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Cons Of A Promotional Web Page For Product Launch
Posted By: ordered_steps* on 6/24/2005 10:13 AM (CST) 250 Points
I really need to know the cons to having a web page/ website to promote a product for a product launch? Why would this be a not so good idea? What are the risks involved?

Posted by: NuCoPro Accepted Answer
6/24/2005 10:21 AM (CST)
I would definitely hightlight the product on your existing home page, and link that to a new page (or possibly pages) presenting the product.

I would NOT do a separate web site, as it will confuse your audience, take people away from your main site, and cause a lot of grief when you try to put things back together again.
 
Posted by: E-Marketing* Accepted Answer
6/24/2005 10:25 AM (CST)
There could be a bad reason for advertising a product?

The only reasons I can think of relates to not having an integrated marketing message, and / or an inability to deliver on the promises you make on the site. For instance, maybe you say on your web-site that the product will be available on Monday, but it is not available Thursday. Or maybe you let customers purchase the product on your web-site, but you have no business process in place to provision it once the customer has ordered and paid for it.

I guess one other (very small) risk would be that if the launch is confidential, then by including more people into your "fold" (i.e. the web team), then more people will know about the launch and more people might blab about it. But, that risk is heavily outweighed by the communiation medium!

Hope that helps.
 
Posted by: stevea Accepted Answer
6/25/2005 7:17 PM (CST)
Hi

I can’t see any insurmountable reasons why there should not be a web page on your existing site to promote a new product. A separate website is a no-no and will confuse prospects and customers alike, whist diluting the effort that should go into your main web presence. There are some potential pitfalls which good forward planning will overcome:

1. The page needs to go live in synchronisation with the rest of your product launch.

2. The content needs to be evolved with the same diligence and care you apply to your literature and advertising and be subject to the same embargo against leaking the information to the press, the competition and your sales force.

If it takes you a month or 3 months to evolve a new brochure, instruction manual and advertising for a new product, let the web page or pages evolve at the same time, so that when it is published, it is not full of last minute, ill thought out rubbish.

3. Make the content of the pages comprehensive. If the product has been field tested, include the results. This will build confidence in something which is, after all, untried in the market. If you have one, include the instruction manual and any pre-release reviews from industry experts or trusted members of the press.

4. Reference the actual URL of the page, rather than your home page in all the press release activity, launch mail (Conventional and email) and relevant advertising.

5. Update the home page and the news sections of your website to reference the new pages. Be consistent about this with other sites where you have links or reciprocal arrangements.


I really can’t see any compelling reason why you shouldn’t use your web space as a promotional area for a new product, unless, of course you are not prepared to do some of the above or you are worried that the new product will blow your existing range out of the water overnight – especially if it is introduced with marketing flair!!

Regards

Steve Alker
Unimax Solutions
 
Posted by: ekinyua* Accepted Answer
6/28/2005 5:52 AM (CST)
The only risk i see is if you have not pilot tested or market tested the product.

You may need to test the product with a smaller market other than a big market so that incase you may need to make changes to the product then you just need to communicate to few clients.
 
Posted by: Puru Gupta Accepted Answer
7/4/2005 10:08 AM (CST)
Most of it has been covered well by Steve and others.
A few pointers from my side -

- Your website becomes the Knowledge Repository for your product. This could be slightly risky, since ALL the promotional campaigns that you intend to take up for the product launch should 'ideally' be embedded on your website - atleast thats how the consumer perceives. Though, if executed correctly, it does offer a much more visibility to your entire campaign, but then, we are talking of "cons" here specifically.

- The Creatives of the Website are part of the Branding that you do for the product as well. If the Website is not designed in synchronization with the "intended communication" , it could pose a big threat to the equity of the product as well, inspite of the fact that the Product campaign is doing pretty well! Talk of animation, color, fonts, graphics, the GUI - everything needs to be in the same direction

- Updates! If there is something which is not "current" and "latest" - you lose out the interest and the customer, both. Also, apart from this, there should consistently some take-aways to lure and invite the customers to bookmark the site - if you want the e-campaign to go well!

You can think on these points a bit more, if they seem to be justified pointers to you!

Hope this helps!
Regards,
Puru
 
Posted by: WIT Accepted Answer
7/7/2005 3:32 PM (CST)
Lots of excellent points here. I can't think of a good reason to NOT promote a product online.

Con:
Building a Web site but not integrating it with other offline marketing efforts (Direct Mail, PR, Advertising) or as already stated not dedicating resources to it and hurting the brand.

Pro:
A Website can help you track the effectiveness of your campaign using Web traffic measurements and can be developed and updated inexpensively.

Companies often use separate mini sites to support ad campaigns or promote individual product divisions. Think Burger King's Subservient Chicken or Target Pets.

http://www.target.com/pets
http://www.subservientchicken.com

Regards

WIT
 
Posted by: ROIHUNTER Accepted Answer
7/8/2005 6:47 PM (CST)
ordered_steps*

Here are some cons:
1. Your web site sucks so badly that your product is eternally associated with poor quality
2. Your demographic is nowhere to be found on the internet and you spend millions creating the best site ever seen.
3. You spend your entire marketing budget on a web site and have no money for a good marketing mix.

Hope that helps.
 
Posted by: carrie77 Moderator Response
7/11/2005 7:28 AM (CST)
Hello all. I am closing this question since it's more than 2 weeks old. We do this to reward the contributions of participants in a timely manner + to give increased visibility to the newer questions.

Thanks for participating!
Carrie (Production Editor)
 


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