I have my product all set but how do I market it?

Sadly, great brands do not come with directions on how best to market them. It is impossible to say that this way will work and this way will not in every case. So the issue then becomes, how best to reach my target audience and, in the end, how to sell the product. First of all, rivers of ink have been spilled on how best to market a product, to that end I will refer you to the local library or bookstore to decided how you want to brand and market your product.

But to start off, you need to have some basic idea of how you want to go about the process. Pardon the cliche but you need to crawl before you can walk. First of all, I would sit down with your team or if it just yourself sit down and figure out what you wish to accomplish. Do you want to ramp up brand awareness first or do you want to jump in feet first and create a quick buzz. I tend to lean towards to the slow ramp up because it has longevity and buzz much like the fizz of a soda can fades rather quickly.

I think the best place to start is with your web site. The web site is basically your front door and it gives you a wonderful opportunity to test messages and test the layout of your image. Does your design formats reinforce the brand image of the organization and does it clearly convey what you do, who you or, and/or what you are about? The web site is also a great laboratory where you can test which messages have the greatest resonance with a target audience. This is your best chance to test your concepts and ideas on a limited, but ideally targeted audience.

The development of the web site should only take a few days but can provide your first feedback on the marketing of your idea and can also provide invaluable feedback regarding your marketing message and the value statement you hope to bring to the marketplace. This is your best chance to make the quick fixes needed before you take your product to market or even take it to the next step of the marketing process.

Tomorrow we will talk about the next step to take!