapport with Niche Communities

In today's digital landscape, you can connect with specific-interest communities with just a few clicks who can set you up for success. Like influencer marketing that generates hype around your brand on social media, these communities can also get you a whole legion of fans in both online and offline spaces.

Niche enthusiasts are always on the lookout for the latest and greatest products. They love nothing more than sampling new products, gathering information, and inviting their friends through referrals. So, if you can tap into a socially active community that aligns with your business model, you’ll get valuable feedback on your product from committed experts that roll in new customers.

Collect Customer Feedback through Product Sampling

People may ignore reviews when shopping for their go-to products and availing habitual services, but when it comes to trusting a new brand or product, customer feedback serves as the lightning torch.

Gathering user feedback before the launch not only guides new visitors to purchase from you but also assists marketing and development teams to fine-tune the product according to users’ needs and preferences. Offer free trials or send samples of your upcoming products to your target audience, possibly a group of people from your email list.

These individuals work as beta testers that examine the quality of your product, determine if it’s a better substitute to its counterparts, and provide recommendations to make it market fit. It is ideal to start product's sampling at least three months before the planned product launch.

Wrapping Up

Whether you are willing to embark on an untapped market or earn a foothold in an already crowded space, a comprehensive pre-launch campaign checklist is essential to make your business endeavours successful.

Plan it carefully to get your product launch off to a good start, earn a dedicated audience, and build credibility for your brand. Set realistic goals, understand your audience, deliver quality content, monitor progress, and test promotion strategies.

If you have a pre-established customer base, leverage them to generate buzz. If not, use digital marketing platforms and mainstream media to establish your rapport. But if the process seems too overwhelming and time-intensive, Prefinery.com can handle your pre-launch marketing campaign so that you can focus on the core product development.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why should I carefully plan out my pre-launch campaign?

A well-planned launch campaign sets the tone, avoids potential roadblocks, and makes the most of your resources. Plus, it can establish a loyal customer base and differentiate you from competitors. Rely on complex data, take the time to plan, and give your product the best chance of success.

How do I market my product launch on social media?

Social media marketing is ideal for conducting launch campaigns that specifically target a niche audience. Apart from availing of paid advertisements, you can team up with influencers to expand your reach and build brand trust. Host events, live Q&A sessions, and giveaways to attract your target audience. For more information, see our pre-launch campaign checklist.