If you've built a physical product, you'll market it much differently than you would a digital product.
There are many considerations in marketing a physical product, and some are easily overlooked.
Before your product becomes a brand that fans associate with or become loyal to, you must work hard on its positioning, marketing and launch. These strategies can range from showroom demonstrations to distributing brochures and pamphlets.
But the best way to learn is to learn from the best. One of the earliest and most successful promotional stints for physical products dates back to 1988, when Nike hit record sales of $800 million with their “Just Do It” campaign.
Nike "Just Do It" Campaign
How were they able to achieve this success? Customers loved it because they focused on targeting not only the marathon runners but also a broader target audience!
You might be shocked that Nike's products catered exclusively to marathon runners at one point. The lesson to learn – to grow from one level to another, you need to take the leap of faith and target a bigger audience.
The key is identifying which strategy will work best for your audience to maximize brand popularity and recall value. Of course, the result must be an increase in sales.
Promotional products
Gift-giving or distributing promotional products to your customers and staff members is a great marketing tactic. To begin with, it instantly creates a positive sense of gratefulness and improves your relationship with your clients. Secondly, it's a constant physical reminder of your products, brand and business, ensuring that you're never out of sight and out of mind.
Interestingly, buyers who receive a physical promotional product with your brand name are more likely to form a favourable opinion of your organization. This is because the recipient is more likely to remember your company’s name and increase your recall value. Other than generating more leads, the distribution of promotional products also results in better customer response rates.
Affiliate programs
If you’re struggling to make sales and don’t have the cash to hire sales or marketing help, consider adding an affiliate program to your store. Affiliate marketing programs enable other people to promote your product for a commission. You’ll only have to pay them if they make a sale.
Affiliate programs typically work by creating a custom URL for each person promoting your products. They can share this link on social media, in a blog post reviewing your product, or even in a YouTube video where they’re showing it off. Through the custom links, you’ll be able to track who is driving sales for you so you can compensate them.
A little bit of education is usually helpful if you plan on introducing affiliates. Remember: they’re promoting your products for you, so in some sense, they’re handling a marketing function of your business. They'll make up their own if you don’t provide best practices.
Land your business in the press
Publicizing is a great way to reach new customers and help more people discover your product. It’s also notoriously difficult to do. Mainstream journalists are inundated with press releases and pitches for stories. Improve your odds by targeting bloggers instead.
Instead of sending bloggers press releases, reach out with a personal email and ask if you can send them a sample. You can target bloggers in your industry, product-focused websites, and even social media influencers.
Run a contest
Contests are an easy and affordable way to get your brand in front of many people. By giving away your product, you can ensure your content gets in front of the right kind of people: potential customers.
However, many contests fail. A few critical mistakes to avoid when running a contest to promote your business. Make sure the platform, the timing, the messaging, and the steps people have to take to enter your contest are well thought out.
Take creative ideas from the Big brands and brainstorm
Another smart thing you can do is follow the footsteps of some established brands that have managed to launch and promote a product successfully.
This is a great way to observe the market trends and avoid all the hassle of researching the same strategies they are presenting.
However, you need to be smart enough to understand the demographics, the niche and other factors influencing successful product launches to adapt the Big Brand’s marketing strategies to your business. Study how big brand have retained their customers using emotional marketing.
Coca Cola "World Machine" Campaign
Coca-Cola is a prime example of using emotional marketing to promote a product. They recently ran a campaign allowing citizens from India and Pakistan to communicate using their vending machines. This small step received a lot of applause from the global market!