PRESALE

(method)

Brief description

A sale held before an item is made available for purchase. This allows users to place an order for an item which has not yet been released and to process the pay for transaction once is available and ships. You will collect and process payment information and conduct actual sales, so you should be close to the final solution or have a minimum viable product to deliver.

Step

Prototype Testing

Input

Solutions that can benefit of measure market demand or price options at a smaller scale before you launch to the public.

Output

Viability

Desirability of customers

Feedback and learnings

Time

Preparation, medium

Execution, 5 days to weeks

Analysis, medium

Difficulty

5/5

People

participants giving feedback depends on how many pre-sales you can fulfill

2-5 (coordinators of the experiment)

Quick Guide

Design and create a simple landing page or choose a website where customers can pre-order.
Add pictures and price options of your solution.
Add a add a pop-up when they click on the price options with the legend: “We’re not available to the public yet” and a call to action to pre-order and payment information. Add a note that the payment will not be billed until the ship the product.
Integrate web analytics and make sure they are working.
Make your landing page live to the public.
Promote and launch your campaign to drive traffic to your page.
Review your web analytics and measure the results of the presales.
Use these findings to determine viability and refine your value proposition and price options.

Benefits

Get in touch with your costumers to get feedback before launching to the public.
See how your target user reacts to your solution.
Build anticipation around your solution by only releasing it for few people.
Create a solid customer base while having time to work on any potential issue to ensure the solution is up to the standards.

Helpful Tips

Do not rush and conduct several presales without having the ability to deliver; failure to follow through can seriously damage your reputation.
Include a description of the value proposition, product renderings, mock-up, simulations, promotional video, or customer testimonials in your landing page.
Add analytics to see how many people clicked on a price option, added their payment information, clicked on pre-order, or dropped out of the flow.