The success of a product is being determined and measured right at the very beginning, the moment it is launched. In a globalized market where every product is fighting for consumers’ mind and wallet share, it is important that consumers are educated on why your products are different and better right from the start.
A product launch is a targeted effort to introduce a new product to the world. The aim is to reach out to your target audience and ensure that they know about it. Conventional product launches will involve physical interaction initiatives such as press conferences, launch events, trade shows and road shows. However, all these activities grinded to a halt with the emergence of the Covid 19 pandemic in early 2020. But brands and corporations are still launching new products and services via more innovative and creative methods.
One of the most popular and effective of these innovative and creative methods is Virtual Product Launch. Even before the pandemic hits, virtual product launches are gaining in popularity and is becoming to be a new norm. With all the restrictions imposed on social gatherings, business traveling and social distancing these days, corporations are migrating almost all conventional marketing activities onto the virtual platform.
Some of the biggest annual global trade shows and exhibitions that has been a staple for many industries such as CES, iFA and HKTDC have been severely hit by the pandemic. But instead of cancelling them, the organizers took these major exhibitions fully online. Corporations are invited to take part in virtual showcases, web meetings and live demos hosted over comprehensive platforms. This presented a major opportunity for companies to still reach out to their target audience far and wide despite the pandemic.
Brands and corporations that has been resistant to invest digitally are forced to revamp their sales and marketing strategies, focusing on building their digital assets and presence to ensure survivability. In the process, many are exposed to the key advantageous and benefits of virtual product launches.
Other than the ability to reach target audiences far and wide, virtual product launches allow more participants to access the event from the comforts of their own venues. There is no physical limit to the number of participants, which translates to increased eyeballs and visibility.
The quality of audience engagement is expected to increase over virtual product launches as compared to conventional events. Participants interested to get more information will be standing in queues to speak with the vendors’ representatives, while some might not even get that opportunity at physical events. Virtual product launches are hosted over comprehensive platforms or webinar tools that allow the representatives to engage in personal chat sessions or address participants in groups, cutting away the hassles, crowds, and queues.
Despite the flexibilities and convenience, corporations are most interested in the monetary benefits they stand to gain by engaging virtual product launches. In terms of cost, hosting a virtual event is definitely more cost effective that organizing a conventional physical event that requires larger manpower, bigger venues and more time consuming. With a lower cost and wider reach, every lead or sale converted is acquired at an improved cost efficiency, thus increasing the Return of Investment or ROI for every dollar spent.
This is a time where launching a new product or service via virtual platforms is no longer by choice, but a necessity. We’re already at a digital age where the first point of access for information is over the Internet. Brands and businesses are all looking at getting maximum profits within the shortest time with the lowest expenses. Virtual product launches meet this expectation perfectly for now, and for a l
