What is a Product Launch? | Product Management Glossary

A product launch refers to a business's planned and coordinated effort to debut a new product to the market and make that product generally available for ... ProductPlan TrynowSignin ProductLaunch WhatisaProductLaunch? Aproductlaunchreferstoabusiness’splannedandcoordinatedefforttodebutanewproducttothemarketandmakethatproductgenerallyavailableforpurchase.Aproductlaunchservesmanypurposesforanorganization—givingcustomersthechancetobuythenewproductisonlyoneofthem.Italsohelpsanorganizationbuildanticipationfortheproduct,gathervaluablefeedbackfromearlyusers,andcreatemomentumandindustryrecognitionforthecompany. ProductLaunchChecklists Businessesneedtoplantheirproductlaunchesstrategicallyandwellinadvanceoftheirplannedlaunchdate.Thisisbecauseasuccessfulproductlaunchrequiresthecoordinatedeffortofmanyteamsanddepartmentsacrossthecompany—notonlyproductmanagementanddevelopment,butalsomarketing,sales,customersupport,finance,PR,etc. Everyorganization’scircumstancesareunique,butatypicalchecklistshouldincludeatleastthefollowing: 1.Makesuretheteamhassuccessfullyexecutedonthestrategicvisionoutlinedintheproductroadmap 2.TestandQAthenewproduct (Note:Productlaunchesforsoftwareproductstypicallyhappenonlyafterseverallevelsoftestinghavebeencompleted.Alphatestingisaproduct’sfirstroundofend-to-endtesting,usuallydonebythecompany’semployees.Whentheproductclearsthislevel,thecompanywillsendforbetatesting,whichinvolvesrealusersbutisstillbeforetheofficialcommercialreleaseoftheproduct.) 3.Draftanddistributesalesandmarketingcollateral 4.Trainthesalesteamonthenewproduct 5.Trainthecustomersupportdepartmentonthenewproduct 6.Completetheproduct’ssupportand/ortechnicaldocumentation 7.Letyourentireorganizationknowabouttheapproachingproductlaunch 8.Developandreviewthecustomerjourneytobuytheproduct,makesuretheprocessisassmoothaspossible 9.Deviseaplanfortrackinguserbehaviorand/orgatheringfeedbackfromearlyusers 10.Decideonthemetricsyouandyourteamwillusetojudgethesuccessorfailure—forexample,revenueornewuserswithinacertaintimeframe. 11.Conductaproductlaunchpre-mortem—whereyourproductteamthinksthroughpossibleproblemsormisstepsthatcouldhurtyourproductlaunchandpreparesplansofactionforeachpotentialprobleminadvance. IsThereaProductLaunchFormula? Iftherewereaone-size-fits-allformulaforasuccessfulproductlaunch,thentherewouldbenofailedproducts. Forexample,thebeststrategyforalargeSaaScompanywilldifferfromthestrategythatworksforabiotechstartup.However,justbecausetherearedifferencesinstrategyfordifferentproducts,doesnotmeanthattherearen’tprovenwaystoimprovelaunches,acrosstheboard. Therearesomeprovenstrategiesproductmanagerscanusetoincreasetheirchancesofasuccessfulproductlaunch,regardlessoftheindustrythey’rein. 1.Launchbeforeyou’re100%ready. Inthedigitalage,withsomanycompetitorsinsomanyindustries,businessescannolongeraffordtotaketheirtimeandmakesureanewproductisperfectbeforetheylaunchit.Bythattime,acompetitor(orseveralcompetitors)mighthavealreadytakenupmuchofthemarket. Onestrategythatoftenworksistolaunchyourproductassoonasyou’reconfidentitprovidesvaluetoyourusers—evenifit’sbeforeyou’veperfecteditordevelopedeveryfeatureyouwantedtoinclude.Youcanimproveanditerateontheproductbasedonearlyuserfeedback. 2.Buildforthewholeuserexperience. Anotherprovenstrategyistofocusnotonlyontheproductitself.It’salsoimportanttofocusoneveryaspectofyourcustomer’sexperience.Reviewyoursalesliteratureandads,buytheproduct,contactyourcompanyforsupport. Whenanorganizationbroadensitsthinkingandbuildsaproductlaunch(andpost-launch)plantomakethebestpossibleexperienceforeveryaspectofthecustomer’sjourney,thatbusinessisfarmorelikelytoenjoyasuccessfullaunch. 3.Startwiththeendinmind. Finally,productteamsshouldavoidthetemptationtojumprightinandstartbuildinganewproduct.Successbeginswithalotofupfrontstrategicthinkinganddecisionsonalong-termvisionforthatproduct. Whenbusinessesusethisapproach,thatvisionhelpstosetanumberofproductgoals.Thesegoalsshouldbedesignedtosolvetheuniqueproblemsofyourtargetusers.Onceyouhavethosegoalsfortheproduct,youcanbegintotranslatethosegoalsintoastrategicblueprint:theproductroadmap. Finally,whenyou’vebuiltyourroadmapandyourstakeholdershaveapprovedit,youcanbegintobreaktheroadmap’shigh-levelstrategicplansintospecificuserstoriesandfeaturesandputthesetask-levelitemsintoyourproductbacklog. WhatistheDifferenceBetweenProductSuccessandFailure? Asuccessfullaunchrequiresmuchmorethansimplyactivatingthe“buy”buttonbeneathyourproduct.Itneedstobeacompany-wideeffortthatinvolvesthecoordination,effort,andenthusiasmofdepartmentsacrossyourcompany. Productlaunchesrequireagreatdealofplanningandleadtime.Youneedtomakesurethatthemanykeycomponentsarereadytogobeforethebigday.Thisincludesmarketingcampaigns,salescollateral,trainedsalesandsupportreps,andofcourseafullytestedproduct. Whenyouandyourteamcanplanandexecuteasuccessfulproductlaunch,you’llgreatlyincreasethechancesofyourproductresonatingwithusersandgeneratingmomentumonitswaytomarketsuccess. Needextrasupportfordevelopingyourproductlaunchtemplate?Getstartedwithourfreeproductlaunchtemplate. TryProductPlanFreefor14Days Getstartedinminutes—nocreditcardrequired. TryItFree  Tweet Share Tweet Share Tweet Share LinkedIn