You finally nailed it! Your late nights and failed attempts to perfect your product have paid off! After planning and testing and researching, you are getting closer to the production phase of your creation. But before you jump the gun, it’s important to plan how you will actually sell your new product. Implementing these three steps early on will help you effectively market your product.

1 – KNOW YOUR TARGET

The soon-to-be next best thing is sitting right there on your desk. You can’t help but grin because you created it. Now, you need to find out who else will crack a smile when they see it. There’s a reason there are so many options in the world- Paper or plastic, grilled or fried, stripes or solid. We LOVE the ability to make choices based on what we want or need. So, who is it that will choose your product over another?

A target audience is a group of individuals with similar interests, demographics, and needs. You can attempt to sell your product to everyone that you come in contact with, but you will see more success in honing your efforts to that target who is more likely to purchase. A few questions that you might ask yourself when deciding your best target:

  • Is my target male, female, or is gender not applicable?
  • Does age play a role in my target?
  • What is their family life like?
  • Are their hobbies indicative of their interest or use of your product?
  • Is your product designed for a target associated with a certain job position or career?
  • Are you targeting a specific income when deciding the price of your product?

Keep in mind that you might also have more than one target audience. These questions should be a good start in deciding who you are going to target your sales and marketing efforts to.

 

2 – KNOW YOUR OUTLETS

After you have decided who you will be targeting, it’s time to plan how you will be reaching out to them. This is the age of social media. It’s hard to walk down the street and see a pair of eyes that aren’t fixed to their phone screen. Now, this might be detrimental to human interaction and growth, but it’s a wonderful thing for your new product! Who doesn’t love free advertising? Combining social media outlets such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, is a powerful way to reach publics that you would otherwise not be able to access so easily. Perhaps your target isn’t too tech-savvy. Consider running more traditional ads via local magazines, newspapers, and even brochure

However you decide to reach out to your audience, always remember that you can’t order a pizza at the bank. You have to go to the right places to get what you’re looking for. You need to use the right means of communication to talk with your audience.

 

3 – KNOW YOUR ADVANTAGE

You have your product plan, your target audience, and a plan for reaching them. Now how are you going to push through all the noise and competition to come out as number one? You need to know and have full faith in your competitive advantage. What is it that sets your product apart from all of the others? Why is it that your audience just can’t live without what you have to offer them? If you want to make your new product something that your consumer “needs”, it has to serve a purpose in their life. Once you’ve nailed down what sets you apart, it’s time to execute.

The most important thing to remember is that you want your potential customers to understand why you lost countless hours of sleep and possibly a few hairs and still couldn’t help but smile.