If you build it, they still might not come. No matter how fantastic and useful a product is, if you don’t market it, no one is going to know about it, and worse, no one is going to buy it. Use these product marketing tips to boost awareness of your brand and sales of the things you make.
10 Product Marketing Tips
Create a story
You can talk until you are blue in the face about how great your product is. If you’re just giving customers a data dump, no one is going to remember.
Instead, you need to create a story. Countless studies have been done and articles have been written on the human need for story and the role storytelling plays in boosting engagement.
What does storytelling to promote a product look like? One example is an ad created by Johnny Walker called “Keep Walking America“. The ad features a montage of people living their lives while “This Land Is Your Land” plays. It tells the story of the everyday American while at the same time promoting a Scottish whisky.
Give people ideas
“What can this product do for me?” is a common question. One way to market a product is to show people exactly what it can do for them.
An example is a buying guide, such as one for 4K TVs from Best Buy. A lot of people might wonder why on earth they’d need to shell out their hard-earned money for 4K technology. The buying guide not only answers that question, it also helps them find the right product.
Start early
Your brand’s product doesn’t need to be ready to launch for you to start promoting it. Just take a look at the crowdfunding site Kickstarter. Brands use the site to raise money to develop new products. Often, a brand will sell those products to early investors in the process.
One example of a brand that’s had considerable success with pre-launch product promotion is Pebble, a smartwatch brand. During the brand’s second Kickstarter campaign, it raised more than $20 million, selling more than 70,000 smartwatches.
Withhold product
Sometimes less is more when it comes to product promotion. Creating scarcity with your products makes people want them more. Nintendo infamously didn’t produce enough units when it first released the Wii. This only made demand for the game console skyrocket.
Focus on your uniqueness
When you’re marketing a product, it pays to focus on how yours is different from the rest. If people can be product A, why would they consider product B (your brand’s product)? Whether you’re cheaper, faster, or tastier, be sure to point out what makes you unique.
Be funny
Everyone likes to laugh. One way to grab people’s attention and market a product is to do something funny with it.
For inspiration, take a look at BlendTec and it’s “Will It Blend?” series. The videos in the series feature a mad scientist-type character who tries to blend unusual things, such as iPads and iPhones, in a Blendtec blender.
Focus on your customers
When marketing a product, it’s natural to want to reach out to new customers. However sometimes it pays to focus on marketing to the people who already buy and use your products.
If you were around in the 1980s and 1990s, you probably remember the “Got Milk?” ad campaign that often featured celebrities wearing milk mustaches. Instead of focusing on people who weren’t milk drinkers, the campaign targeted those who already drank it and might be worried about running out of it, according to Fast Company.
Differentiate your products
Say your brand is known for one thing and wants to start promoting a new, somewhat unrelated product. It’s a good idea to create a clear divide between products. Give your new product a different name. Do what you can to divorce it from your original product offering, especially if the two are very different.
Here’s a cautionary tale for you: Don’t be like Lifesavers Soda. Back in the 1980s, the candy brand tried to launch a line of sodas. They actually tasted pretty good, but people didn’t buy them because they couldn’t escape the idea that they’d be downing two liters of liquid candy.
“Go there”
These days, using athletes and celebrities to promote sneakers and athletic equipment seems natural. But back in the 1970s, when tennis player Ilie Nastase signed an endorsement deal with Nike, it was pretty much unheard of.
Don’t be afraid to be the brand that tries things others haven’t. You might end up breaking new ground.
Let users speak for you.
Who can tell the story of your brand’s products the best? Often it’s the people who use them. User-generated content can be a great way to market a product. One reason user-generated content works so well is because people tend to put the most trust in reviews and opinions from people they know, according to Nielsen.
One way to let people speak for you and market your products is to create a unique hashtag. Online retailer Wayfair asks shoppers to use #wayfairathome when posting about their Wayfair finds. Occasionally, the retailer will repost its customers’ photos on its own page.
Get creative and use these product marketing tips. The more you think outside of the box, the more attention you’ll draw toward your brand and products.