There are few things in business more exciting than coming up with an amazing idea for a new product. If you think your idea is really doable, and it's something your customers will like, it's hard not to get carried away with thoughts of massive sales and resounding business success. Having said that, there's a lot more to selling a product beyond simply having that initial idea.

Real success is the product of preparation, hard work and creative branding strategies. Once that first idea pops into your head, you've got to nurture it and give it all the support it needs to flourish. Completing this process requires a team effort with a lot of skilled people involved – product engineers, marketers, salespeople and more.

If you really want to unveil your product right, graphic designers should also play a role at some point. Having visually compelling marketing materials should be one component of the overall game plan.

Developing your product the right way

It's easy to get excited about the promise of a new product idea, but the truth is that an idea is only the beginning. You've got a lot of marketing activation work to do before you can truly consider your new offering a success.

According to the Department of Industry, Innovation and Science, there are a few key stages you need to embark upon. The first is the research process. Make sure you have a complete understanding of your product before you begin building it. How will you build it optimally? How will you market and sell it? What's the intended audience? Draw up a plan you can stick to.

Next comes building a prototype. It's best not to rush this process, as there's no guarantee that your first draft will be the best one. Be prepared to design, test and redesign until you get everything just right. Once you've got a product you're happy with, you can begin marketing it. Target your intended customers with tailor-made messages explaining how your new product is just right for them.

Unveiling your offering to the world

Releasing a new product can be tricky for a smaller business. If you're, say, Apple selling the latest iPhone, you'll have customers lining up for months to purchase your product – it will basically market itself. The less fanfare your company has, though, the harder brand activation becomes.

Small businesses need to do a little extra marketing legwork.

Fast Company advises that if your company is on the smaller side, you will probably need more than just one "big bang" release date. Instead, your strategy should involve slowly leaking details on social media and in client communications, building support for your new product gradually. Instead of one eagerly awaited release date like the iPhone has, you might have more of a rolling release where the buzz keeps building for weeks or months.

Our design team provides valuable support

Of course, if you really want to keep that buzz building, you need to know that good design is a fundamental part of the process. You won't be able to grab people's attention and hold it unless you have compelling marketing materials, and that includes having the right look and feel to represent your brand. This means choosing the right colours, fonts, images, logos – everything.

At Exposure Group, we can help with that. We have extensive experience drawing up everything from custom trade show displays to little things like pamphlets that companies can use to build marketing momentum for their products. Talk to us today about how we can help with promoting your upcoming new releases.