A pre-club strategy is when a company takes orders from customers for products before the official production release. It is a tactic used in the build-upwards to a new production launch to rally hype and excitement.

Pre-orders are attractive to the consumer because it means they tin can handbag the product before it'south bachelor for public purchase. This is especially true if the product is a loftier-demand item that'due south likely to sell out speedily, such as the Playstation 5 games panel, or the latest iPhone.

When executed well, a pre-club strategy can have a profound upshot on customer response, as it builds excitement and a sense of exclusivity.

The benefits of a pre-order strategy

Pre-order strategies aren't merely about getting the customer excited, they're likewise super useful for internal teams too. They tin can assistance businesses sympathize the level of demand among their target marketplace, every bit well as securing sales earlier the production even hits the shelves. These sales can be pivotal in funding the production of the product itself and marketing campaigns for promotion and follow-up projects.

For case, pre-orders for the video Game Cyberpunk 2077 hitting more than 8 1000000, with the sales from these customers lonely covering the costs of the game's well-nigh decade-long development in a unmarried twenty-four hour period.

Need we say more than? 🤷‍♂️ (We're going to anyhow!)

When should a pre-society strategy be used?

A pre-order strategy is used by many companies, just it'due south important to be selective about when and how often you lot use this method.

You need to weigh up each launch or product update and see if it warrants a pre-order strategy.

Here's what we mean:

Rockstar'due south Grand Theft Auto V is another example of a video game that'due south reaped the benefits of a successful pre-order strategy, with global purchases hitting vii one thousand thousand prior to release. Given the popularity of the franchise and the inevitable demand stockists would confront upon its release, it was clear the pre-society format would pay dividends.

Since the launch, Rockstar has released additional add-ons and bundles for the game, and despite the mammoth success and positive reception upon its release, pre-orders weren't needed for the bolt-on features, this was set bated for the release of the master title.

Plenty of effort goes into creating and executing an effective pre-social club strategy. Therefore, information technology's not advisable to sink your resource into taking pre-orders for small products and updates, particularly if you're a small business. After all, there are no guarantees your personas will exist in a hurry to snap upwardly your offering, and before you know it, y'all could lose money.

With this in mind, continue your powder dry out, and plow to pre-orders for major visitor events or product launches, such as:

  • SMBs launching a new business into the market
  • A new flagship production in your range
  • Limited edition or special edition items
  • If you lot're launching a large promotion or discounts on an existing production

How to build and execute a pre-club strategy

Meticulous planning and market research are key to the success of any pre-order strategy. You will need to have into business relationship the production itself, every bit well equally accompanying marketing campaigns for pre-launch, launch, and post-launch. It'southward also important to consider the order and inventory direction that follows to ensure every pre-club can exist fulfilled.

Consider the following when edifice and executing your pre-lodge strategy:

Build a collaborative team

The most successful pre-order strategies don't but happen; they're the production of hard work and dedication from every fellow member of the team.

It'south critical to ensure each fellow member of the team is aligned, in terms of expectations and targets. If some are aspiring for one stop goal, while others have their optics prepare on another target, inevitably, you won't get the results you lot're looking for.

Y'all need to communicate internally with every team, including sales, marketing, IT, and customer service; don't fall into the trap of thinking your production marketing team has the answers to everything. Hold meetings, discuss developments with your colleagues, and involve them in the process itself.

Build your pre-society strategy around lifecycles

What a company does in the weeks and months building up to a product launch matters far more than the launch day itself.

Hone your efforts on producing a stiff programme and timeline that begins earlier your actual launch date, and is focused on generating as much awareness and excitement as possible to boost the number of pre-orders you get.

Research has shown over one-quarter (28%) of pre-orders are placed on the day they are made bachelor to the marketplace; this is normally in the region of 4-half-dozen months before the production is released. In the next 7-10 mean solar day period that follows, customer interest tends to decrease, after the initial hype surrounding the production has died down.

Simply don't worry, the pre-orders don't stop there.

There are often spikes in further pre-orders which autumn in line with ongoing marketing and PR activities. The week or and so before a production is released tin exist quiet, as loyal fans have already made their pre-orders, while prospective customers are happy to abide their time and wait until the official launch.

Based on this lifecycle, program your pre-launch campaign calendar by taking the post-obit into business relationship:

Consider your pre-social club annunciation

It'southward considered skilful practice to begin taking pre-orders four-6 months earlier your product is released. That said, y'all demand to do what's right for you and your company past making sure you're not biting off more you can chew.

After all, you don't want to observe yourself in a predicament similar to Sony, who was forced to repent on social media when demand outstripped supply, and many were left empty-handed on launch twenty-four hours. 👇


How to achieve the maximum number of customers and build hype

Consumers are a sucker for hype; information technology's the fuel that feeds any pre-order campaign worth its common salt.

You need to transport ripples amongst your target market. Some release a teaser and press release detailing the products USPs, while others prefer to ship an email to their customer database with a directly link to pre-gild. Some volition go all out and practice both. Either manner, effective messaging is needed to help you become people talking about your product.

Yous know what they say: word of mouth is the best form of marketing.

Outline your marketing and PR

Whether it'southward a social media influencer showing off your product on Instagram, monthly previews to whet the appetite of your customer, or targeted email marketing campaigns, you lot need to take a marketing and PR plan in place to breathing the pre-order spikes in the months leading upwardly to the campaign.

Every pre-club campaign enters the 'dead zone' at some stage. This is the time in which orders tin can be comparatively lower to other stages in the pre-gild lifecycle. It'southward important not to sit still and practise nothing during these instances; utilise this fourth dimension to create more than content geared towards a) generating more hype for your product, and b) helping your SEO rankings. It'due south also recommended to contact bloggers and influencers to preview your product ahead of the big release.

Unleash the ability of FOMO

When customers pre-order your production, they're looking for  added value they wouldn't otherwise get if they were to wait until launch mean solar day.

Let'southward take another example from the gaming industry. When EA Sports began taking pre-orders for FIFA 21, gamers ordering in advance secured bonus features exclusive to pre-orders, as well as access to the content 3-days early on.

To generate a bigger buzz (and more than orders), companies sometimes impose a 'first-come up-first-served' model, limiting offers to 10 corporeality of customers. This incentivizes the customer to pre-lodge, rather than wait until subsequently.

How to build an enticing marketing campaign

Promoting a production no-one knows anything virtually is pointless. So, you've got to spend fourth dimension fine-tuning an effective marketing campaign to solidify your pre-society strategy.

Don't skimp on advertising

Good advertising is often deemed as well expensive just this isn't always necessarily the case. Far from it, in fact.

Digital advertising can exist used to increment production and make awareness in the weeks leading up to your product launch, with pop platforms like Google Ads, YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram all offer teams the gamble to cut through the noise and attain their specific audiences via targeted messaging.

Use a CRM

Nosotros've said information technology before, we'll say information technology once again: selling to an existing customer is much easier than selling to a newbie.

Employ the contacts in your CRM system to send email messages to your existing customers, informing them of your latest release and when they tin can pre-gild. Schedule additional emails of the product in action, with a farther CTA for them to pre-order.

Ready the PR wheels moving

You lot demand to set tongues wagging about your new product, and what better way to do it than launching your product to the media?

Press releases and influencer marketing can play a key role in helping you pique the interest of your customers and generate buzz effectually your new release.

When yous launch your pre-lodge campaign, write a press release and distribute it to media outlets to spread the word far and wide.

Content marketing

Information technology'south a cliché, but we're gonna apply it anyhow: content is (still) King.

When your pre-lodge campaign is underway, you need to keep the marketplace excited, and if there's one thing content tin exercise, information technology's generate a fizz - by the bucket load.

Build a content plan including sneak previews of your product, interviews with the product creators, and celebrities who may have tested your production. This volition requite your customer even more reasons to get excited about the launch and convince more people to put their hand in their pocket and grab a piece of the action.

Brace yourself, nosotros've a helluva statistic coming your way: 71% of customers are more likely to purchase a product based on social media recommendations.

Almost three-quarters of the market - pretty crazy, right?

If you know where practically all of your target audience is looking, it'south a no-brainer to use this knowledge to your advantage and exist strategic. Send a freebie to celebs who are popular among your personas, ask those who accept pre-ordered to share on social media for a small prize, or mail feedback from customers who've reserved a product already.

Prepare for high-need

A pre-order campaign that'southward been well received will run into a lot of interest in your product when launch twenty-four hours finally arrives, and it's easy to underestimate how high-demand can meet all your planning get to waste matter.

Ticket sites are the perfect example of when high demand can crusade chaos; we've all been primed with our mouse at the set, only to run into the dreaded 'No tickets available' message10 seconds after the tickets go on sale.

Why? Considering the demand among fans outnumbers the tickets available. Or even worse, the ticket site crashes as you're entering your card details equally it isn't equipped to cope with the traffic.

Yous need to fix for every eventuality to be certain your launch goes smoothly.

Ask yourself:

  • Accept you checked the bandwidth of your website? Can information technology handle a fasten in visitors?
  • Have y'all got a specialist launch squad to assist with customer enquiries or orders?
  • Has your sales squad had sufficient sales enablement training? Practise they have plenty sales enablement tools at their disposal?
  • Have y'all sent follow-up emails to those customers who pre-ordered request for client and market feedback to make the side by side launch even better?

At that place's no doubting the ability a pre-order strategy can have in helping you smash your production launch out the park - but don't cut corners.

Skipping steps tin be the divergence between the sublime and sub-standard, and customer churn becomes a distinct possibility if things go wrong. Certain, you lot can reactivate churned customers, just it's much amend to invest time, energy, and money to accomplish your desired results and better your customer retention from the get-go.