The fintech giant has revived its buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) product, Paytm Postpaid, as a credit line on UPI more than a year after it was put on hold. Paytm Postpaid, which was introduced in collaboration with Suryodaya Small Finance Bank, would allow consumers to obtain immediate short-term credit through the “Spend Now, Pay Next Month” plan.
Customers who are more likely to use this credit are the only ones being offered the service; a wider rollout is anticipated in the upcoming months. The facility provides short-term credit for a maximum of 30 days.
Why Paytm Closed the BNPL Credit Line?
In May 2024, Paytm discontinued its Postpaid service, pointing to a general deterioration in asset quality in the sector. Before being placed on indefinite hold in December 2023, Postpaid was first introduced as a BNPL product. It was then recast as a small-ticket personal loan option.
The business stated at the time that it would not start up again until the credit cycle was over. Since then, the company’s management has insisted that BNPL is still a worthwhile product and will reappear when the macroeconomy improves and lenders feel more at ease giving out small-ticket loans. Paytm CEO Vijay Shekhar Sharma hinted on the company’s Q1 results call that BNPL was halted because lenders were growing wary of small-ticket loans (less than INR 50,000).
He went on to say that BNPL will return when the personal credit is restored because he personally adored the product and was a promoter of it. The company is adamant that it will return. In contrast to the consistent development of its payments business, he reaffirmed that BNPL was one of Paytm’s most potent non-linear growth drivers, able to propel disproportionate revenue and margin expansion.
Improved Market Conditions Rightly Poised to Re-launch BNPL
The product’s rebranding as a credit line on the UPI offering implies that the business believes the market attitude has improved. Additionally, Paytm has been profitable at this moment. In the first quarter of FY26, the fintech giant reported a net profit of INR 122.5 Cr, compared to a loss of INR 840.1 Cr in the same period last year.
During the reviewed quarter, operating sales soared 28% year over year to INR 1,918 Cr. Notably, prominent UPI players are increasingly using the credit line on UPI offerings.
Such an option was introduced by PhonePe in August 2024, while Flipkart’s super.money strengthened its credit-on-UPI play by acquiring BNPL startup BharatX.
Quick
Shots
•Offers short-term credit under “Spend
Now, Pay Next Month” scheme.
•Credit line valid for up to 30 days;
currently limited to select users.
•Full-scale rollout expected in the
coming months.
•BNPL was earlier paused due to asset
quality concerns and lender caution.
Festive seasons are always the best time to promote your products. There is a huge potential to increase the sale of your products and services by reaching new customers on such occasions.
Holi is defined as the festival of colors, which signifies the end of winter and the start of the season of blossoms. This particular festival is steeped in the Hindu tradition and resonates beautifully with the people of India. Along with bringing happiness to individuals, Holi, as a festival, also has the potential to usher in prosperity for businesses.
If you are wondering about marketing your brand during Holi, then here are some of the best marketing strategies that you can use to promote your products and services during the festival of colors.
You can create a social media post or a Holi social media campaigns as a marketing strategy for Holi. You can create an image or a video where your product or service is advertised through the Holi theme. It can mainly include something related to colors. You can create any post with the theme colours for the Holi social media posts.
You should ensure it is creative and related to your product or service. Creative posts catch the audience’s attention, which will help you increase the brand value of your product or service.
Social media is the best medium to market your products, as most of them use it. It is also one of the cheapest forms of promotion. 61% of Indian consumers have said that they make their buying decisions through social media posts, according to a report by Economic Times.
Providing discounts and offers during the festivals gives your customers a reason to buy the product. Always try reaching a lot of people through promotions and word of mouth. Discounts during the festivals will increase your sales and make the customers happy.
Discounts and services will motivate your customers to use the products or services and purchase them.
86% of Indian consumers look forward to shopping during the festival season, according to a report, which further multiplies the chances of sales and with lucrative discounts and never-seen-before offers, they simply cannot miss the chance to shop their favourite products during this time.
Sale Days
If you have an e-commerce website, then you can bring in Sale days for the festive seasons. You can provide offers on a certain set of products for some days during the festive season.
As per the report mentioned earlier, 86% prefer shopping during the festive season, out of which 57% prefer shopping through e-commerce websites. You can use social media posts to promote discounts and offers.
Customized products
You can try customizing your product according to the Holi theme. This will increase your sales and will also act as a marketing strategy for your brand.
Consumers would prefer gifting their friends and families with customized gifts that are unique. The total size of the gifting market in India is 250,000 crore and is expected to grow by over 200%, according to Technopark, which is India’s leading. Management consulting firm.
However, customized gifts are time-consuming and would increase the cost of production. If you have a small business, then you can provide a small Holi basket for different price ranges.
You can start different marketing campaigns during Holi. It can be online through social media or through offline events. Try relating it to the theme of Holi. You can set a specific goal and try to achieve it by promoting the campaigns through a single mode or through different modes.
Campaigns are mostly promoted through taglines. The Holi sale taglines will help consumers remember your product and, thereby, increase overall brand awareness. Furthermore, the Holi taglines are really something that most marketers, brands, startups, entrepreneurs, and others cannot simply miss out on!
Social media campaigns’ goals are mostly concentrated on getting feedback from consumers, increasing the traffic on your websites, and building email marketing lists, which would help drive your sales directly.
Offline campaigns can include billboard posters, guerilla marketing, print ads, etc. These are mostly for the bigger business. If you have a smaller business, you can prefer social media campaigns. But ensure that you stick to the theme of Holi and colours. For Holi digital marketing, brands can use user-generated content, influencer partnerships, vibrant visuals, and limited-time promotions to create an engaging and festive campaign that resonates with customers.
Holi Marketing Campaign by TVS Motor Company
Collaboration Initiatives
Collaboration initiatives, also known as partnering marketing, involve working together with other brands and artists to increase your brand’s visibility in the market. This strengthens your presence and enhances your market expansion processes.
During the Holi season, which is known for its colourful celebrations of dance, music, and more, you have many opportunities to collaborate with different artists, such as painters, musicians, dancers, and more. This can create an arresting presence that generates curiosity and buzz for your brand among your audience. It can also showcase the culture and richness behind your idea. Additionally, you can choose to collaborate with NGOs and showcase the goodness of your brand in contributing to community development.
Expanding your network is crucial for a successful campaign. Contacts play a significant role in this regard. There are different ways to increase your reach, such as email marketing, trade shows, exhibitions, hosting events, and engaging on social media. The Holi season offers various opportunities to boost your contacts. You can attend fairs, flea markets, and trade exhibitions, introduce your products, and make people aware of your brand. By leveraging these opportunities, you can expand your horizons.
Guerilla Marketing
Guerrilla marketing is a smart advertising and marketing technique that allows brands to promote their product or service through unique and unconventional methods. The best part is that it doesn’t require a huge budget, just creativity and intelligence to execute. The main goal is to quickly capture the attention of your audience, creating a reaction that generates greater revenue for your brand. When done correctly, guerrilla marketing can reduce marketing costs by up to 90%. Research shows that 57% of customers believe it to be an effective tactic, and 42% of millennials agree that it influences their purchasing decisions.
Referral Campaigns
Referral campaigns are highly popular among new businesses as they strive for exponential growth. Research shows that as many as 86% of B2B buyers rely on the power of word-of-mouth to make purchase decisions. By leveraging referral campaigns, you can build strong relationships with your existing customers and enable them to promote your brand through word-of-mouth marketing techniques, thus expanding your market reach. With Holi around the corner, you can gain even greater traction.
One of the Holi campaign ideas to consider is organizing a referral program where customers are incentivized to refer their family and friends in exchange for exclusive discounts or rewards. According to studies, nearly 92% of customers trust referrals from their family and friends over other forms of advertising. Such campaigns not only capitalize on the festive spirit but also harness the power of trusted recommendations to bolster brand visibility and credibility.
Holi presents a great opportunity for brands to introduce new products or services that are relevant to the holiday. For example, a cosmetic brand can launch a range of makeup products with Holi-inspired themes, while a food brand can introduce a new line of Holi sweets and snacks. This not only creates excitement and interest around the brand but also positions it as being in sync with the festive spirit.
Campaigns through User-generated Content
Holi is a time for families and friends to come together and celebrate. Businesses can use this to connect with their customers by creating marketing campaigns that include user-generated content (UGC). Brands can ask their followers to share their Holi moments, photos, and videos as part of the campaign. This helps increase interaction and makes the brand feel more relatable. It also makes customers feel recognized and valued.
UGC leads to 29% higher conversion rates than other marketing methods. Also, 70% of brands believe that UGC helps them build stronger connections with their customers on social media.
Other Strategies
You can choose other strategies according to your budget, including traditional TV or newspaper advertisements; you can partner with new movie releases and organize some promotional events with them, as a wide range of superhit movies will be released during the festive seasons. This can increase sales and improve your brand name.
You can become a sponsor for certain events happening in and around the country. However, the events this year would be less crowded compared to previous years due to the Covid-19 restrictions.
Moreover, you can create some Holi-themed competitions and provide attractive prizes for the winners. Through this, you can increase the promotion of your brand and create awareness about your brand.
Through competitions, you can even collect information and contact details of your customers. This will help you promote your products and offers in the future. You can also follow up with them.
Conclusion
These are some marketing strategies that your business can use this Holi. These marketing strategies will leave a mark on your brand in the customers’ minds. They can create a lasting impression on both customers and your investors. However, always remember that a unique advertisement/campaign built on a strong value always wins the game. So, start preparing your marketing campaign as early as possible to seize your day!
FAQs
What is Holi?
Holi is the Indian festival of colours, which signifies the start of spring, the season of blossoms after the mournful, lack-lustre winter days.
What is Holi marketing?
Marketing is always important for your brand, and Holi is one such festival full of happiness and colours that fuel a good deal of marketing, too. Therefore, Holi marketing is something that you should not be missing out on if you are an entrepreneur, an owner of a brand, or a marketer at one of them.
What are Holi taglines, and why are they important for marketing?
Holi taglines are short, attractive one-liners used for marketing during the Holi festival. These Holi taglines etch the brand image and are filled with all the colours of the festival, which plays an important role in brand marketing.
Why should you create Holi social media posts?
Social media plays a crucial role in today’s marketing landscape. So, social media platforms are often used for marketing a brand, where marketers create unique, creative social media posts during festivals like Holi to attract their customers. The Holi social media posts can be used for the basic promotion of the brand and its products, as well as to promote discounts and offers or the launch of something new for a particular brand.
What are the best Holi promotional ideas or Holi advertisement ideas?
If you are wondering about some of the best Holi promotional ideas, then here are some of them you can check out:
Social media posts – You can always use unique social media posts to attract your customers and inform them about the new launches, offers, and discounts.
Offers and discounts – Product discounts are something that you can certainly bring in during Holi. While the customers have a huge propensity to buy during these festivals, exclusive offers and discounts can win their hearts and increase your brand sales.
Sale – Festival Sale is becoming a rage these days. If you are in doubt regarding the best Holi promotional ideas, launching a Holi Sale is a foolproof idea!
Advertisements on television and online
Distributing customized products for Holi
Launching Holi campaigns
Which are the creative Holi taglines that the brands have used?
“Add a splash of colour to your beauty routine this Holi!” – Cosmetic Brand
“Indulge in the sweetness of Holi with our delectable treats!” – Food Brand
Which are the best Holi business ideas?
Launching a line of Holi-themed cosmetics or skincare products.
Creating a range of Holi-inspired sweets and snacks for the festive season.
Ever wondered why people in malls offer free samples of their snacks? Sometimes in the newspaper, you get a small sachet of shampoo.
Why do brands offer free samples to consumers? After all, they don’t get any money by giving you free samples.
According to research, 81% of consumers said that they usually try a new product after receiving a free sample. This shows that free samples are effective for brands to increase sales.
But, how does a free sample make people buy the product? Keep reading this article to understand the psychology of free samples & why/how it works.
The feedback that the brand gets from free samples can help them improve the quality of products.
Brands get to understand what their target audience likes and dislikes.
Do Free Samples Increase Sales?
Product sampling is one of the effective ways to increase sales. Free samples can help your brand to increase sales and also creates brand awareness.
According to a study done by Arbitron and Edison Media Research, 35% of customers who have tried the sample will eventually buy the sampled product on the same shopping trip.
Psychology of Free Samples & Why/How it Works
Helps to Remove the Risk Factor:
Trying out new things is a very risky thing for many people. This is because many people think that the new product may not match their expectations. If the product is not good they will lose their money.
Nobody likes wasting their hard-earned money right? But, when you offer a free sample you are taking out all the confusion from the minds of your potential consumers.
Since they are not paying any money to try out the sample, the risk factor disappears.
Power of Experience:
People tend to remember the products that they have interacted with or experienced more than the ones they have read about or heard somewhere. This is quite obvious, isn’t it?
If you have eaten delicious street food somewhere you will remember the taste of it even after weeks. If the sample product is good and satisfies your customer, they will remember its taste or experience even after weeks.
After some time, when they will see the product somewhere, they will automatically remember the taste or feel of it and eventually buy the product.
Principle of Reciprocity:
If your friends give you an amazing gift at your birthday parties, don’t you also want to give them an amazing gift on their birthdays?
Or if your relatives have done some good for you, a feeling to help them naturally occurs in your mind. This is called Reciprocity.
The rule of reciprocity is a social norm where you feel obligated to return the favor if someone does something for you.
This is what exactly happens when brands offer free samples to consumers. When people get a free sample they will be obliged to return the favour in some way – buying your product.
Consumers usually feel guilty when they try the free samples. To get away from this guilt they tend to buy the product.
Reciprocity may not always lead to sales but, they will always remember your brand. If you have provided them with a memorable experience they will buy your products shortly.
You can give the free samples to the first 50 or 100 people. In this way, you will get their basic details like mobile number and email id which we will help you in retargeting. Although this is a bit costly as you need to pay for the delivery costs.
Attach the Sample to the Purchased Product:
Free Sample
You can attach the sample to the already purchased product encouraging your customers to try out the product. This is known as a passive form of sampling.
Although this won’t generate the same reciprocity feeling but it gets the product in the hands of your customers.
Offer Free Sample in Exchange for Specific Actions:
You can ask your customers to share reviews on social media, tag your brand on social media or like your posts in exchange for a free sample. This is an effective strategy to get brand awareness on social media and allow the customers to try your new product.
Conclusion:
Now, you must have understood why brands use the free samples strategy right? For many years this strategy has been proven effective and even your brand should also use it.
The key thing here is that your sample and products should be of high quality. A good sample which provides a memorable experience would guarantee sales.
If your sample is not good it will create a bad image in the minds of the people. So, use the free sample strategy smartly and you will get the desired results.
FAQ
What is product sampling?
Product sampling is a strategy where you provide free samples to your customers before they actually buy your product.
Are free samples successful?
Yes, free samples are very successful. They can create brand awareness and increase sales.
What are examples of product sampling in India?
People in the mall offering free snacks and getting a free small sachet of shampoo in the newspaper are all examples of product sampling in India.
Can product sampling be done by all the brands?
Yes, the majority of the brands use the product sampling strategy.
What is the main psychology behind free samples?
The main psychology behind free samples is the principle of reciprocity. When people get a free sample they will be obliged to return the favour in some way – buying your product.
The idea of launching an MVP has erupted significantly in recent years, it’s a standard procedure both for entrepreneurs and formed tech giants. However, like most ideas that become popular, there’s a lot of misconception.
The MVP is the edition of a fresh model that enables your group to gather the most authenticated knowledge about consumers with the minimum effort. It is a tiny product with three essential aspects:
It is either used or purchased by folks.
It is simple to use.
Using the resources at our disposal, we could send it as we want it.
Things You Should Know Before Creating MVP
To create an effective MVP, you must first identify the purpose.
User Section
A team of members sharing related attributes. It is critical to determine who the merchandise is for, and who this isn’t for. A popular brand blunder is to try impressing all and risk appealing none.
Issue
Don’t try to solve all of your issues in one go; instead, tackle them one at a time. It’ll assist you in focusing on one primary problem that irritates clients the most. Once you’ve resolved that issue for people, you could move on to more issues.
Workaround
After you’ve settled on the issue, you would like to fix, you may come up with more creative solutions. It is critical to narrow down to a viable solution. Focus on the appropriate alternative and what it’ll involve then you can get input rapidly without wasting a lot of money.
Limited User Interface
This implies that your MVP must be sellable and usable. You must determine and draw a line between an item that can be utilized and an item that folks will use. Test on your own and with your group to determine what is suitable for rollout.
How to Launch MVP?
Thorough Analysis
Before you begin, you must recognize the issue and its quick fix. You’ll respond to a series of queries, including:
What issue is your MVP supposed to fix?
What types of customers will be ready to buy?
What are the currently available solutions?
Recognise and Prioritize Elements
This part focuses on the elements you are including in your item. You must create your product edition and outline the elements you want in it. After that, you must prioritize them. At this point, you’re probably to have one key focus element that communicates the product’s essence.
Tactic Selection
You should determine what type of MVP you’ll use. It could be a no-product, item replica, or a single-feature MVP. Your decision must be built on the concept that needs to be authenticated as well as the tools accessible.
Identifying Critical Success Factors
Before you begin developing your MVP, you must decide how you’ll assess it. Create a list of implementable measures and success factors that you’ll monitor.
Create a Storyboard
It’s a necessary step to list your attributes and create the product roadmap. It is made up of four main parts: an aim, actions, user stories, and tasks. It’s a useful tool for identifying the benefits and drawbacks of your product.
Launch MVP
It’s time to put your MVP out and get some input from your first users. Focus on keeping track of the critical factors when evaluating the success of your MVP. The primary goal is to assess your product with actual humans. Even if it failed, it’s a good indication that you should manoeuvre and concentrate on fixing various types of user problems.
Examples of MVP Launch
Following are the types explained by using examples.
User-facing Workaround
Consider Zappos. The pioneer hoped to see if consumers purchase boots without first trying them on. It wasn’t possible to shop online back then. He merely shot the boots he planned to sell, and if a buyer placed an online order, he’d go purchase the boots from the shop and dispatch them, which worked well.
Targeted User Section
Consider Tinder. The app was created because you feel at ease approaching people if you realize they would like you to. Because social media sites primarily linked you with folks you already knew, a gap existed in exploring someone else.
Its app stepped in to fill the void and calm the mind. They’ve got an opt-in system that shows you another party is willing to talk to you and, in most cases, the geographical area is close by, making you feel completely safe.
Key Issues and Use Instances
Consider Airbnb. San Francisco hosted an excellent design summit. The group planned to give inexpensive lodging during this situation and uploaded the information online. So they focused on a key issue and use the instance: “San Francisco summit invitees.”
They hoped to find a solution that was tailored to that particular use case. Shortly, three guests expressed interest in spending for this bare-bones service. This backed up the business overview that prospective buyers would be ready to pay to reside at another’s house instead of a hotel.
Streamlined Features
Consider Spotify. Previously, the music business was experiencing challenges. Because of file-sharing websites, some folks paid for songs. Two Swedes recognize that this will never work.
So their initial plan was to make a free streaming app and monetize it through advertisements. How did it fare against rivals? The pioneers noticed that most startups were putting their money into fancy sites and apps before even putting their concepts to the test.
Spotify’s team tried something new. They developed a minimum viable product in the form of a computer app with one central aspect: song streaming. Later, they gave the choice for people to pay a monthly fee in exchange for an ad-free interaction and other attributes, and this journey enabled them to test their concept while maintaining their costs low.
Advantages of MVP Launch
Resources Savings
By incorporating MVP, you can find a balance between supplying core aspects and remaining cost-effective. It also allows for the handover of a user-friendly item in a particular timeframe and is simple to execute.
Understand Your Crowd
It enables you to discover more about your customers’ perceptions of the item, allowing you to design and optimize what you could handle about it.
Enhance Progressively and Stepwise
MVP is critical in assisting you to create a basic edition that includes the key aspects and reveals it to the consumer to gather input and optimize it. It helps you organize your muddled thoughts and frame them in an orderly fashion.
Conclusion
Starting your MVP Inception point must no longer be as daunting. It doesn’t have to be flawless! To create it, follow the instructions and tactics outlined. It is a method that allows startups to learn a lot about their customers by using a viable prototype without wasting precious time and money.
Thank you for your time.
FAQs
How to launch the MVP of a startup?
Conduct Market Research, Conduct Customer Research, Create A Product Roadmap, Conduct User Testing, and launch the product.
What is the MVP approach?
MVP is launching a minimum viable product to gather the feedback of the consumers to build a much better product.
What should an MVP look like?
An MVP should be small, fast and cheap and should not create a negative impact.
Are there any prerequisites for launching a product with a lot of booms? A lot of money and a big team during the launch will not give a kick-start to your start-up, it’s an illusion. You might have witnessed that sometimes celebrities/politicians accompany the writers on launch day and are unable to sell more than thousand copies. But at the same time, many young writers use inexpensive ways of marketing and advertise their piece of work and at times win awards. The the creative methods of popularizing along with the quality of the product makes it successful.
Here we have listed down few inexpensive ways to launch a product or service.
Social Media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn has evolved over the years. There is no limit of success because the target audience of a businesses is already there. Even some of the platforms like Instagram, Facebook has allowed businesses to sell their products directly to the audience by using some features. For E.g. you can use the shoppable post feature of Instagram to tag your product links which will help the user to buy products directly from your online store.
While Social Media platforms play a major role in grabbing customers, blogs articles are the ‘unsung heroes’ for success. Write in detail about your firm and products, become a guest writer in popular blogs, collaborate, get featured in top-notch online publications, attend trade shows and seminars, make videos, use different channels, basically, connect with bloggers to get you featured on different blogs.
Giving value for free
It might seem like a pain to do things for free, but this can add incredible value to your product in the long run. the publicity and critics you get is invaluable.
When people pay for something, it gives those people a sense of accomplishment, pride, and ownership, meaning they’ll value the goods or services more and complain less.
Want to build a community? So, approach businesses who have an established community and ask how can you help them. This can be by offering something valuable which exposes you and what you have to offer to their big audience. This is a great way to build relationships. If you’ve got no budget, you need relationships.
Why should you do something for free? With the help of this strategy, you can gather email address and other data about the user. Later, this data can be used for marketing or building your brand.
Online Giveaways
Giveaways can be an easy marketing strategy to promote your product launch, and in a relatively short amount of time. Everyone loves gifts; giveaways tend to generate quite a large amount of responses. While giveaways have their drawback of attracting people with little interest in the company, the strategy itself is one with immense potential.
For example, you can create your sweepstakes with clear objectives and requirements, where you choose a winner randomly without any fee.
Using Crowdfunding
Crowdfunding is an innovative way to provide a modest amount of funding to young entrepreneurs and technology professionals needing an early stage or seed capital for start-up companies. Which may spur entrepreneurship and ultimately assist in boosting the growth of the real economy.
A company raising funds through online crowdfunding platforms or websites and offers equity or debt interests in its business to investors who make small contributions, through a crowdfunding platform or social media. Usually, funding is sought online based on future projections rather than a viable business model in operation which increases the risk of failures and therefore a loss to the investors.
You can use a social media platform like Facebook for your crowdfunding campaign. But you can’t raise funding using your existing network. You have to build a community of people who can raise fund and also interested in new ideas. You can create a Facebook Page for your crowdfunding campaign, it will help you to reach more and more new people.
Some of the other Crowdfunding platforms you can look at are:
Milaap
Crowdera
BitGiving
Catapooolt
Promotion through Influencers
If you are a new brand and launching product for the first time then you might not have reach to a large audience. Influencers have a big audience, fans and followers who trust them. This is like a trust-based campaign. You need to build and maintain relationships with influencers offering them special discounts, holiday trips, cash prizes etc. The best thing about it is, influencers can give quick reviews to products as they get an immediate response on any endorsement and recommendations from their audience.
Viral Marketing
Anything that spreads like a virus, person to person easily is called Viral Marketing. This is used in social media where sharing is possible on social media.
In many cases, a user uploads content that receives a huge response and shares and it goes viral within a short period. This can be planned to run a successful viral marketing campaign.
Making videos on trending topics or on an unrelated niche, waiting for the right time to post and drive some traffic through paid ads. are few ways you can make the maximum impact for the campaign. But make sure that the content won’t backfire at you, in viral marketing, users are the pilots and they have the power to do anything with that content.
Nowadays people prefer video content more than text content. Video marketing simply means that you are branding your product through videos. You don’t need a high budget for making videos. Start from your mobile camera and try to make interactive videos that can explain about your product appropriately. You can also make “How-To” videos of your products and upload them on YouTube so that you will be able to generate a lot of traffic to your product.
YouTube is the second largest search engine after Google and the best thing is it’s is free for everyone. You can take advantage of this new era and keep updating yourself and the way you operate a business with time.
Conclusion
All these ways of launching a product will save your money but make sure you are ready to invest your time. These are few tips from a never-ending list.
Checkout our website StartupTalky for more information related to marketing, start-ups, interviews and much more.
Your business gain attention because of your products and services. If your products are not good enough, your business will not flourish. Your product can only gather attention, if it has the ability to change the world. Now when you launch a product, it has to be visible enough for your audience to even ponder about it. Internet has given us the facility to connect with from all over the world. Everyone is online now. So, it is necessary, to understand where, when and how the product should get launched.
We will talk about an amazing platform where you can launch your product. Here we will talk about everything that one needs to know about product hunt, so let’s get started
Founded by Ryan Hoover in 2013, Product Hunt is a website that gives a platform to developers to launch their new product. Product Hunt has a huge audience that follows it. If you have any online products like a web app or mobile app, you can just register for it and they will feature you in their list if your app is worth it. The best thing about launching a product on Product Hunt is that it is all free and has quality checking. Real people check your product and decide whether to feature it or not. Therefore, many people check out the list to know about the new products launched on the internet.
Why Should You Launch Your Product on Product Hunt?
MassReach: As already told, many tech geeks do keep a track of Product Hunt lists. So, there is a very strong possibility that you will grab the attention of many tech people, who might be in the need of your product.
Free: There is nothing wrong in trying Product Hunt as it is all free to launch your product on Product Hunt. Even if you don’t make it to the list, you will not lose anything.
Feedbacks : You will get much feedback, both positive and negative. You can act on those feedbacks and improve your products. People will tell you what they need and want in your product. Therefore, you will not have to conduct any survey to check the market need for your product.
Investors: You might have bigger plans for your product and with the help of Product Hunt, you might find investors who believe in the growth of your product. Investors keep roaming all around the web to find an investing opportunity. They will not let an opportunity to go away if they see potential in your product.
Media: There are so many famous blogs that follow the list of Product Hunt. You might end up getting an article based on your product only, publish on a news blog. This will instantly increase your traffic and user base.
However, this is just a possibility. Very few products with some really special features could do that. Do not get fantasized by these advantages. Don’t create expectations because when it doesn’t happen as expected, it hurts. This will result in de-motivation. The only disadvantage of Product Hunt is that it is very, very tough to make it to the feature list.
How to Submit Your Product on Product Hunt?
Signup to Product Hunt
Once you are logged into your account, click on the “+” button in the top right.
Submit all the details including description and tagline. Please note that your account should have the access to post and submit products. You will need to become a contributor in case you want to post a product.
Who Are Hunters?
Hunters are the accounts or basically, the people who have the ability or better say, permission to hunt new products. They are the one who finds new products and shows to the rest of the community. Anyone can become a hunter by participating in community weeks, up voting products, create collections, and others. Your aim is to get as many followers as you can, to become a hunter.
Who Are Makers?
Makers are the people who develop the product and submit it to Product Hunt. There are mostly developers, inventors, and writers.
How to Launch Product on Product Hunt
What Can You Launch on Product Hunt?
Web Apps
Mobile Apps
Hardware Products
Games
Books
Podcasts
Conclusion
Product Hunt is one of the most popular and the best platform to launch your products. Many people create amazing things but don’t know what to do with that , if you want to let people be aware of your product, you need to market it properly. If you come up with some crazy idea, then don’t stop yourself to create it because you do have a great platform, though whose helps you can launch the product.
FAQs
What are some alternatives of Product Hunt?
Some fo the alternatives of Product Hunt are, YCombinator, AngleList, Beta Page, and Netted.
What is the purpose of Product Hunt?
The main purpose of product hunt is to help makers launch their products in their website where they find their first customers who use the products and provide feedbacks to the makers.
While starting a business, a creator’s main focus is to develop a product for the consumers, when the main deed is done, another significant step comes up, which is to launch that product in front of your audience. Every creator has the dream of launching their product with huge pomp and show, in a way that will be able to gain the attention of their audience. For this, the prototype has taken shape; the long time spent in the R&D phase has borne fruit, but the major task is till and that is preparing for the product launch.
The big day is a make-or-break situation; propagating the right message could do wonders and the opposite can reduce an ingenious invention to shambles. To help with such kinds of scenarios, it’s essential to have a well-crafted, effective product launch marketing plan. In this article, we will talk about the marketing strategies that can be used while launching the new product of your business.
A business will only survive when the marketing is done correctly, it becomes more important while launching a product. A product launch has to be done right so that it can attract the attention of the audience. Below are some marketing strategies that one can follow, while a product launch.
SEO Should Be Perfect
As it says, ‘what’s best should be at the top’. The relevancy of the quote matters in the launching of your product in the market, as the product should have visibility when it comes to search engines. Aim for the first page when someone types the product’s name.
After all, it’s a well-known fact that users rarely go through the search results starting from the third page because no one has time to ponder over things. We search, and we click that first option, right away, so use the keywords that can convey the intended information concisely and something for the audience to remember, the website layout counts as well.
Make sure that the first few lines of the website pack the punch because sites like Google tend to ignore meta-descriptions when listing the website in the search results. For the purpose, you can use a trained SEO specialist.
Invite Some Spokespersons
Remember seeing your favourite celebrity talking about a specific product and how it has changed their lives? This is the old yet useful trick up on the sleeves by business professionals, that is hiring a spokesperson for their product who will talk to the audience directly and will promote the brand. This spokesperson has to be famous and influential enough to grab the attention of your potential customers.
Interacting with the media and industry specialists can tilt the results in the product owner’s favour. And that’s what spokespeople are best at. Hire the right person for the job, those who can relay the necessary information as and when required while maintaining the recommended standard. CEOs are the driving force behind this workforce so no compromise when it comes to choosing executives and industry experts. Also, you can invite some celebrities to your product launch.
Build a Database
Setting aside the target audience, the management behind the product launch should have a list of media persons, influencers and reporters, after careful analysis and comparison to ensure the message reaches the target audience and the market. The more it’s promoted and shared, the more it reaches the audience.
Identify the Target Audience
Attracting new customers to buy a product is just like an impossible wish coming true. There are two ways of marketing, one is you can launch an ad campaign without identifying your target and hoping for the best. Another is, you have to put time and effort to research your target audience. You can also use social media to engage with different communities where you can get to know about the current market demand.
So, it’s imperative to identify the product’s target audience to reach them with the right strategy. Also, once you launch the product, not everyone would have the ‘I’m going to buy it, immediately’ mindset. So, there’s a high chance that remarketing may be required, depending on the mental phase that the customer’s undergoing.
Share and Let Others Share
Word of mouth publicity has been there for ages and shall continue to be so but the medium has surely become modern. Ensure that the content about the product is shareable, through mediums such as Facebook, Twitter, and other social media platforms. This brings in a new audience that may not have been a part of your checklist earlier. Use social media as the new hotshot for amazing marketing.
Prepare Your FAQs
At the product release conference, not being bombarded by questions from inquisitive souls is a no-brainer. Prepare the FAQs well in advance, covering a range of possible questions that may arise. A few would be genuine while others would be sole to undermine the product. Be equipped to face them boldly and without any fear.
Customer Service Efficiency
The term ’24 hours, seven days a week’ exists for a reason: customers are relentless. They would go to any lengths to have their queries and complaints resolved. So, having a customer service cell, adequate in both quality and quantity, is more than a plus point; they are a necessity and the backbone that supports the product’s life-cycle after its launch. Also, make sure that you are not only listening to the problem but also doing your best to solve them, to satisfy your customers.
Prepare Creative Video Graphics
Visualizations play a major role in leaving a positive impression on the customer’s mind. Moreover, they help in making a unique identity for the product, just like a brand logo. For example, if one shows you the image of a tick mark, it takes less than a minute to guess the brand’s name. To build such kind of presence, the graphics have to be done using the best resources available to create a stunner.
A great video describing all the qualities of the product will straight up hit the people in their brain rather than some long slides show. So, do create an innovative, interesting and if possible funny video to engage your customers. You can either hire a freelancer to get this work done or you can also use tools to create it on your own.
Improve Your Website Speed
It is not only irritating but also unprofessional if your website takes a lot of time to load. A sharp and good website helps in building a better user experience which in return will create the image of your product as well as your business. Hire experts if you can who will use their coding knowledge to fix and improve your website.
Write a Great Press Release
We all know the press can make or break any deal. So, don’t hesitate to write an epic press release. The document should encompass the what, why, when, where and how’s of the product. Start with the most important details, followed by the descriptions and extended details. Share it with journalists, post it on social media and take the assistance of bloggers. Another tip is to get in touch with bloggers, make a repertoire of relevant blogs that can aid in marketing and publicity.
Don’t Forget to Add Discounts and Freebies
We all love when there’s something extra that we get as an offer at no additional cost. Offer freebies with the product, create special discounts exclusive to those who attend the launch day. This is much more than a marketing plan, it helps build that niche following that stays with the product’s life through thick and thin.
Indulge in Email Marketing
One of the professional ways to market your product is through Email Marketing. Create a proper Email list with the help of Email management tools and create a personalised message and convey to them what your product is all about.
Set Ambitious Goals
Moments like this don’t come often; aim big and work hard to achieve it. Be mentally prepared for the launch day, build the required hype and then leave things to unfurl naturally. Too much meddling for the sake of perfection can have undesired consequences. Make sure your presentations are great, you are filled with confidence and everything is on board. Then, you will have the perfect launch of your product, the way you want it to and the way you dream about it.
Conclusion
The launch of a new product has to be done carefully, the success of the product depends on it. Once you gain the attention of your potential customers through the launch of your product, it will be a step toward the success of the product.
FAQs
What are the 4 Ps of marketing?
The 4 Ps of marketing are, place, price , product and promotion.
What is product launch strategy?
A product launch strategy is a planning that is made to deliver a new product in front of audience
What makes a product launch successful?
The product launch can only be successful, if you are able to identify the right market, right way of marketing the product and at right time.
Webinars are everywhere these days, especially with the Covid-19 situation, the use of Webinars have increased. Every other business stands on the marketing capacity of Webinars and when it comes to selling knowledge-based products like some courses or E-books, they are the lifesavers.
According to a report, 73% of B2B marketers said webinar is the best way to generate high-quality leads and over 60% of marketers use the webinar as a part of their content marketing campaign.
The webinar will allow you to run interactive sessions among the participants in real-time. You may share information or discuss premium strategies using Webinar. In this article, we will cover how through webinars you can generate leads for your business.
Ever been to any seminar? This is the same, except, anyone can visit it from anywhere and many times, it’s free for visitors. Webinars are like Instagram live feature, except it is far more useful than Instagram live. Webinars are mostly live streaming videos to share knowledge.
Although the presenter is the main person to talk to in a webinar, it is much more interactive than a usual seminar. Anyone can comment and ask questions while the webinar is going on. Moreover, you can provide a voice chat feature in your webinar as well.
Uses of Webinar
Webinars are very useful in many ways. Through them, you can market products, explain the features of your product to your potential customers, introduce new technologies, and many more things. Some uses of webinars are listed below:
To Improve SEO The biggest importance of webinars is that they improve the SEO of the website. Many websites conduct webinars every once in a while just to improve their ranking.
To Generate Leads Webinars bring people to watch you because through it you provide value to them. While providing value you can also advertise your product to them. Even if you don’t do that, many people will check out your product themselves. This will help to generate leads.
For Launching New Products If you want to launch and generate leads for your new products but are not looking forward to spending tons of money on them, you can use webinars. You can provide the information about your new product in a webinar and with that a link to buy that product.
To Educate People Not only just normal education but you can use webinars to educate people about how to use your product.
To Identify Potential Customers Webinars attract potential customers. Only those people will watch your webinar who are interested in the niche of your product.
Features of Webinar
Some of the best features of Webinar that helps in your business are:
Live Most of the time, webinars are streamed live so that people can interact with the presenter. Moreover, by watching live, people feel a sense of relation with the company.
Interactive Most of the webinars have the feature of chat or comment. People can send messages to the presenter and the presenter can reply to them if possible.
Voice Most of the webinars contain the voice of the presenter. However, some people conduct mute webinars too. Furthermore, in some webinars, people can even do a voice chat with the presenter.
Application Interaction You can provide your app’s interface on your website and let people learn how to use the application.
Benefits of Webinars
Webinars present you as the expert in that field, you can teach and sell at the same time.
Webinars give you authority, you are in the power if you are presenting your webinar.
There is no denying the fact that you can increase your sales through webinars. You just need to make the right strategies according to which you do your webinars and you will see the results in your favour.
Webinars are the best and most effective method in budget marketing. Through webinars, you can launch your products, advertise your products, teach your audience about the features of your product and you can also interact with your customers. So many things by just one webinar, isn’t it amazing?
Webinars are a great tool for knowing where you are lagging because through a webinar you can interact with your actual customers or say your audience and they can tell you what are the points which are lagging in your product.
Benefits of Webinar
Limitations of Webinar
Dependency on Internet Speed: Not only your internet speed but also your viewer’s internet speed should be good enough to stream a webinar video online. But the crucial part is your own internet speed.
Registration: People hate to register. But for webinars, registration is important. So, some people just drop the idea of attending the webinar even they are interested in it.
Colliding Voice Overs: Although not every time, sometimes you will face the problem of collision of voice over while streaming a screen sharing webinar.
Location & Time: Webinar connects you with people all over the world. So, when you think this is the best time to do a webinar, someone might be in a deep sleep. So, location and time are the main factors to look upon in webinars.
How to Promote Your Webinar?
Although, you can always conduct a webinar on other platforms Webinars are also available directly to your website. However, if you are not a very “tech-friendly” person, then conducting a webinar on your own site can be tough for you. To make this easier, you can go for webinar services. You might have to pay some bucks, but they will be worth it only if you have a good audience and this audience will turn potential customers for your business.
Some Pro-tips for Webinars
So now you know how to create a Webinar but the major challenge you will face in promoting or market your webinar. Some of the best ways to promote your upcoming webinars are:
Email marketing If you already have an email list then you can email your subscriber to remind them about your webinar.
Facebook marketing You can advertise your webinar on Facebook. The better way is to find and pay some relevant and popular pages and ask them to promote your webinar.
Blog Tell about your upcoming webinar in your post. Ask people to pre-register for the webinar so they can directly join in.
Sponsoring other’s blog Ask other bloggers to promote your webinar in exchange for some money or shout out. Ask them to write an article explaining why your next webinar should not be missed, this works better than direct promotion.
Influencer Pay influencers to promote your webinar in their social media posts. Do some research and find the people who can influence the group of people who may get attracted to your webinar or your product.
Collaborating Collaborate in others’ webinars and promote your own webinar in their session. This way you can get their audience as well and then you can return the favour by doing the same for them whenever they need it.
Some Pro-tips For Webinars
The audio quality should be high. Make sure you use a professional microphone while conducting along with a loud audible voice. If your viewers can’t listen to what you are saying in your webinar then they will not be able to understand anything, and because of this many people might leave the webinar before it even reaches halfway.
Put emphasis on the important points to make them more memorable so that audience can recall them after your webinar ends. If something stays in the mind of your audience after the end of the webinar then it might be possible that they may talk about those points with other people in their circle. This will increase your reach without you doing anything.
A high speed and stable internet connection are necessary, throughout the run time of the webinar. If your webinar starts buffering or keeps crashing because of the internet speed, the viewers might leave the webinar.
Answer the questions that are asked during the webinars. These serve two ways, firstly you will know that people are taking an interest in the webinar. And Secondly, the viewer will feel that they are involved in the whole thing and that will make them stay connected.
Conclusion
Webinars might look like grandpa’s tech, but they are still rocking the market. Many people might not know about them, but they do attract some people. It is easy to target potential customers for your website through webinars. You might not have done any webinars till now, but it’s worth it, give it a try and you’ll know what it can do for your business. Just go for some webinar service provider and start a webinar now.
FAQs
Are webinars free of cost?
Webinars are most of the time free and they can be paid as well.
What Webinar means?
It is an online event hosted by an organisation, in here it is broadcasted in front of people through the computer with the help of internet.
Are Webinars good for marketing?
It is a good marketing tool that helps in communicating with your customers.
Product Hunt is a well-known American website that was developed to share and discover new products on the internet. It is also a great tool for businessmen who are just starting in their career with a start-up plan. Product Hunt is a great way to connect with product enthusiasts.
All these things might sound interesting and exciting to you in case you have a unique product to showcase to the world. But, how and what are you going to do to let that happen? Well, you have to know about certain online platforms and tools like Product Hunt to do the job for you. Here is a basic guide for your product to get featured in Product Hunt.
Before jumping off to featuring a product on the platform first know who and what type of your audience are. It is not only that you should be working on but there are many things that you should do a little research about. You should try researching similar products so that you can find out how others handled their launches.
By doing this you will be able to have a vivid thought about understanding your product and how to reach your core audience. Keep in mind interesting taglines and create a landing page so that people get excited to know more about your product as soon as they look at it.
Create Significant Interest Among People
You might have targeted a specific group for your new product and your product should look appealing to them. Even if you start slow at the beginning with a handful of supporters or customers then make sure that you make the right efforts to convert that number into a large one.
You can take help from experienced people or professionals and take suggestions from them. Implement them and check out the results. Try to come out with innovative ideas about how you can make your product look appealing to your targeted group.
It is not just a solo journey of becoming the most successful entrepreneur because at some point in time you would be requiring someone’s help. So, why not help others and broaden your relationship with others of a similar community.
Reach out to other influencers on Product Hunt and build solid relationships with them. Product Hunt has got a tight-knit and very supportive community. It is also a place where you can learn a lot of things. So, get involved with the right people and help others to grow in the community.
Look For An Ideal Time For Product Launch
Your product might be unique but there will be similar products on the internet or Product Hunt as well. If you find similar products then you should consider holding off for a week or two before launching your product.
Timing matters when it comes to the launching a new product because you do not want as many as 4-5 people launching similar products at the same time as yours. So, there is nothing much that you have to do but just check for recent launches of products and accordingly select a day for your launch.
Submitting a new product might be exciting and sound amazing but what matters is the results. Not always your results will be good but there will be something important worth learning. The experience that you get trying to feature your product on Product Hunt will enable you to make better decisions next time.
Therefore, irrespective of what may the results be you should extract some useful information. Even if your product has done well then you could still think of something to bring the next one much creatively than this one.
Product Hunt is not the only one that can feature your product because there are alternatives available. But, since its popularity among people is always at peak it is recommended to use this platform. Following a certain strategy while using Product Hunt might help your product gain massive popularity.
FAQs
What is the purpose of Product Hunt?
Product Hunt is a community-based website that allows people to launch their products and market them to real users.
What are some of the best Product Hunt alternatives?
Some of the best alternatives are as the following:
LaunchingNext
FeedMyApp
Slant
Softpedia
SimilarSites
Steem Hunt
AngelList
BetaPage
Is there a subscription fee charged by Product Hunt to get featured?
Product Hunt charges $59 per month for a yearly subscription or $79 per month for a monthly subscription. However, there is also a free version available for makers and marketers. The free version makes an added benefit for most start-ups because you do not want extra cost.
Milestones are a great way to keep track of what you’ve accomplished in your life. And, when it comes to your startup, you should be aware of the milestones that are required and those that have the most impact on your company. Achieving a goal is always a great feeling, and it’s especially crucial for startups since it propels the company to the next level of success.
Milestones are like stepping stones to a successful business, and it’s critical to create proper milestones to keep track of your startup’s progress and keep it on the correct track. Following are some meaningful milestones you should be focusing on hitting if you want to have a successful startup.
It is one of the most important objectives that a startup should strive for. The model should be simple to comprehend, but it must also grow through time and include all of the aspects that changing time necessitates. The business model should tell everything about the project and explain to the investor about the working of the business.
2. Set up a Business Bank Account
One should always separate their personal and business accounts. It is usually the most intimidating thing in the world when you are starting a new business. And you’ll need two separate accounts for your personal and business assets to keep everything in order.
3. Launching a Website
When you build a business website, it becomes official, and the majority of people will learn about it. If your company does not have an online presence in current times, it will most likely suffer. Launching a website for your company will boost its legitimacy and make it more accessible to customers.
4. Hiring Important People For Your Business
Bringing the proper people on board assures that they will grow with you, boosting your company’s overall success and decreasing the need to hire for any new leadership role that arises down the road. When the right people are doing the right jobs, the efficiency sky rockets and is ultimately good for the company.
The creation of the first ever working prototype is the next milestone. This is how companies begin by developing their initial product. The prototype leads to the finished product, and the finished product leads to customers, which leads to profit.
6. Collecting and Reviewing Feedback
Collecting feedback throughout the introduction of prototypes and minimum viable products will save you time and money in the long run by revealing the product’s market position and future possibilities. Take your time collecting data and reviewing feedback, since this will assist you in creating the ideal product to meet demand.
For a startup, nothing is more stressful than the first product launch. The first ever launch decides the new reputation of the company amongst the customers and whether it will be valued in the market or not.
Your company will begin to receive paying customers after formally introducing the new product, and this is the best moment for the startup to keep the customers hooked and keep them coming back. Once the product is published, a small number of new consumers will try it out, and if they enjoy it, they will recommend it to others, resulting in a pool of devoted customers.
9. Have An Excellent Customer Service
If the product is good but the customer service is poor, the total quality of the experience will suffer, the product’s market value will fall, and customers may begin to migrate to a company with superior customer service. Invest in it and hire people who are qualified for the job. A company’s image, especially that of a startup, can be made or broken by its customer service.
Keep track of customer growth and the amount of new customers you obtain daily and monthly once the business is up and running and the initial product sales are happening. This will aid in the general expansion of the company and its consumer base. A large customer base equals more earnings and more individuals using and promoting your product. Make a daily and monthly goal for yourself so that you always have something to strive for. This will aid in the improvement of profit strategies and the efficiency of work.
Conclusion
You achieve a new milestone with every new sale or product you create. However, there are some milestones that are far too essential to overlook, and you should keep track of them to ensure that you are running your business correctly. Milestones keep you on track for your goals, and striving for them will make your work more efficient, and when you achieve them, you’ll feel more productive and optimistic about your business.
Different business milestones have different effects on the company but the ultimate goal is to earn money and expand the business. Keeping track of records and recruiting the correct personnel for the job will aid in growth and help you reach your milestones faster. However, the most important thing is to not only maintain track of the business, but also to look after yourself and the people who are helping you reach your goals.
The characteristics that propel a startup to success are proper workplace culture, vision, and teamwork.
What is the most important thing an entrepreneur should do before starting a business?
According to experts, analyzing rivals, examining the legal elements of your sector, evaluating your income and expenses, being practical about the risk involved, understanding timing, and hiring aid are all good first steps in beginning a business.
What is a milestone in entrepreneurship?
Milestones are business goals that include dates and the individual or team accountable.
