you just got in a great product or started offering a new service, but how are you going to let your customers know about it? don’t let your money go to waste by not getting the word out. whether it’s a new restaurant special, summer clothing line, car wash, or seasonal coffee drink, you’ll want to get your customers excited about trying something new this summer.

in order to make sure your new product or service is a hit, you’ll need a top notch product launch plan. we’ll show you how to get started with these three easy steps.

1. develop consistent messaging

before you start sending out emails, posting on facebook, and printing promotional material, sit down and write down the message you want to get across to your customers. this typically takes the form of a one-sentence tagline that explains why your product is great and why your customer needs it in their lives.

for example, if you have a new restaurant menu item coming out, you could say: “beat the summer heat with our cool italian gelati. get them 50% off with any entree for a limited time.”

once you have this consistent promotional messaging, you’ll want to make sure that you hit that same point home for every promotional material you have. this will resonate with your customers and keep your business at the top of their mind.

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2. pick a mix of channels to reach your customers

in order to reach as many customers as possible with your promotional efforts, you’ll want to have a healthy mix of different marketing channels to reach your customers. channels are the different advertising and marketing mediums that you use to communicate with customers. facebook, google ads, radio, printed brochures, pinterest, email, text messages, television, and direct mail are all examples of marketing channels.

before you pick specific channels, consider whether it’ll be effective at reaching your customers by asking yourself these questions.

• do you have a strong facebook following?
• do you have an email or sms marketing tool to reach them?
• do your new customers typically find you on yelp?
• does your website drive a lot of traffic to your store?

pick the channels that your new and existing customers view or visit the most, and start posting your specific promotional messaging that you developed in step one.

3. don’t forget about the in-store experience

while reaching out with your marketing efforts will get customers in the door, don’t forget about reminding your customers about your new products or services once they are in-store, too. here are a couple ideas on how to do that:

• for a new clothing line, consider placing your new products at the front of the store with some new signage with your promotional messaging that you developed in step one.
• for a new restaurant special, highlight the addition with some simple printed menu inserts.
• in all cases, train your staff to talk about your new products with customers.

focusing on the in-store experience will capture your customers’ attention and increase sales of your new offerings.

next time you have a new product or service that you want to get the word out on, remember these three steps: develop consistent promotional messaging, pick a mix of marketing channels to reach your customers, and don’t forget about the in-store experience.