Product launches are exciting times. It’s important to create a good deal of buzz for any new product launch well before you’ve even finished creating it. The more excitement you can build in your current customers, the more people will purchase the new product.
Getting your current customers involved in your new product launches can go a long way toward building that excitement. A few ideas to getting customers involved in your product launch are below.
* Ask Them to Choose Which Product You Create – The best people to ask about anything new you want to create are current customers. They likely have some strong ideas about products they need and solutions they crave. Asking them directly will give you many different ideas for products.
* Let Your Customers Name Your Product – As you’re building buzz for a new product, send out a survey to your current customers regarding the new product to come. Give them a choice of two or three names for the new product and let them vote. Announce the winning name as a way to increase the buzz about the new product.
* Feature Customers on Your Blog – Ask for feedback from current customers on all your products, then feature them on your blog. People love seeing their own story and pictures and they feel closer to a business if they can know other customers.
* Host an Interactive Contest – You already have loyal customers, so give them a chance to win your new product by bragging about your old products. Have them send in a video that’s one minute or less about why they want to win the new product. Let other people vote on it as this will encourage sharing. The winner gets the new product free.
* Have an Informational Webinar – Invite all current customers to an informational webinar to discuss your new and upcoming product. Let them ask questions and show them some of the benefits of the new product to come. Give participants in the webinar a discount on the product.
* Give Current Customers an Early Bird Special – It’s always nice to launch a new product to your current customers first, giving them an exclusive opportunity to buy at a discounted price if they provide a testimonial. You can ask for these by video or written, or both.
* Let Only Customers Promote Your Product – Create an exclusive customer only affiliate program that gives a substantial commission on sales. If only customers can promote a really good product, you’ll get more people buying it in order to promote it. Building in exclusivity often acts as a huge incentive.
Any way that you can discover to involve your current customers in your product launch and development will build up excitement. Get them to share that excitement with their friends and increase your following exponentially – just by talking about a product to come. Allowing customers to give input into cover design, product content and more will also increase the buzz by making your product that much more compelling to your target audience since they essentially helped to create it.