During the month of July, Garden Media Group is continuing our GROW! e-Book club series.
For those of you who are just joining us, our e-Book club has three steps:
- The actual e-Book to download
- A blog post expanding on the e-Book topic of the month every Wednesday
- A Q&A Google+ Hangout to talk through your questions at the end of each month.
In July, GROW! is shining the spotlight on launching a new product customers will love by examing how we helped RESCUE!(R)' its famous Stink Bug Trap.
Before we share all of our insider public relations secrets, your garden business has to make sure you're ready to launch a product.
Below, we're detailing the three steps your garden business has to follow before launching a product successfully.
Define Your Brand
Before you launch a new product, it's important first to do a a check-up on your garden brand. If you're just starting up, read these blogs to learn how to define a brand personality.
For most businesses, this is the time to doublecheck that you're embodying your three brand words every day. Maybe it's loyal customers, or offering exclusively eco-products. In regards to your new product, reevaluate the values that matter most to your company and reinforce these in your brand messaging.
Finally, look at your brand persona. Is it unique, enticing and engaging? Take a critical look at your marketing materials from social media to your product descriptions to ensure anything and everything written by your brand has a united voice.
Differentiate from Competition
Your garden product is here for a reason. You saw a need in the garden industry, and you sought to fill it. As unique as you think your product is, I'm sure there is competition that fills a similar need.
Instead of avoiding the competition, look at them objectively. Do your research and gather as much information as you can about the products that are in competition with your upcoming garden product.
With this info, pinpoint the competition's weak points--and position your brand as the "new" solution.
Target Consumers
We just can't say this enough! You've got to know your target customer inside and out. The better you know your audience, the more you can craft messages that appeal - and stick - with them.
With this knowledge you can target the media outlets, both traditional and social. that matter most to your target consumer to get the word out most effectively and effeciently.
Building the Buzz
Now that your garden business has done the prep work, it's time to build the buzz! In an ideal world, magazines and bloggers would be knocking your door down to hear more about your new product, but unfortunately, it's going to take a lot more diligent work than that. Luckily, Garden Media is here to help.
Building the buzz around a new product takes about three years. Hiring an agency is the best way to create a cohesive product launch--after all they're experts at this!
Before going any further, ask your potential agency lots and lots of questions.
Join us next week to discuss the crucial first steps in year one of a product launch, looking at RESCUE!'s case study as a paradigm!
Download our Pre-Product Launch e-Book for More Secrets!
Special thanks to Joshua Mason for the product image!
