What is the best way to promote a new brand or product offering?

go-to-market

Congratulations! You have something new and it’s time to start promoting.

The go-to-market phase is very exciting, but it’s easy to waste a lot of money on fruitless attempts at promotion.

To get you started, here are some quick considerations when choosing the best path forward.

Brand development

If you don’t have a brand already, this is a great place to start. A brand alone, however, won’t get you very far if you don’t promote it well.

Don’t invest in a new brand yet if:

  • You haven’t articulated the problem that your product or service solves.
  • You haven’t identified your target audience.
  • You can’t communicate your unique value and your differentiators.
  • You’re not in a place to educate your customers about what you do yet.

Brand development is right for you if:

  • You have the messaging down, but there is no visual identity for your new offering.
  • Your current brand does not include your new offering.
  • Your new offering is complex and needs a clear and simple brand to identify it.

Content strategy and messaging

Many companies in a go-to-market phase use messaging that doesn't actually capture the value of their brand. This is a crucial mistake.

Work on your content and messaging strategy if:

  • You have shown your new offering to 5 people and they still can’t identify what it actually does.
  • Your current messaging is “you focused” instead of “customer focused.” The customer is the hero, and you are the guide. Stay focused on benefits to the customer versus reasons why you are a hero.
  • You haven’t developed a content matrix to use in a promotional strategy yet.
  • Your customers need a lot of education about your industry or offering and you need to build out supplemental material before you launch the product.

Promotional video

Sometimes new brands, products, or services need to be promoted with more than words. Video is a great way to tell your brand’s story and update customers about your new offering.

A promotional video is right for you if:

  • Your new offering is complex and best understood visually.
  • You are trying to stand out in a competitive market.
  • You are looking to showcase the ”human” side of your brand or business.
  • Your brand revolves around one person as the “face” and they need to be introduced.

Digital advertising

A full blown digital advertising strategy is often the fastest way to generate leads, but it isn’t appropriate for everyone at every stage.

Digital advertising is right for you if:

  • Your content and messaging strategy is already in a great place.
  • There is a lot of demand for your new offering.
  • You are trying to achieve brand awareness at a large scale.
  • You can afford to spend $3000 or more per month to invest into ad spend.

Whatever strategy you pick, the most important thing you can do is take the first step!

If you are looking for more knowledge for your go-to-market-phase, check out our digital marketing FAQ.