How to Set Marketing Priorities for Your Brand/Product Launch

I’ve launched several online courses for UK-based universities such as Cambridge ICE and King’s College London, so I understand the importance of focusing your time and energy on the right things at each stage. Especially when it feels like everything is a priority!

A well-structured, staggered approach is the way to go - there’s no need to feel overwhelmed by all the marketing options out there. It’s all about understanding your customer and matching your brand’s activities to where they spend their time, the content they consume, and their specific needs. Focus on what works best for your brand now, and save the rest to implement later - or not at all.

Here’s a quick guide to help you choose your marketing priorities:

Pre-planning phase: First things first

1. Define your value prop

What makes your product stand out? Be specific. If your online course is the first of its kind or your online tool reduces meeting times by 40%, make sure people know about it.

Think about what truly matters to your audience. You can’t be everything to everyone. For example, a software platform might highlight “enterprise security made simple,” while a fashion accessories brand could say, “hair accessories made specifically for thick hair.”

This central idea - your golden thread - should run through everything you do, tying your marketing together.

2. Understand your audience

Take the time to get to know your customers: what they need, where they spend their time, and how they make decisions. Map their buyer journey, from their ‘research phase’ to the final purchase. This can be done through interviews with your ideal customer, surveys, market research, or doing a competitor analysis. 

For instance, B2B buyers might rely on LinkedIn, Gartner reports or Reddit, while fashion lovers might follow Instagram and TikTok influencers and trust their recommendations. Make sure your content speaks to them in the right spaces - whether that’s in-depth guides or short, creative TikToks.

3. Set measurable targets

Big goals are amazing, but breaking them into smaller, measurable steps makes them feel more achievable. 

Lay out a timeline with clear milestones (Miro is a great tool to use for this!), such as achieving X signup numbers by X date, X Instagram followers by X date, or monthly sales targets. 

These checkpoints keep you on track and give you reasons to celebrate the small wins along the way.

Execution phase: Bringing the plan to life

4. Build strong foundations

• Create brand guidelines for visuals, tone of voice, and messaging. Some might skip this bit, but it is the very foundation of what you do/who you are as a brand. 

• Have a kick-ass website that’s fully optimised for mobile - this is non-negotiable in today’s digital-first world, where a significant portion of users browse and shop from their phones. Make sure your site loads quickly, is visually appealing, and functions perfectly across all devices. It's even worth investing in a UX expert to review its accessibility and usability.

• Start building a content bank of high-quality images, videos, blog posts, and testimonials to maintain consistency across your website and social media.

5. Pick the right distribution channels

• Choose platforms your audience already uses. For B2B, LinkedIn is often a good choice. For fashion or lifestyle products, Instagram and TikTok might work better.

• Use email marketing to nurture your audience - it’s cost-effective, delivers strong results, and allows for ongoing testing. Platforms like Mailchimp, ConvertKit, or Klaviyo have great tools for automation, templates, and analytics.

• Paid search is also good to use to reach people who are actively ready to buy.

6. Plan your launch activities

• Break your launch into phases to keep it manageable, e.g., pre-launch prep, soft launch, full launch, and post-launch activities.

• Start by building interest through previews, exclusive content, gated webinar content or waitlists. And if it aligns with your brand, partner with influencers to expand your reach.

As an example, I recently launched an influencer campaign for my hair accessories brand, Spicy Ava. We collaborated with an influencer to design a product together and documented the process on social from start to finish. As someone passionate about fashion and design, she was excited to promote the campaign to her (super engaged) audience, creating most of the content herself. We spent minimally on paid ads and generated significant organic sales because her network was so supportive of her.

• When it’s time to launch, you could issue a press release, connect with media for coverage, or focus on social media campaigns only, or even host an event. Your marketing activities should suit your brand/product - you don’t have to do it all!

• After launch, prioritise collecting feedback, retargeting your audience, and keeping people engaged with regular content.

Implementation: Tracking and tweaking

Keep an eye on the numbers

Start tracking from day one - keep an eye on key metrics like customer acquisition costs, conversion rates, and website traffic. Check your progress regularly and make adjustments as needed.

Focus on the bigger picture too, with metrics like revenue growth, retention rates, and engagement. Small changes based on real data can make a big difference.