From Engineering to Launch: How to Market Your New Product

I recently had a conversation with a C-level executive of an engineering firm who needed marketing assistance for a product his firm would soon bring to life. The good news is that his company was thinking about how to market and promote the new product early in the process but the company had yet some work to do to solidify its strategy.

Engineering firms do a great job innovating and building new products. Even if you have a great product/market fit, however, the cliché “if you build it, they will come” is a misconception. The reality often is that if you build it, customers won’t come unless you invest in marketing and start formulating your marketing strategy and go-to-market plan well before you introduce your new product to the market.​​

To do so, it is best to involve your marketing agency in the planning phase of your product launch. This will help your company put the marketing foundation in place, define target audiences and come up with the right marketing messaging and product positioning.​

Engineering companies often fall into the trap of using too much technical jargon in their marketing materials making it difficult for their potential customers to comprehend the value of their products and how they meet their needs.
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Your prospective customers want to know how your product solves their challenges in a language they understand. The role of your marketing agency is to help translate product characteristics into meaningful messages that highlight the value and the benefits of your product. This level of preparation will help your firm establish the basis that will serve as your guidepost for your future marketing activities. 

Once the marketing foundation is in place, the next step is to establish a budget-based marketing action plan. An effective marketing strategy outlines the marketing channels that will be used to reach your desired target market. Your marketing plan should include promotional activities to get your product noticed, build publicity and provide maximum exposure for your product. It should include a combination of digital marketing and traditional marketing tactics to attract interest both from new leads and existing customers. Similar to R&D initiatives that allow you test new products, your marketing plan should also leave some room to test new marketing campaigns and programs. 

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