5 Ways to Make Your Product Stand Out
Jul 10, 2022
If you're feeling overwhelmed by all the moving parts of launching a new product or program, here are five clear steps to help you out.
1. Do Your Homework
As an entrepreneur, sharing your big idea with an existing market is essential to launching your product. To make this possible, you need to understand both your offer and your market. Knowing your offer inside and out will help you create a compelling pitch while knowing your market will help you identify potential customers and partners.
The key to a successful product is choosing something that is high quality, unique, and within your area of expertise. As an entrepreneur, it's important to shop around and see what similar products or services are being offered in your niche market. This way, you can get an idea of the competitive edge and find a gap in the market that you can fill to make your offer unique. The competition is good. Study and learn from them. What are they offering? How are they positioning their offer? What promos do they offer? What is their pricing strategy?
The best way to serve your market is to know and understand them. Knowing their potential pain points can help you find solutions to their problems. As an entrepreneur, it is essential that you create an ideal client profile. By describing your ideal client in detail, you can better align the benefits of your products or services to their specific needs and problems. This will help you attract and retain your ideal clients. When creating your product, consider which audience would benefit the most and aim to attract them.
2. Create a Launch Schedule
If you want your launch to be successful, put your launch date on your calendar as soon as you decide on it. This will hold you accountable and help you stay on track. When planning your launch strategy, it is always good to start at least three months in advance. This gives you plenty of time to make any necessary adjustments to your plans. However, if you need to, you can take much longer than that.
The next step after scheduling your launch date is to make a comprehensive to-do list of everything that needs to be done in the lead-up to your big day. Write down your tasks, big or small! You can always change the task if needed, but this will help you stay on track, so nothing slips through the cracks. As a stretch goal, place tentative dates for each task and list who can potentially help you with these tasks. This way, you can delegate and get assistance when needed. To launch successfully, you might need to develop a team or outsource certain elements. Remember, you can't do it all alone!
3. Pre-Launch
As you get closer to the Big Day, pull out the pompoms and confetti and ramp up your marketing efforts to get your audience super excited about your release. Use social media, email marketing, and even good old-fashioned word-of-mouth to get people excited about what you're about to release. Increase your social media presence: show up more frequently, go live more often, share promotions, and conduct a challenge or webinar. This will help you show your audience your personality and connect with them on a deeper level. The more interactive you can be with your audience during this time, the better.
4. Launch Day
Welcome to Launch Day! This is the day we have been waiting for. All hands-on deck! This is where your team can be most helpful by handling event tasks, checking analytics, and troubleshooting tech issues that may come up. Since this is the first time your audience will learn about the full details of your product or service, expect that they may have questions, and be prepared. No matter what comes your way on your big launch day, remember that you can handle it! YOU GOT THIS!
5. Post Launch
Congratulations, you've launched, you’ve worked hard, and the sales are rolling in !
This is a huge accomplishment. This is a fantastic opportunity to gather feedback from your clients or those that may not have purchased from you yet. This feedback (or 'feedforward') will help push you forward and continue growing your business. This information can be used for testimonials or to identify opportunities to improve for your next launch. it is important to revisit your sales goals. By doing so, you can measure your progress and determine whether you need to make any adjustments to your sales strategy. It's important to always be thinking about your next launch and how you can make it even more successful than your last. Collaborating with your team is a great way to determine what your next steps should be. Just know, that I'm rooting for you!
Do you want to learn more about how you can achieve your business goal or more about successfully launching your product or service? Check out our upcoming Reignite Retreat 2022 for Savvy Solopreneurs in Charlotte NC.
In addition, stay tuned, our Savvy Launch Academy will be opening registration for our fall and winter sessions soon.
This particular day, I was in D.C. It was a good day! I had a few moments to look back in retrospect on how far I have come. I just completed a video campaign with one of the nonprofit organizations I partner with. I was able to join some of my mentors and peers in the field. It is always an enjoyable time when I get to see them. I never would have believed I would end up where I am now.
About two weeks earlier, my uncle came to me and said, "Shawnte’ every time I turn around, you are constantly beating odds. I've never seen somebody go through this and go through that and still come out.” Surprisingly at the time when he was saying all of this, I was going through hell. I was getting hit on the left and on the right!
As I was looking back over the past few weeks and rehearsing the events, I said to myself, "Hold up, Girl! You have a history of BEATING ODDS."
So many people see who I am now, and they think, "Okay, I want you to be my mentor. I want you to be my coach.". Few truly know and understand my past struggles. It is more than a HIV diagnosis; HIV has become a light affliction. Like most resilient people, I have gone through so many challenges. Building resilience is necessary!
As the corporate woman, author, advocate, coach, mom and more, I want to start being more transparent about who Shawnte’ is behind the scenes. Our transparency can truly transform lives.
I recalled by 11th grade year in high school. I was going through a season where I was experiencing some issues at home which resulted in me living from home to home. After several weeks in this predicament, my boyfriend ended up sneaking me in his home when his mom was sleep. Most days were spent in school, then working, sitting at the pool house or in my boyfriend’s brother’s abandoned car. Some nights I even slept in the car.
I would wake up and shower in the house or go to the pool house to shower. I rode my 10-speed bike to high school every day. No one knew, except my close friends that I was homeless. I was just trying to get through the year, just trying to keep my head up. My principal at the time walked around daily with this arrogance. She was brutal but later I recognized she was simply doing her job as a leader. Grant it, I had an attitude most days as well. I was not as composed back then as I am now.
I was unable to ride the school bus because I did not have a permanent address to be placed on the route. As a result, I would arrive to school late most days. One particular day she said, "Shawnte,’ if you're late one more time, I'm going to expel you." It was just one of those days I just was not feeling it. She pushed all my buttons!
“Look, ma'am my legs are sore. I'm tired from riding this bike every day,” I was saying to myself. Before I knew it, the frustration that had built up for several months came out and I blurted out, "Well, just go ahead and do it." She replied, “Fine.” She expelled me! It was the final months of the school year. Therefore, since she expelled me instead of suspending me, my 11th grade would not count. Now it was her abrupt approach mixed with my negative demeanor that resulted in my outcome. I always say, your attitude can take you through doors or it can keep you out of doors you would have otherwise had access to. As a result, I had to sign up for summer school for the entire summer, to earn enough credits to enter 12th grade on schedule.
So here it is, I am homeless and now I have to find the money to pay for summer school. I eventually saved up enough money from my job at Pizza Hut to register for summer school. I did what I had to do! I finished summer school. I ended up coming back to D.C. for my 12th grade year and graduating from Paul Lawrence Dunbar High School on time!
Looking back at the situation, was it her fault I was in the predicament I was in? Sadly, she didn’t even know about my circumstance until after I was expelled from school. She wished I had come to her sooner before things spiraled out of control. How often are we guilty of blaming others for not helping us when they're unaware?
I had so many people tell me; I was not going to graduate on time or even at all. To see not only did I complete high school, but I earned one degree and then I went back and earned another degree. I am currently wrapping up my final semester of my third degree.
I was determined to prove something not to anyone else but to the little girl inside of me.
You have what it takes Shawnte’
You will get through this Shawnte’
You are smart enough Shawnte’
Heck, Shawnte’ YOU ARE ENOUGH
Every now and then I must remind myself of those moments. I am beating odds daily, but it is no goodness of my own. God placed a tenacity and determination within me that keeps me going even when I want to give up. Some days, I did not want to fight for myself. Somehow, someway I found strength to fight for others. I had people depending on me to SHOW UP! You never know who you are destined to help assist into their NEXT SEASON!
Whatever you go through remember, you were built for this! Rise up and bounce back! There is more in you and there is more to come.
Things to ponder on…
- Are you holding people hostage for not helping or supporting you and they were unaware you needed them?
- How many times have you continuously beat the odds? Make a list of the circumstances you have overcome. Include dates. Review your list (record) on days you do not feel worthy or courageous.
- Give yourself permission to get back up and try again. This time do it with support!
Don’t let the ODDS beat you, instead continue to beat the HECK out of the ODDS!
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