Lesson 5: Marketing a New Product or Service

MARKETING A NEW PRODUCT OR SERVICE

Here are a few tips to help you prepare smart and effective promotional campaigns.

Check what is trending

Dig into the year’s top merchandise trends and find ways to incorporate what is hot into your products or shopping experience. Even if your product is not explicitly trendy, you can style your product photos with props that evoke the spirit of the season or the particular look that your buyers are after. To give your Moja storefront a cohesive feel, try updating your item descriptions with the same style elements you have incorporated in your item photos.

Analyze your competitors

There are direct and indirect competitors. Direct competitors sell the same products that you are selling. For example, bottled water. While indirect competitors sell products with a similar intention, for example, beverages whose purpose is to quench thirst. You need to come up with strategies such as incentives and value additions that will attract prospective customers to you instead of your competitors.

Hold a sale

To attract customers during a special promotional period, consider using a sale to sweeten the deal. When crafting a promotional offer, first you will need to determine how much of a discount your small business can realistically support. This is called your profitability ratio. Calculate your operating costs and make sure sale prices will cover those expenses. Then, choose a promotion that makes sense for your store, whether it’s a percentage-off discount (15% off your final sale price), a fixed discount ($5 off an order of $30 or more), free shipping, or a thank-you coupon. Establish clear parameters, including any limitations on inventory that’s included in the sale, spending minimums, and cut-off dates. Prepare assets to communicate your message consistently across all channels.

Plan ahead

Time is your biggest tool when launching a new product or service. Aim to launch a new item about two months ahead of the promotional material and begin the planning process a few months before that. In addition to outlining your marketing campaign and assembling creative assets such as product photography, draft copy, and design elements, there are a handful of tasks you should check off your list pre-launch:

Tease the new collection

As you’re making your products, share snippets of your process with your followers to pique interest. Tease sneak peeks on social media.

Prepare your shop

Adding more listings to your shop is a sure way to increase exposure in global search and curated product categories.

Take inventory

Keep in mind that once your promotion kicks off, a sudden increase in sales volume can put added pressure on your production, packaging, and shipping processes. Before opening the floodgates, make sure to stock both your inventory shelves and your shipping queue.

Spread the word

Reach out to your Trusted Network. This can be through your own marketing campaign via Connect, broadcasting WhatsApp messages, and sponsoring a Facebook page, to mention a few initial ideas. Use the channel you feel most comfortable with to keep your customers current on all your happenings.

Run a competition

This is a great way to introduce a new product. In this competition you advise that a frequent customer or user will win a desired prize. For example, the winner will have dinner at a famous restaurant or hotel in your community.

Use a community celebrity

You could partner with a famous comedian, musician, or football player to endorse your brand or a new product. The strategy is to show fans and the general public that the celebrity is a patron of your brand and products. This can be done through the celebrity’s Facebook page or other social media channels.

Sponsoring a community event

You need to identify a community event that attracts widespread interest. This might be a football match, a cultural festival, or a religious event. Financially support the event, place your advertisement at the event, and possibly deliver a few brief remarks at the event concerning why you sought to be a sponsor.