Exactly how much consequence does product launch marketing truly have? There’s a lot of discussion of marketing and the dynamics of launches, and so much preparation and raw nerves at the time of launches that surely, there must be something to this, right? It surely cannot just be an unreasonable fear and source of hype among people in business. Yeah, in this case, product launch marketing is of severe importance, and the reasons behind it aren’t as mysterious as everyone makes them out to be. Launch is a risky time, and there are a lot of variables to consider that, if not properly addressed, can spell disaster you can never recover from. Ok, let’s get into the various points in brevity here, and see what to watch out for and why mistakes with various things can ruin you forever. Pay close attention, because this is very, very important stuff! First, there is the widely known aspect of awareness, which is also the crux of just about everything else as well. Looking at customer experience, we always see the start with awareness and need creation. In an established industry with an established product, awareness will come from regular marketing strategies and strong internet presence. You’re already established. Others know of you, and will contribute to prospects knowing of you as well. Now, during launch, you don’t have the luxury of being established (and thus being able to rely on milder strategies for marketing), as well as having a movement socially which promotes you unprovoked. Maybe you’ve had PR in place prior to launch (it’s wise to), so people are somewhat aware of you, but only those with their noses buried in the literature that makes this kind of awareness happen. So, you need to drive that awareness by causing a stir. Be new, be interesting and be loud. As much as loud advertising and marketing ploys can be obnoxious, even that’s solid PR when launch is undertaken. But, the thing to consider with that is that you are making a first impression. First impressions don’t get do overs. So while there’s very little PR that would be considered bad, awareness by annoyance or controversy is a lowest common denominator strategy that should be avoided if possible. Now, the biggest problem that comes out of not handling launch properly is not so much the risk of bad PR, though that is a possibility and an undesirable one at that. It’s more about recovering expenses quickly. A lot of initial investment is at stake when you first leave the gates. If you don’t start seeing a green mark in your revenue and analytics almost immediately, you’ll never get out the hole you’ve dug. So, your initial marketing has to generate enough initial patronage to at least get you green within the fiscal month.