Trumbull, CT, October 9, 2009— What is the one key factor without which you can’t launch a successful new product or service?
Although the Web 2.0 world has created enormous opportunities for savvy B2B companies to launch a new product or service, one item still endures as the key ingredient behind any successful product or service launch.
“Despite our colossal technological gains, you can’t successfully launch a product or service today unless you follow certain traditional practices, besides taking advantage of new techniques,” said Wendy Marx, a B2B public relations expert, Fast Company expert blogger and president of award-winning PR agency Marx Communications. “What’s often thrown away in the race for the new and exciting is the meat and potatoes of a launch — the proper positioning of a product or service. It never fails to amaze me how many companies are so focused on ‘what’ a product or service can do that they fail to focus on the ‘why’ and ‘how’.
“You can have the greatest gizmo in the world but if it doesn’t resonate with a buyer, what good does it do?” asked Marx. “What’s essential is crafting your offer so it entices and persuades. – and most importantly speaks to real customer needs.”
Marx will discuss how to do just that at Marx Communications’ business building webcast: “2009 B2B Best PR Practices: Introducing New Products and Services,” 11 am Eastern Time, Wednesday October 28, 2009.
The webinar will show you:
- The five key steps to take pre-launch
- Secrets of attracting online buzz.
- Getting attention from traditional media and how that impacts online buzz
- Avoiding the most common PR mistakes
- The key elements in positioning and messaging
To register for the *free* webcast, please go to: http://www.brighttalk.com/webcasts/6530/attend
About Marx Communications
Marx Communication is an award-winning B2B public relations and marketing communications agency consisting of senior-level professionals only – without the overhead or lower-level staff of traditional agencies. Since 1993, it has established a track record of effectively telling the stories of B2B companies. Its clients have been featured in media outlets that matter most to them — – The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Barron’s, CNBC, Bloomberg News, Bloomberg TV, Fox, Forbes, Businessweek, Institutional Investor, Investor’s Business Daily, Financial Times — and virtually every major business outlet worldwide. For more information, visit http://www.marxcommunications.com. Follow us on Twitter at Twitter.com/wendymarx.
October 13th, 2009 at 7:14 am
It’s easier to understand classic “positioning statements” if they’re referred to as “Value Propositions” which reflect the single element that makes you different from all your competitors. This is a great way to combine Feature + Benefit in one powerful statement. It’s very difficult to come up with the VP. But when you do, it can be used to create effective, conversion-producing materials, regardeless of medium. I managed New Product announcements for my division of IBM for several years before starting my own agency where we’ve announced new products for Anheuser-Busch, Energizer, 3M, IBM, Ralston and many others.
October 27th, 2009 at 1:16 pm
Ellen, thank you for your thoughtful comment. That is a very good point about combining the two into a Value Proposition. Unfortunately, a lot of companies as I’m sure you’ve found emphasize the features over the values.