Launching phase
What is included in a product launch?
Identifying unmet needs
Ideation and brainstorming
Concept testing
Product testing, preview programs, and early access
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There are five key parts to a product launch plan:
1. A clear vision: As the product launch can’t happen without the help of your internal departments’ support, make sure everyone is aware of the goal and understands the aim of and need for the product.
2. A strategy: How will you bring the product to market? A strategy defines how you’ll go from A to B. This is a customer-focused plan with tasks and timelines built around delivering value to the end-user. It’ll help keep your teams focused and moving in the same direction.
3. A communication plan: Regular catch-ups, team meetings, scrums, stand-ups, stakeholder and board meetings — they all help to keep everyone aware of the current state of play and how the product launch plan is progressing. Keep them quick and efficient for maximum value. But as well as communicating with your teams, have a plan for engaging with your prospects and customers.
4. A product launch checklist: A list of final pre-launch activities to ensure the product launch is a success.
5. A system to measure success: To understand how your product is performing, and subsequently improve it, you need a system to measure your success. Through it, you can monitor revenue, adoption, engagement, and satisfaction, and look at customer and market feedback to enhance your offering.
What are the three types of product launch events?
You can choose from three types of launch events, each having its benefits:
Minimal viable product (MVP): A barebones solution with just the core features and functionality that’s designed to give you a ‘flavor’ of the product. MVPs help bring the product to life and support product testing with target audience members. From these tests, you can see if your product is hitting the mark with target customers and make changes based on their feedback.
Soft: A soft launch or a beta launch, is when the product is released under special circumstances that limit who can preview the product. This can help you make last-minute changes or build up momentum in advance with reviews. For example, there can be previews of new films, or a limited release to specific target audiences and journalists to get feedback and responses.
Full-scale: A full-scale launch, also known as a hard launch or an official release, is when the product is fully available to the general public to purchase. It’s an ‘all or nothing’ launch event that aims to make a big impact and get sales moving fast. Most products go straight to full-scale launch when they are ready to go to market.
Defining your product launch strategy
To ensure the success of your product launch, you need a document that outlines key objectives, activities, goals, performance indicators, teams, and responsibilities (this includes everything mentioned thus far).
By having a clear product launch plan, you ensure that your teams are on the same page, aligned, and ready to do their part. You should also consider documenting post-launch activities, such as customer support, training (where necessary), and continuous improvement of the product.
Product launch template
To get you started, here’s an easy product launch template for your product launch planning. Just fill in the sections below in as much detail as you can.
The product:
- A description of the product
- What challenges it solves for the customer
- What the features and benefits are
- The target price range for the product
- The financial investment to date
- The team members involved in the product launch and what they are responsible for
The customer:
- A description of the target customer and relevant market segments (include customer personas if you have them) and use cases — e.g. areas where the product can help or the jobs it can do.
The goals:
- What are the key goals for the product? (e.g. revenue, market presence, adoption, etc.)
- How will you monitor and measure your goals?
The launch event:
- The budget for the activities
- The vision and description of the product launch (what will you cover, speakers, presenters, etc.)
The timeline and milestones of the product launch:
- List the activities with the deadlines for completion and create
- When you will bring internal teams together to discuss the progress and updates
The product marketing and communications plan:
- What are the core messages that you want customers to know?
- What channels will you use?
- What marketing collateral do you need to create? (e.g. brochures, press releases)
After filling out the document, create a concise summary to share with executives. This will provide them with a high-level overview of your project and the main elements, such as key messages, goals, metrics to monitor, and requirements for the product launch. This document is also useful for those who want to get up-to-speed with a project quickly and don’t necessarily need to know the details of each operation.