Content Marketing Today

For B2B Product Launches Word-Of-Mouth Trumps Advertising!

Secrets to successful product launches revealed in Schneider PR research study.

This somewhat surprising conclusion is one of many useful insights in a research study from Schneider PR that came my way courtesy of Marketing Sherpa.  The folks at Schneider did an in-depth research study among business-to-business arketing organizations to determine the most important ingredients for a successful product launch.

Here are the 10 most important things they identified in launching a product or service successfully:

1. Create a documented launch process.
2. Set a separate launch budget and make sure
it is adequate to meet the launch challenges
you face.
3. Establish your launch budget as early in the
product development phase as possible.
4. Keep your launch budget stable
throughout the implementation phase.
5. Determine your launch performance
measures before the launch begins.
6. Measure the “right” success metrics.
7. Include the “right” external launch
professionals on your team.
8. Fight for bigger budgets.
9. Educate your sales force and other internal
audiences about your new product or
service. Also focus on distributor, retailer or
dealer education.
10. Spend money on word-of-mouth campaigns
rather than on advertising.

That final intriguing conclusion results from one critical question the researchers posed.  When asked to choose the three most important factors that contributed to the success of the new product launch, respondents placed these at the top:

• salesforce preparation
• word-of-mouth campaign
• online campaign

Surprisingly, advertising didn’t even make the cut.  It fell somewhere below ‘ other.’

This excellent free report might prove invaluable as you prepare to launch a new business-to-business product or service.  Click here to download a copy.