10 Best Pre-launch Campaign Ideas You Can Implement

In the constantly flourishing startup market, manifesting your idea into a scalable startup that earns sizeable revenue in the future is nowhere easy. Let alone startups, even enterprises are under constant pressure to come up with new product ideas and find the relevant audience to sell them to. While the product development team

Developing an innovative product or service is only part of the process, it can’t guarantee success unless you draw in potential customers. 95% of product launches fail every year because of the lack of a structured pre-launch marketing approach.

While the development team meliorates your new product, direct your marketing department to set up an effective marketing campaign that ensures a successful launch. We’ve lined up the 10 best pre-launch marketing strategies to set the stage for your upcoming launch.

What is a Pre-launch Campaign?

A pre-launch campaign is a marketing plan that businesses devise and execute to create awareness about their brand, build anticipation in the audience, and generate leads before the product launch. It serves as the initial homework for companies to define their target audience and determine suitable ways or channels to reach them.

Knowing what people think about your upcoming product before its official launch allows developers to improve it to fit the market’s standards. The campaign also provides clarity regarding the appropriate price point of the product or service, maintaining competition with rival brands. It allows companies to redefine their marketing tactics and test various marketing channels until you're ready to launch.

Overburdening your marketing team to track and target prospects, build email lists, design marketing assets, and acquire early feedback can put your product development in jeopardy. Register your startup with Prefinery’s 14-day free trial to automate your pre-launch campaign.

Why is a Pre-launch Campaign Important for Startups?

The success of a product launch doesn’t merely depend on its technical merits. Rather, it takes a positive brand image and a rigorous advertising campaign to support the success.

Since startups have to begin from ground zero, they not only have to build a market-fit product but also establish brand awareness before they get to the launch phase. With a pre-launch campaign, you update your audience about any advancements in the design and launch, keeping them anxious enough to be the first customer.

Here are some reasons why setting up a pre-launch marketing plan should be the priority for your upcoming startup:

• Create anticipation in the audience, compelling them to purchase your product and recommend it to other customers. Releasing teasers and organising promotional events or webinars effectively build hype.
• Generate leads and build an email list of people that are interested in your product. Once you get people to sign up for your newsletter, keep them updated with follow-ups and news about your next launch.
• Acquire valuable feedback on the product from early adopters - selected individuals who share expert opinions on your new product, making sure it’s market-fit by the time of launch.

What Comes First: In-Depth Market Research

The journey of every successful product launch idea starts with extensive market research. As a marketer, it’s your job to ensure that your product is a good fit for the audience. Around 20% of startups fail within the first year due to the lack of market validation, insufficient research on competitor brands, or an unidentified audience.

Entrepreneurs running a one-person show rely strongly on their gut feeling instead of developing a profound marketing strategy. You don’t want to spend valuable human or capital resources, only to find out the product you're launching is already cashed in by several competitors.

There are two ways to ensure product/market compatibility: fine-tune the product to meet market standards or influence the market to make space for your launch. Given the tools and software available today, understanding the market dynamics - audience’s inclinations and preferences - has become considerably easy.

10 Pre-Launch Campaign Ideas for a Successful Product Launch

Even though there are plenty of successful pre-launch campaign examples to look up to while drawing your marketing plan, every startup is unique. What has led other startups to a successful launch may not suit your business dynamics.

Whether entering an already crowded market niche or launching something revolutionary, you need a solid marketing plan exclusive to your startup. Every business strategy must address and fulfill your vision for launching a new product.

What do you want to achieve with your product? How many prospective clients are you hoping to enroll by the end of your pre-launch campaign? Are you building a buyable startup or establishing a scalable business? Identifying your vision or goal with the business is crucial when formulating your pre-launch campaign.

1. Gather Leads through an Optimized Landing Page

The key to expanding your visibility and building credibility in the eyes of your customers starts with a landing page. While a well-positioned website provides a steady online presence, you need a lead generation landing page to receive prospective consumers and compel them to sign up.

All landing pages should be optimized according to advanced SERPs to achieve a better conversion rate from incoming traffic. Besides carrying a clear call to action button, the webpage should enlist unique propositions about your product and what makes it better than the competitors.

As a startup looking to generate leads, you must attract users from across the internet. Incorporate high-ranking keywords, write compelling meta descriptions, and list the information attractively to ensure your website is visible to people searching for you on search engines.

Instead of instating lengthy text blocks, portray the information through points and infographics to ensure higher readability. By the time your visitor reaches the CTA, they should understand what it’s worth signing up for on your platform. Target registered users with marketing messages, latest news and updates about your launch to keep the excitement alive.

2. Set Up a Referral Program

As a new business with a limited marketing budget, empower your customers to sell for you rather than spend millions on advertisements. In fact, you won’t find a medium more effective in spreading the news about your product than word-of-mouth referrals.

People are more likely to trust a product or service that’s suggested by their friends or acquaintances, making it the leading source of purchases. 74% of consumers consider word-of-mouth referrals as the key influencer for directing their purchase decision. The best part! Referral programs are extremely easy to kickstart.

If your product is impressive enough to get visitors on board, all you need is an incentive to spread the word. While most companies offer freebies and discount coupons in exchange for referrals, others have opted for smarter ways to entice their customers.

Robinhood’s waitlist strategy is a perfect example that gathered 100,000 user signups prior to the launch. Instead of offering special royalties, they offered a higher spot on the waitlist in exchange for referrals.

When launching your referral program, identify the right advertising channels to announce and market your product launch. Select a platform that resonates with the relevant audience to attract more firsthand users and, with them, an influx of referred customers.

3. Develop a Content Strategy

Real assets grow in value long after they’ve been paid for - the same goes for content marketing. Every large-scale enterprise views content as the fundamental marketing strategy to spread brand awareness and develop credibility with the audience.

A content strategy incorporates blog posts, videos, webinars, and podcasts to attract visitors to your platform, gather leads, and multiple sales in the future. Content marketing efforts aren’t as sales-focused as a PPC advertisements that directly pitch a product; rather, they're meant to inspire and educate the audience.

Developing a content strategy can help you generate 3 times as many leads while costing 62% less than outbound marketing. Regardless of your chosen medium, keep the content engaging to grab viewers’ attention and impel them to share on their social media feeds.

Although the results might be far-fetched, putting valuable content over the internet helps you drive organic traffic to your website - users that believe in your cause.

4. Conduct an Email Marketing Campaign

The majority of customers won’t expect email updates from a startup that’s yet to make a debut, but receiving them would certainly make them feel special. People generally scroll through their inboxes for discount coupons or special deals, it’s up to you as a marketer to ensure yours strikes their attention.

A well-crafted email with a catchy header and a seamlessly placed CTA has a 40% higher chance of customer acquisition than social media advertisements. Despite being one of the most cost-effective advertising mediums, email marketing offers an ROI of more than 28%.

In case you are still wondering if investing in an email campaign is worth it, here are some positive outcomes:

• Builds interest in the audience for the new business or product launch.
• Creates an email list based on your subscribers and asks them to sign up for exclusive access.
• Educates registered users about product features, pricing, and availability.
• Offers royalties and special discounts to entice users to buy your product.

5. Extend Social Media Presence

While a website takes weeks or even months to get noticed by search engine algorithms and rank on the first page, social media accounts go viral within days. For a startup with zero promotional groundwork, social media is the quickest way to get noticed by the audience.

Set up your social media accounts on all major platforms, including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn. However, direct your attention to the one your audience prefers. Unlike content marketing, social media platforms are more visual-focused. Design immersive ad posts (images and teaser videos) that capture users’ attention and urge them to click through to your landing page.

Building a presence is one thing, but turning it into a hyped sensation is the actual deal. The key is to remain active on your preferred platform by using relevant hashtags, recruiting influencers, conducting polls, and holding contests . You can also initiate countdowns to boost excitement and anticipation until the launch date.

6. Assemble a PR Kit

Self-promotion can only take you so far until you attract publicity from journalists and bloggers, who not only fortify your brand story but also disperse it to a broader audience. With formal media channels promoting a new product builds hype in the general public, creating a virality effect.

Often referred to as a press kit, a PR kit is a compilation of the brand’s background story, promotional messages, and founder’s vision for the company. It serves as a pre-described outline for influencers and journalists to write about your startup.

If you’re releasing an exciting new product to the market, the outline also carries a factsheet describing features, USPs, and pricing - in short, anything that sets your product apart from the rest. The content is often highlighted with screenshots or product pictures to develop the audience’s interest.

7. Collaborate with Influencers

Influencer marketing is a great way to maximise your visibility on social media and influence a larger audience. With more than 60% of online shoppers getting influenced by blogs and social media posts, influencer-led advertisement strategies are outperforming standard brand-created content.

The ideal approach is to collaborate with influencers that your target audience follows. Narrow down the list until you find credible people who are well-respected in their fields. Reach out to them via email or by sending free samples and inviting them to launch events.

Once influencers put in a good word for your product among their followers or leave a testimonial, not only will you gather valuable leads for the mailing list but also establish a solid brand reputation to grow your business. If the collaboration pays out in your favour, you can even build long-term partnerships with relevant individuals.

8. Reach Out to Niche Communities Online

Connecting with niche communities creates a two-fold impact; spread the word about your new product launch and optimise product development to meet market standards. No one is more capable of reviewing and gauging your product than people who are dedicated experts in your field. Follow these steps to reach out and join niche communities:

• Identify the target audience - Once you figure out the desired audience, identify the online communities they might be part of. Search through online forums, subreddits, and social media groups.
• Join the communities - Be a part of communities that align with your business niche and participate in group discussions, share relevant content, and contribute valuable information.
• Develop connections - The more you stay active on the online forums, the better you can build connections with product enthusiasts and industry experts.
• Introduce your product - Reveal your product to selective connections who’re capable of assessing it while maintaining secrecy during the pre-launch stage.
• Demand feedback on your product - Once the community members have reviewed the product, ask for their honest opinion. Gather feedback on the product’s positive and negative outcomes to further redesign or fine-tune the product in case of any shortcomings before the launch day.

9. Organise Pre-launch Giveaway Contests

One of the primary aims of a pre-launch marketing strategy is to create a buzz around the launch of your product, and hosting giveaway contests is a great way to get people interested in your new product or service They are fun and engaging enough to attract the audience’s attention - people who are otherwise less impressed by the product’s technical merits.

Start by identifying where you will host your giveaway. If you're a SaaS startup, can use a dedicated platform like Gleam or Rafflecopter or initiate your campaign through your website or social media pages.

These contests invite influencers and participants from different blocks of social media, encouraging them to bring in more referrals in exchange for rewards. The types of rewards or prizes you offer determine your success in building the hype. Introduce something that entices your visitor and urges them to take the next step.

Once your giveaway is ready to go, start promoting it on your website, social media pages, and other marketing channels. Use eye-catching graphics and copy to generate excitement and encourage participation. The contests should be long enough to give participants time to enter, but not so long that the excitement fizzles out.

10. Improve Your Customer Service

The day you initiate your pre-launch campaign and announce your entry into the market, your audience will be impatient to pre-order your product. Even if your startup’s launch is months away, have a customer support staff ready to address customers’ queries, educate them about the problem your product or service can solve, and guide them about the steps they need to follow to sign up for the waiting list.

Set up a 24/7, reliable customer care system where prospective clients can contact you whenever they want. Since customer service demands patience and compassion, appoint a suitable employee who fulfils the criterion, offering your client the experience they deserve.

Conclusion

Developing a revolutionary product that is set to compete with industry leaders and expanding it into a scalable startup is extremely challenging. But instating the best pre-launch marketing campaign along the way can smoothen those challenges, paving the way for positive growth.

Whether you’re establishing a new startup or introducing the next product to your lineup, never underestimate the importance of marketing during and after product development.

As an entrepreneur without an in-house marketing team, outsource your pre-launch campaign to Prefinery.com - a third-party marketing enterprise that helps you emerge as a market leader.

FAQs

How can I generate buzz for my pre-launch campaign affordably?

Using social media to share sneak peeks and behind-the-scenes content, and creating referral programs that reward early adopters are some effective ways to create a buzz without spending too much money. Most companies also host giveaway contests to incentivise engagement for a better response.

What are mobile-oriented pre-launch campaign ideas?

Mobile-oriented pre-launch marketing ideas are primarily geared toward social media platforms. These include creating teaser videos or images that showcase the app's features, hosting a pre-launch beta testing program, and working with influencers in your niche to promote the app,

What are some pre-launch campaign ideas for B2B companies?

For B2B companies, creating informative blog posts or webinars that showcase expertise and offering free demos of your launch to interested businesses are vital for a pre-launch strategy. Businesses can also partner up to co-promote each other's brand and products.