You’re getting ready to launch your new business.
You have all of the basics pinned down – your offerings, your ideal customer, even your pricing.
You’re ready to hit the market and start drumming up some business… but where do you go first?
Do you start with a simple LinkedIn post? Or a press release in the local paper? Where will that announcement direct them – to your website, or to a specific contact form? What, aside from a website, do you really need? And, most importantly, how can you make the biggest possible splash as you prepare to release your new business into the world?
Having worked with many aspiring new business owners via our full launch system, the Foundry Suite, at my company Edward & James, I know that these are all common questions.
And, to be frank, there’s no one-size-fits-all answer to these queries; these things tend to be highly dependent on niche, desired client and budget – but there are certain tips that you can take into account that will make the process that much easier, regardless of who you’re serving and with what.
So, without further ado, here are 5 tips for planning your brand’s launch.
1. Think About Budgets Early
Before you begin anything else, have a long, hard think about what budget you can commit to your launch marketing.
Without a cursory idea of your budget, all the planning in the world won’t help once it comes down to it.
After all, you can love the idea of billboard advertising all you want, and the idea of a business-launch black tie gala is great, but if you don’t have the cash to splash out on it just yet, that’s all for nought.
Your budget will inform which channels and opportunities are currently available to you, and will make going in easier so that you’re not blindsided by unexpected expenditures.
Once you’ve considered your brand’s ideal marketing placements as well as your budget, you can start to select the primary channels that you hope to show up on and form a communication plan around them.
Altogether, this will go on to help inform which key launch materials you may need, which brings me to tip two…
2. Map Out Key Materials Beforehand
Once you really start thinking about marketing, you’ll realise just how many opportunities there are for businesses to get seen… and each of those opportunities requires different marketing collateral that you will need to have if you want to play ball.
So start thinking about it early.
Say you’re getting ready to launch your brand new financial consultancy, and you decide to take a look at modern marketing opportunities.
Just at a glance, you have:
- Broad digital marketing, which requires, at a bare minimum, an up-to-date and SEO-optimised website
- Social media marketing, which requires social media accounts and templates to use across them
- Email marketing, which requires an email marketing platform and responsive templates to use on that platform
- Event marketing, which has varying requirements based upon the type of event, but includes at a minimum business cards and other stationery
- Content marketing, which requires a nailed-down tone of voice and a website to post content to
- Paid social advertising, which requires fully-fledged concepts and designs
- Traditional advertising, which requires your fully-formed brand kit
- PR marketing, which requires a formatted press release
- …And so on, and so forth
Each of these further requires relevant copywriting and branded design.
That’s a lot of marketing collateral that you need to have just to hit the ground running, and not even speaking towards any fun extras. So consider them early, and decide on the bare minimum that you need to get things started. While you can always expand upon your marketing mix later on, it’s key that you don’t show up late and brandless for your first opportunity for exposure.
3. Consider Events & Networking Opportunities
Putting a face to your business is always a plus. Events are a great way to do this, allowing you to get out into the community and spread the word yourself.
Now, there are a few angles to consider events from, depending on your current goals, resources and budget.
First, there’s the cheapest of the three main options, which hinges upon preplanned industry events. It’s a great way to do some on-the-ground networking and stay up to date in your industry, but success with these is dependent on your level of talent when it comes to sales, how many actually relevant potential customers are in attendance, how many of those people you can actually speak with when limited by time, and a healthy dose of luck.
Secondly, you can consider sponsoring a relevant event. While this can cost a pretty penny, some sponsorship packages are more affordable and can get you in front of a lot of pertinent people in one fell swoop.
Finally, potentially the most expensive (depending on how you go about it) and certainly the riskiest when it comes to attendance, is the option of hosting your own launch event. But buyer beware, the cost for this can add up quickly, and really can be completely dependent on how many connections you already have nearby.
Generally speaking, my advice would be to go with option one and utilise the industry and networking opportunities that are already ongoing nearby. Come up with a list of these early and start hitting them as soon as you can.
And that list of local connections you already have? Instead of wasting money and stress on planning on big night to chat with them, consider reaching out to them directly, which brings me to my next tip…
4. Prepare to Leverage Existing Connections
Okay, maybe ‘leverage’ is a strong word here. But definitely keep in mind any friends, peers, old colleagues and acquaintances who may be able to assist you as you embark on this new journey, whether that’s by becoming your first client or simply by keeping your name in mind.
This doesn’t mean showing up at Christmas dinner trying to hard sell to your uncle, but it does mean continually nurturing your existing relationships with the people around you. Stay in touch. Go for coffee. Post regularly on LinkedIn, and interact with their posts. Don’t just approach when you want something.
At any rate, keeping a key contacts lists to track all of your helpful connections is a great habit to start early.
5. Think Ahead
Planning is key here. You don’t have to know every single thing, but having a broad idea to carry you through the first few months can make all the difference.
Some great things to have at this point would be:
- A list of key dates, such as any holidays you need to be aware of, or important industry dates that you can leverage accordingly
- A few blog ideas that can carry your content marketing through the first few months
- A few social ideas so that your social media activity doesn’t dry up after week one, and you hold on to that launch momentum
- An idea of any big campaigns you might like to run in year one
I guarantee that sitting down and having one good brainstorming session for ideas that you can draw from later will be worth it in the long run.
TL;DR
I know, it’s a lot, and you’re probably already feeling a bit overwhelmed. So, put simply, a great place to start is with:
- A brand toolkit
- A website
- One or two key social platforms
- Social media templates
- Business stationery such as business cards and letterheads
- A press release
- A list of upcoming industry events
- A handful of content and campaign ideas for your first few months
Where applicable , these things should be branded and feature expert copywriting in your brand’s tone of voice.
This is all to say one thing: you can’t approach launch marketing by the seat of your pants, and certainly not last-minute. You need to consider your strategy early and decide precisely what marketing materials you will need to implement that strategy successfully.
These things, altogether, can be a lot for a new business owner to juggle alongside all of the other moving pieces that accompany launch. That’s why Edward & James offers our Foundry Suite, a full-service launch system designed for founders who want to set a strategic foundation and do things properly from day one.
James Le Gallez (main picture) is the Founder and Chief Marketing Officer at Edward & James, a qualified marketing consultancy helping professional service providers make confident decisions, execute effectively and grow with intent.
Working across finance, legal and beyond, Edward & James helps professional service businesses get to the strategic heart of their work, whether it be the first week of their company or the thousandth. Get in touch today: [email protected]
