We have a guest post today from Rory Ramsden, one of my fellow product launch managers. Rory answers…
Who or what is a product launch manager?
You may never even heard of such a specialist job description. And if you have, do you know what a product launch manager really does?
Let me explain.
You know how every time Apple launch a new mobile or laptop or some such there’s a queue of raving fans on launch day that seems to go round the block all wanting to buy it and buy it now?
Well, that’s no accident. It all came about because a product launch manager executed a well thought out product launch plan.
Grab a coffee and I’ll tell you the story…
It all started some months ago with a few hints made by un-attributable sources. These hints were dropped in places where people talk. The rumour mill began to work leading to company denials. The rumors persisted.
Finally someone inside Apple came right out and said that they were working on this new game-changing product but he was not at liberty to say any more.
The market pressed for answers to their questions. The rumours became more detailed. Just detailed enough to whet the appetite. And tease even more speculation from Apple’s super well-defined market.
The clamour for more information grew to a crescendo. What will it do? How will it do it? When will it be available? How much will it cost? The community of now raving fans twittered, blogged and updated their Facebook pages.
Apple leaked more details. Steve Jobs spoke to a few key people. The anticipation ramped up even more. Apple’s competitors got frightened. Apple was dominating the agenda. No-one who was anyone talked about anything else. The buzz built and built.
The new product launch was being expertly managed.
At the 11th hour, a video went viral. It revealed just about all you wanted to know. This was a sneak preview of this never-before-seen sexy looking new object of desire. There was still no mention of the actual price. Apple reassured everyone that they could afford it.
Now all your friends were talking about it. They seemed to talk about nothing else. You didn’t want to be left out. You did some research for yourself. Got yourself onto a ‘jump to the front of the queue’ list. Now you would get one hours advance notice of the doors opening. Now, you were a raving fan.
After all, you could not be seen NOT to be. All your friends were.
Then came the launch day announcement. Everyone was super excited. The bad news was that not everyone could buy one. The factory was on overtime but there was no way they could fill the demand.
Et Voila… raving fans sleeping on the street all night. They just had to. There was no other way of being sure of buying one. They had to be one of the first through the doors
What do you think? Are they simply buying a new mobile phone or laptop?
Or
Are they buying an icon? …a status symbol? …a physical affirmation to their friends that they are just the coolest thing on two legs?
Well, of course they are buying a well designed product packed full of remarkable features and incredible benefits. A game-changing device. You have never seen such a smooth, clean design before. You have never seen such a wafer thin laptop before.
It stands out from all those other perfectly serviceable products in the market place. It is not bland. It is remarkable.
No-one can accuse Apple of me too marketing
That is because Apple use the same product launch techniques that we could put into action for you. They built a conversation with their prospects. They created buzz and anticipation. Everyone was caught up in the excitement of the launch. The market was engaged and wanted the launch to be big.
Then came the ‘scarcity’ trigger. This amped up demand. When the product finally went on sale, there were so many buyers that the idea of actually have to ‘sell’ the product was redundant.
The Product launch plan is packed with psychological triggers, a sequence of actions using different modalities and different tools. It has a well-crafted story. It identifies and answers objections early. It responds to frequently asked questions. There is a conversation with the community.
A product launch manager develops and executes a disciplined well worked out sequence that turns a product launch into an event with a capital E.
If Apple can do this then you can too … with our help. We are specialists. We can help you transform your business with your next product launch. We can help you take your business to the next level… in more ways than one.
Straight out of the gate, you have to decide what you want to achieve with your launch… Do you want to grow your list of paying customers? Do you want to become the go-to guy in your market? Or do you just want to make oodles of moolah, money or indeed cash?
These are some of the questions only you can answer.
You know the old adage that goes something like this [I’m paraphrasing here] …
If you set out without a route map and without a destination, you will arrive somewhere but it certainly won’t be where you expected.
So start now. Decide what your one launch goal will be. Then take the first step to achieving that goal. Fill out this quick questionnaire and tell us something about your business…
We’ll get back to you real soon.
At last night’s talk about ethical banking, hosted by FastTrack: The Club for Entrepreneurs and Small Businesses , a woman whom I had just met was vigorously shaking her head saying “I still don’t GET what it is that you DO”. 