Having a great idea is the easy part. Putting it into practice and making a successful business out of it can be a mammoth task. The practicalities of a business start-up are fairly simple to achieve: write a solid business plan, ensure you have enough money to get your venture off the ground, set up a website, begin marketing and then go live. However, it can be tricky to know how to be proactive and encourage customers to engage with your business. You may have the most revolutionary business idea since the tablet, but you still need that initial spark of interest to potentially open the floodgate of orders and sales. What is it that companies do that seemingly get the whole country talking about them? Take a look at these tips to help you create a killer buzz for your business.

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  1. The Pre-launch

If you have a new product that you are bringing to market, you will want to create that mythical aura about it. When Nintendo was releasing the Wii, there was nearly a whole year of hype surrounding the product. The wise marketing people at Nintendo knew how to manipulate their core customers as well as engage new ones.

With a savvy marketing campaign, they were able to release snippets of data about the product but not quite quench the undying thirst for information about the new gaming console. They always kept people wanting more. Through intelligent use of social media platforms, YouTube and industry events, Nintendo had gamers eating out of the palm of their hand before anyone had actually seen what the product even looked like. By the time launch day came, queues had formed at retailers from midnight waiting for dawn openings. Every gamer wanted to be the first to experience the new interactive way of racing Mario around a series of world circuits.

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  1. The Launch

Timing is everything. You have created a gentle hum about your product, and people are talking about your business. It’s important that you don’t allow the momentum to fade. Harness the buzz and inject it into a launch event. This could be at a trade show exhibition or convention. Here, you will have industry specific clients already attending creating a ready-made market for your launch. Get the word out via social media that you will be there, send out updates via email and write a series of blog posts about your product and its launch.

For your pitch to be successful, you need to blow people away with a wow factor. Invest some money in creating a high-spec and visually inspiring presentation. Consider the use of promotional models to attract an audience and engage your customers. Attractive models often break down barriers between the company and the consumer by being friendly and approachable. They generally have a slightly more laid back approach to communications with a less formal approach to engagement. This can make the attendees feel more at ease and be more likely to spend more time at your launch.

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  1. The Pitch

This is the big one, the aspect of your launch that will make or break your ability to harness that killer buzz and convert it into sales. People will be looking to you, the face of the business to deliver a sensational speech about your product. Plan your speech carefully. Make it engaging and inspirational. If you are the more shy and introverted type, think about heading off to a presentation course to brush up on your communication skills. Be honest, warm, open and natural. No one appreciates the hard sell – let your product do the talking.

People want to know how your product is going to be of benefit to them. They want to understand how you can make their lives easier and more efficient. So go out there and engage and enthuse them with your passion. Get the product out and show them. At their product launches, Apple always had Steve Jobs handling the latest MacBook to show off its usability and aesthetically stunning looks. Do the same and give your potential customers a demonstration of how your product works.

Creating a killer buzz for your business is all about generating support and harnessing it throughout the launch process. Like Chinese whispers, news of your product and its launch will spread via email, blogs, social media and word of mouth. Hype tends to grow exponentially meaning that by the time you come to launch day, you will have a very willing group of potential clients waiting with baited breath for the big reveal.

 


Yus Rivero
Yus Rivero

Yuscarlin Rivero is the Segment Producer for Money For Lunch.