The task of bringing a new product to market is never a simple one. You have to go through a lengthy research and development process, carefully tweaking your design until it is as perfect as it can be, and overcoming the inevitable obstacles this phase always tends to produce. By the time you are ready to sell, it can often feel like much of the hard work is behind you – but in truth, you’re actually right at the start.
While you may know you have created a great product, you are now tasked with persuading your prospective customers to buy. Unfortunately, many a great product has floundered at this stage, with product sales stalling and the underlying business creaking as a result. Below, we’ve put together three different methods that can help you get the sales ball rolling, starting your journey towards future business success.
1) Offer free products
If you’re looking to create a “buzz” around your product, the quickest and simplest way of achieving this is by offering free products. You could just offer free samples to anyone, but most businesses prefer to offer products in exchange for an action from the consumer; you could, for example, provide a free product to anyone who follows you on Twitter, or signs up to your email list.
The obvious downside of this choice is that you are giving products away for free, which is obviously less than ideal. However, this downside is somewhat offset by the benefits of building your social media followers or email list subscribers – which you will find very useful as your business progresses.
2) Send gifts to bloggers and social media influencers
It’s important to note that there is a difference between gifting bloggers a product and guaranteeing for a product to be featured on a blog or influencer’s social media profile. Most bloggers and influencers will expect further payment for a guaranteed feature, which may be outside of your budget, and thus not feasible right at the start of your company.
However, you can still send a product as a gift, and hope for a mention as a result – it’s not a sure thing, but it’s definitely worth trying.
3) Start an affiliate program
Affiliate programs are relatively simple arrangements:
- Your affiliates promote your product through their preferred method; for example, blogging about your product, organizing a PPC campaign, or on social media.
- Your affiliate directs customers to your website via an affiliate link.
- If that customer buys a product, you pay the affiliate commission for the sale.
It is also worth noting that affiliate programs are particularly worth considering due to the fact they are paid on results. If you don’t make a sale thanks to the work of the affiliate, then the affiliate does not receive commission. This arrangement is particularly useful if you’re still in startup mode, and are thus trying to keep your costs as low as possible.
Final thoughts
It is important to note that the methods as mentioned above are not exclusive; you could try all three if you have the time and opportunity to do so. This multi-layered approach should help you to define what works for you and your particular product, forming the solid foundation that your future success is built on.