Product Launch - Airfocus

A product launch describes the time a new product, good or service first hits the marketplace — and how it performs in the months that follow. ProductLaunchContentsWhatisaProductLaunch?Whatneedstobeconsideredwhenlaunchingaproduct?Whatdoesasuccessfulproductlaunchlooklike?Join6000+productleadersSignupforournewsletter&getthebestproducttipsstraighttoyourinboxWhatisaProductLaunch?💬DefinitionofProductLaunchAproductlaunchcomprisestheorganizedeffortsrequiredtosuccessfullyintroduceanewproducttothemarket. Themaingoalofaproductlaunchistomaketheproductavailabletocustomersandbuildsalesmomentum.However,itservesseveralotherpurposesinsideacompany,definingthekeymarketingaspectsandsalesstrategiesthatwillultimatelyleadtothesuccessorfailureoftheproduct. Whilemanybusinessesfocus90%oftheirattentiononthelaunchevent,thisisonlythetipoftheiceberg.Theproductlaunchisnotaone-time-onlyeventbutaprocess.Viewedasalifecycle,itmovesfromthestageofpreparationtoexecutionandfollowsthroughpost-launchtogatherearlycustomerfeedbackandbringimprovements. Whatneedstobeconsideredwhenlaunchingaproduct?Timeisthefirstthingtoconsiderwhenlaunchingaproduct.Giventheprocess’scomplexityandthehighnumberofdepartmentsinvolved,launchpreparationsshouldstart4-5monthsbeforethedateinmind.Atthebeginningofthisperiod,teamsfromproductdevelopment,marketing,sales,finance,HR,andcustomersupportneedtoestablishacohesivestrategicvisionandpin-pointthequantifiablegoalsofthelaunch.Thedepartmentswillcheckforanyinconsistenciesbetweentheproductroadmapandthecurrentstateoftheproductindevelopmenttoensuretheyareontrack.Afterproducttesting,they’llupdateaccordingly.Next,themarketingteamneedstopolishtheUSPandmessaging,matchingtheproduct’sfeatureswithcustomerwantsandneeds.Atthistime,they’llalsoprepareallthenecessarymarketingcollateralandplanthelauncheventitself.Buildingonthemarketingteam’sstrategy,thesalesdepartmentwilloutlinetheirapproachandestablishprimeleadgenerationsources.Simultaneously,thecustomersupportdepartmentwillstreamvitalinformationfromtheotherteamsandgetreadytoansweranyinquiries.Oncetheentireorganizationisuptodate,teamswillcoordinateonceagaintodecidewhatmetricstheyshouldfollowpost-launch,howtotrackuserbehaviorandhowtogatherfeedback. Ariskmanagementplanisalsoessentialforaproductlaunch.Addressingthebiggestproblemsthatcouldarisewillequipyourbusinesswiththeknow-howtostopthemintheirtracks. Whatdoesasuccessfulproductlaunchlooklike?Asuccessfulproductlaunchalignsthefinalversionoftheproductwithmarketexpectationsandenablescustomerstoeasilygettheirhandsonit. Salesarethemostbasicindicatorofasuccessfulproductlaunch.However,eachcompanyneedstoevaluatesuccessaccordingtothespecificmetricsdefinedinthepreparationstage. Theproductmanagementteamneedstoreviewthegoalstheyset,thentrackresultstoestablishifthey’veachievedtheirobjectives. Onamoresubtlelevel,thesuccessofaproductlaunchtranslatesintohowwelldepartmentscollaborateandshareinformation.Whenaproductdoeswellinthemarket,thatreflectsastrongcompanymindsetandculturebasedontransparency. GeneralFAQWhatisaProductLaunch?Aproductlaunchistheprocessofplanning,executingandtrackingthedebutofaproductonthemarket.Itrequiresacompany-wideeffortthatincludesdepartmentssuchasproductdevelopment,marketing,sales,customersupportandHR.WhatistheProductLaunchstrategy? Theproductlaunchstrategycoordinatestheeffortsofalldepartmentsinvolvedandoptimizesforcustomeradoptionandgrowth.Asidefromdetailinghowandwhenaproductwillhitthemarket,theproductlaunchstrategyshouldoutlinehowitssuccesswillbemeasured,too.WhatshouldaProductLaunchplaninclude?Aproductlaunchplanshouldincludebothpre-launchandpost-launchstrategies,encompassingmarketing,salesandcustomersupportefforts,amongothers.Whenyourproductlaunchplanconsiderstheentirelifecycleoflaunchingaproduct,youhaveamuchgreaterchanceofsucceedinginyourgoals.BuildingbetterproductsstartshereJointhousandsofproductmanagersandmakerswhoalreadyenjoyournewsletter.Getfreetipsandresourcesdelivereddirectlytoyourinbox.