Launching a new product can be a daunting process, especially if you’re trying to break into a specialist or saturated market. Attention to detail and careful forward planning is crucial for a successful launch, which is perhaps best demonstrated by Steve Jobs and Apple.

On launch day, iPad managed to sell over 300,000 WiFi only units. iPhone 4 sold over 1.7 million units within its first three days, while iPhone 3G sold over a million units over the launch weekend. The competition for a successful launch is tough, but that doesn’t mean you can’t do it if you follow these basic steps.

Find an existing link to a known product

Even before you start thinking about your launch campaign, you should start thinking about what your target audience will get out of the product, and why they should buy it. Try and draw a link between a product your customers already know, and show off how yours is better. For example, CoolSculpting, or cryolipolysis, is a weight-loss treatment that targets unwanted fat cells. While many customers immediately think of ‘liposuction’ for shedding extra pounds with a cosmetic procedure, CoolSculpting is non-invasive and non-surgical, meaning there are no scars following the procedure, which draws customers in.

Creating a parallel, especially a comparison where your product comes out favourably or equal (depending on the product or service), will also help potential customers remember why they should be choosing you over someone else.

Reach out to celebrities and influencers

Audiences react well to what their favourite celebrities are doing, and powerful influencers are key to marketing a new product. Reaching out to celebrities, bloggers, and vloggers, and having them vouch for your product is a sure way to boost engagement with your and their audience. Have them link back to your website and social media accounts to boost social engagement, and potentially sign up to any pre-orders your website offers.

Using the previous example, CoolSculpting can be marketed by using celebrity faces who have undergone the treatment in the past. Celebrities such as Keeping Up With The Kardashians stars Khloe Kardashian and Kris Jenner have had the treatment themselves, as well as Jonathan Cheban and TOWIE’s Bobby Norris. This can drive sales for new doctors offering the CoolSculpting treatment, if clients know their favourite celebrities have had the same treatment.

Start planning months in advance

Building a buzz around your product can start months before your product launch, and gets your audience talking about it early. It could also be worth keeping any specific information vague if your product is brand new, to keep customers in suspense, and only releasing select information about the new product.

Cosmetic doctors looking to promote new treatments could show off before and after images in a bid to build buzz within their customers. Partnering with celebrities from early on could promote the business even more, and gives the chance for a longer and stronger relationship between the influencer and your brand.

Collect feedback to improve your service

Customer service is key for any brand, big or small, and all companies should have their service as one of their top priorities. Collecting feedback and responding to what your customers are saying will be a huge benefit to your business when you’re just starting out, and can help make a product launch a success.

You could do this by conducting a soft launch, allowing a select few customers to try your product for the first time, and speaking to them directly to find out how you could improve the service in time for a complete launch.

Collected feedback can also be used to build up a set of key phrases and relatable terms to continue marketing your product. You should work alongside any bloggers and influencers for this, to further build a solid relationship between the influencer and the brand. Having this relationship makes it easier to work with them in the future, ensuring that their fanbase are always aware of your business, which could draw in more customers.