According to Nielsen, 60% of consumers like it when brands launch new products. But while there’s certainly an appetite for new FMCG products from your target customers, getting your product launch right, especially in the eCommerce space, is easier said than done.
In fact, a massive 95% of all newly launched eCommerce products fail! The FMCG world is a hyper-competitive one, especially online, but the reason most new product launches fail is usually due to a lack of preparation.
To ensure your new product launch is a resounding success, you must tread carefully to plan your product launch properly and avoid some of the common mistakes FMCG brands make.
In this blog, we’re explaining the pros and cons of launching FMCG products online and the critical mistakes you need to avoid before going over our 7-step process for a profitable product launch. Let’s get started.
The pros and cons of launching a new eCommerce product
Not sure if launching a new product on eCommerce channels is the right choice? Let’s look at some advantages and disadvantages of new product launches to help you weigh your options.
The pros
More sales
By launching new products, you’re appealing to customers with different preferences and new consumer demands/ trends. So if you’re selling 100 FMCG products on eCommerce websites rather than 10, you’re essentially giving yourself 10 times more chances to achieve product sales.
More recognition
New product launches often mean an entirely new arsenal of marketing assets and campaigns. And the more marketing activity and product-related content you put into the eCommerce sphere, the more brand awareness and recognition you’ll create – as consumers see your brand more ofte
More loyalty
By offering your customers variations on their favourite products, you’re more likely to retain them and generate more repeat sales. Creating a wide and varied product mix allows your customers to choose based on their preferences and prevents them from buying from competitors what they can’t from you.
The cons
Time-consuming
Developing and planning the launch of new FMCG products can take months, if not years. From marketing campaigns to in-person events, there is a lot that goes into it. And if your product launch isn’t successful? That’s a lot of hard work and time down the drain.
Too expensive
Planning and executing a new product launch can be quite costly and isn’t something we recommend for FMCG brands still in their infancy and not making much profit. With such high product launch failure rates, you must have enough disposable income to cover yourself should your product tank online.
Product launch mistakes eCommerce brands make and how to avoid them
Only 40% of products brands develop make it to the launch phase, and just 60% of them actually make any profit. To ensure your products don’t end up in the eCommerce graveyard, we’ve outlined some of the most common product launch mistakes FMCG brands make and how to avoid them.
Launching half-baked products
If you don’t think your product through enough in the development phase, it doesn’t appeal to your target customers, or you don’t design it well, there’s a high chance it’s not going to make much profit.
How to avoid it
- Validate your product idea
- Get customers to test your product
- Identify key differentiators
Not enough research
Without researching what your target customers really want from your new products or assessing what your competitors are doing to make sure your product offers something unique, you’re basically shooting in the dark. As the saying goes, “fail to prepare – prepare to fail.”
How to avoid it
- Conduct customer surveys
- Analyse the marketplace
- Test your landing pages
Poor product timing
When you launch your product can make a huge difference in terms of sales and profit. So it’s vital you do enough research and prep surrounding customer demand and competitor product launches to find the right time.
How to avoid it
- Don’t launch products close together
- Launch in time with customer demand
- Do competitor/customer research
Inadequate data
Many FMCG brands don’t explore the wealth of customer and market data at their fingertips to inform their new product development and launch strategy. Failure to tap into enough market research and use it properly will lead to poorly executed launches.
How to avoid it
- Pull data from numerous sources
- Combine sources for more informed insights
- Partner with retailer sites to extract their data
How to plan a successful product launch step-by-step
Now that you understand the benefits and drawbacks of launching a new product plus some of the most common pitfalls to avoid, let’s explore how you can plan a successful FMCG product launch in 7 easy steps.
1. Research, research, research
Research is arguably the most important element of your product launch strategy. Without conducting thorough audience, competitive, and market research, your new product will be destined to fail. You must uncover everything you can about your target demographic’s needs, wants, and desires while also paying close attention to your competitor’s every move and changing consumer trends.
2. Know your key UVPs
What does your new product offer that nobody else can compete with? How is it different or better than your competitor’s products? What are the benefits of your new product for customers? Understanding your key differentiating factors will help shape your messaging and positioning online.
3. Create your GTM strategy
Your go-to-market strategy will map out every marketing activity, channel, and tactic you’ll use to engage your target customers throughout your product launch’s life cycle. A typical GTM plan will include the following points:
- Hype plans before launch
- Product launch schedule
- Website/landing page design
- Discount/ incentive to buy
- Online & offline events
- Social media strategy
- Influencer strategy
- Email strategy
- Content strategy
- Google Ads & SEO
- Measuring results
4. Build up hype
Now that you have your GTM plan and a launch date, plan how you’ll build hype for your new products online with teaser posts, exclusive sneak peeks, countdowns, and competitions.
5. Select influencers
Influencer marketing is vital if you want to reach your new product launch targets. Once you’ve selected influencers your target customers follow, create paid partnerships with them to get your product out there with freebies, paid posts, and ambassador programmes.
6. Launch campaigns
Launch your new product promotional campaigns to increase awareness and start driving traffic to your website. Make sure you’re only targeting channels that will produce the best ROI. Be strategic about when you launch your email, social media, and advertising campaigns to take advantage of consumer trends.
7. Measure performance
Once all your campaigns are up and running, keep a close eye on your performance across every channel. If a specific channel/campaign isn’t producing ROI after a set period, reconfigure where you’re spending your budget to boost the campaigns/channels that are working well.
Some key metrics to focus on:
- Traffic to your/retailer product pages
- Time spent on new product pages
- Product sales and revenue
- Conversions from each channel
- Product returns and exchanges
- Customer reviews and feedback
How brands can use Convert Group’s platform to oversee their product launches on different retailer sites.
Convert Group: Your secret to a successful FMCG product launch
Are you launching your product across different eCommerce retailer websites? If so, then Convert Group is about to become your new product launch best friend.
Our platform automates data sharing across FMCG brand and eCommerce retailer websites to give you a clear view of how your new products are represented and performing online. It also alerts you to product inconsistencies, lets you view all retailers at once, and delivers rich customer insights, so you never need to worry about an eCommerce website hampering your chances of a successful product launch.
If you’re interested in developing a more data-driven FMCG eCommerce marketing strategy, get in touch with us today, and our team will help you understand the benefits of Convert Group for your business.
