Leading a successful product launch
How to formulate a new product launch strategy and perfect launch activities
Your idea has finally taken shape. You have spent so much time and effort to see this day when your product is ready to rule the world. Now is the time to introduce your product to the market, create buzz, gain traction, and earn some real money out of it.
But you are worried. Rightly so. The data says only 25% of all product launches are successful.
By the way, here are some hard facts about the launch outcome.
Even though product launches may seem to be a daunting task, with a step-by-step approach, it can be nailed. In this article, We will discuss the key phases and activities that can make a launch successful.
Product Launch typically has two activity streams - Launch design and Launch implementation.
Launch design
Launch design often starts well before the actual launch. A product launch typically requires involvements and inputs from various stakeholders - product, R&D, design, marketing, sales, and the executive team.
The key task in this phase is to determine and create alignment on various parameters as follows -
Launch goals - More users, profitability, Revenue, market share?
Product - Value proposition, strength, weakness, competitive advantage
Target market - particular country, location, segment, etc.
User type - Determine the target user(s); for example, both buyer and seller are your users in the marketplace product.
Competitive landscape - Who are the competition and their positioning in the market.
MVP or full product - Determine how will you go to the market with a full product or an MVP?
Positioning and Messaging - Overall positioning for the product. Differentiated messaging for the target audience
Acquisition channels - How will you acquire customers?
Pricing and payment model - Determine the price for your product and payment models
Rollout - Consider big bang launches (like google events), invite-only Beta, controlled introduction, PR, or blogs.
Buzz - How will you create the Buzz around the product - digital ad, local cafe signup, and Facebook groups- are some ideas.
Partnership - Will there be any partners be involved?
Risks - Any risk such as - privacy issues?
The purpose of the launch design stage is to come up with the blueprint of the launch. Once we have these parameters decided and finalized, we can turn our focus towards launch implementation.
Launch implementation
In this phase, we prepare for the actual launch. There are various assets and activities that are usually required to launch a product in the market.
Launch assets & activities
Every product launch is different - it involves a different product, market, users, landscape, and competition. Thus, the assets and activities always vary depending on the context. Still, the following are some examples of launch assets and activities one may consider. Primarily, all launch activities can be divided into 3 different phases -
Pre-launch phase
Website Update - Landing pages
Prospect discovery interviews
Support documentation
Sample video/images
Blog post
Social media contents
Digital Ads
Email list building
Campaigns(email, Google Adwords, Adsense)
Demo scripts
Distribution review needs
Internal Product FAQ
Support team training material
Sales team training material
Datasheets
Blogs
Prospect Newsletter
Media/analyst relations
Message testing
During-launch phase
Lead generation program
Demo
Press release
Events
Media interviews
Post-launch phase
Case studies
Customer references
Customer interviews
Analyst programs
Retention/renewal programs
Customer advisory boards
Launch project planning
Product launch requires a series of activities to perform. Set milestones and establish a firm production schedule and new product launch process. For example:
Creating accountability by adhering to a schedule helps keep your costs in check. Timing is super important. It can heavily influence the success of the launch. For example, Timing a launch around a trade show or other event can generate buzz and serve as a terrific jump-start for the marketing campaign. Making sure key team members are available during the launch is absolutely crucial for troubleshooting unexpected system glitches and hiccoughs.
Execute - Measure - Learn
Like product success is all about continuously iterating the product features until the product-market fit is achieved, launch success also requires executing, measuring, and learning about the customers’ needs and fine-tuning the Go market plans. Launch planning is a human activity and often suffers from various assumptions and biases. Creating and measuring metrics around various launch activities often goes a long way in making a product launch successful.
Communicate - Communicate - Communicate
Last but not least, in fact, the most important one - Communication. Product launch often demands a long chain of activities involving various internal and external stakeholders. Keeping them aligned to the launch goals and generating outcomes requires exceptional communication, leadership, and strong will.
To wrap this up, product launch is very crucial to product success. A successful launch can have a far-reaching impact on product success.
Product launch often starts with Launch design, which is basically defining the launch startegy.
Once we have the blueprint of a launch, we should focus on building launch assets.
Product launch is also an iterative process to measure what’s working and what’s not and tweak based on the result.
Communication and great leadership is the key to a successful product launch.
Sincerely,
Arkapravo
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