LAS VEGAS – As Epson America unveils its newest products this week at International CES, the company’s earliestadopter customers will be able to place pre-orders for the forthcoming line thanks to a deal with Prelaunch.com.
In turn, feedback from these first users will help Epson tweak and fine-tune the SKUs, marketing strategy and inventory planning prior to a general launch.
Austin, Texas-based Prelaunch describes itself as the first and only platform that partners with established brands to offer pre-orders to a network of earlyadopter consumers before launching new products. Scheduled to go live this month, consumers can go to Prelaunch. com to learn the latest in various product categories, pre-order new products, receive special offers, and directly interact with their favorite brands and products, ultimately influencing their marketing and product development, the startup said.
In turn, Prelaunch will provide brands with market intelligence to help direct inventory planning, product messaging and other marketing efforts, and will serve as a vehicle for manufacturers “to generate excitement and insights” before launching new products.
In Epson’s case, the manufacturer will be able to leverage customer feedback and Prelaunch’s built-in market intelligence tools to direct inventory planning and hone product messaging. By qualifying demand through Prelaunch’s robust suite of survey tools and market analytics, Prelaunch can reduce the costs and risks in over- or under-stocking and help ensure successful marketing efforts for its customers, the company said.
“Prelaunch seeks to foolproof the product launch and protect brands, and working with Epson presents a tremendous opportunity for us,” said Prelaunch co-founder Donald Brewer. “Prelaunch gathers market data and customer feedback before the product is commercially available. This is an enormous benefit to customers like Epson.”
Other vendor clients include After-Shokz (sport headphones), Libratone (wireless speakers) and Phospor.
