You sometimes have to get out ahead of the rep on a new product launch. Beyond magazines, journals, trade shows, a lame flash piece on your web site and word of mouth. Marketing needs to walk point and cover the bases first.

OK, you’ve spent years preparing to launch your new product. You’ve gone through all the steps: INDs, clinical trials, paid millions out to CROs and market research, training, been shaken down by the FDA, gotten all your thought leaders on board, you know the drill. Now it’s all hands on deck for the launch. Your new product is a very technical sell with lots of highlights and details. You need reps on the ground that can educate and convert existing customers and add new ones to the base.

By now, you should have a database of permission based e-mail addresses of everyone in your sphere of influence that you’ve been accruing over the years. You have been having conversations about your industry and highlighting trends and guesting KOLs and the thought leaders of all your products. Now you need that one digitally delivered detailed demonstration that will ensure that that joke telling, back slapping, late sleeping rep can’t skip over any technical details beyond his pay grade. (I know, I was one of them)

This approach by no means, replaces the rep. It helps them. It softens the ground for them especially for a newly launched product. It’s like calling in air strikes for ground troops. You need reps to to harvest e-mail addresses and explain to customers that their trust won’t be betrayed. This process takes a carefully concerted effort. One permission based e-mail is worth one hundred of the interruptive crash and burn.

Oh wait! No? You’ve spent the last ten years scrounging for “likes” on Facebook and never thought to develop a meaningful on line relationship with your base? Tsk,tsk. You know what they say in Russia? Tuffsky Shitsky!

You folded your arms down at the end of the conference table with that “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” look on your face and asked your IT guy if you had a web site. You thought if you used the word “viral” people would call in sick the next day. It was just too much work to try something new, something inevitable and culture changing.

Luckily for you, it’s never too late. You can still develop content that will detail your product, educate your base, your reps, your employees and expand your audience. By shooting the message out in advance in a well produced video that can be presented at “lunch and learns,” hosted on your web site and even delivered by e-mail you can carpet bomb your competition into submission. If you need help getting started, give me a call. I burned my loin cloth years ago.