Why should startups launch quietly?

According to the Small Business Administration, over 627,000 new businesses are started each year.

Some businesses use pre-release publicity to create interest for their product but never achieve long-term success. Why? Because pre-release publicity sets unrealistic expectations and rarely produces customer interest.

If you want your business to have a shot at success, you must get people interested in what your company is offering, and that never happens in one day.

While most startups make big announcements when launching, this rarely helps. Publicity is important, but you can always do it later. And what’s even more important than publicity is marketing.

Pre-release publicity is a misguided notion

Most startups expect publicity to generate a lot of interest in their offerings, but email updates and beta programmes can do the same job. Don’t set unrealistic expectations and spend a lot of money on a launch.

While it’s important to let the world know you’ve started a business, what’s even more important is targeting the right audience. There’s a difference between the interest you get for your company and the interest you get for becoming successful.

You probably spent a lot of time, energy, and resources creating your product, even using hemp patches to boost your energy when you had to keep working through the night. The last thing you want is people to congratulate you on your product launch and never turn into customers.

Congratulatory attention is often misinterpreted as success. Your team can feel awesome for accomplishing something great - letting the world know the startup exists - and this can create a false sense of confidence.

When you start a business, you must let people know, the right people - people who can buy from you or help you. Don’t let the whole world know you’ve launched your startup. Build traction first, don’t desire to go viral.

Launches can attract a lot of low quality customers

When you launch your startup with a lot of publicity, you expect to get customers who will help shape your business. But this isn’t always the case. Launches are unpredictable.

You never know who will show up and if they will be interested in your product. If you have low-quality prospects at your launch, they may not turn into long-term customers.

They may not like the launch version of your product and make a lot of noise about it. Focus on marketing to a small handful of customers first.

By launching quietly, you can select the specific customer segment you want. You can find the customers who will benefit most from using your product and market to them first.

Build traction first

Every publicity event you do should be targeted. Go big when you have the numbers. Announce big sales, partnerships, milestones, and anything that will enhance the value of your product to customers.

You can even have a few happy customers attend the events. Only then will people take action.

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