7 Strategies for Product Launch Success

Prioritize Like a Pro: Best Practices for Successful Product Launches

As a product or marketing executive, watching your team launch a new product can be an exciting and challenging endeavor. However, with the vast number of new products that are released each year, it can be difficult to make your product stand out in a crowded marketplace. To succeed in today’s highly competitive environment, it is essential to have a well-defined product launch strategy that prioritizes the most important aspects of the launch process. Additionally, in light of the current economy and corporate budget and staff cuts, prioritization becomes even more important. In this blog post, we will explore the key best practices for product launch prioritization.

1) Understand your target market

The first step in prioritizing your product launch is understanding your target market. This involves conducting market research to identify your ideal customer, their needs, and the problems they are trying to solve. This information can be used to tailor your product features, messaging, and marketing efforts to resonate with your target audience.

2) Identify key product features

Once you have a clear understanding of your target market, the next step is to identify the key features of your product that will provide the most value to your customers. This involves a careful evaluation of your product’s unique selling points and its competitive landscape. Focus on the features that differentiate your product from your competitors, and prioritize those that are most important to your target market.

3) Defining your product launch tier

Too many companies I have worked for––both large and small––believe every launch is important. The problem is, if everything is important, nothing is important. The result is that impactful projects are not prioritized properly nor adequately resourced. What I have found helpful is to consider new products and capabilities along two different axes: What is important to the customer and what is important to the company (see Figure 1 below)?

Product launch prioritization framework showing launch tiers

Figure 1: Product launch prioritization framework

By creating a tiered launch plan, you can prioritize and commit resources where they will have the biggest impact on the company and on the customer. 

4) Develop a comprehensive launch plan

Once you have identified your target market, key product features, and the appropriate launch tier, the next step is to develop a comprehensive launch plan. This should include all key activities that need to be completed before, during, and after the product launch. Some of the key elements that should be included in your launch plan include:

  • Pre-launch activities: This includes developing your product messaging, creating marketing collateral, building your sales pipeline, and generating buzz through social media and other channels.
  • Launch day activities: This includes product demonstrations, analyst briefings, media outreach, and other activities to generate interest and awareness for your product.
  • Post-launch activities: This includes tracking and analyzing your product’s performance, refining your marketing and sales strategies, and continuing to engage with your customers to ensure that they are satisfied with your product.

Please note, as you move down from tier 1 to tier 4 launches, the scope, resources, and dollars committed will typically get smaller. For example, not all launches require robust analyst and public relations outreach. Items in tier 4––which often include platform updates, bug and security fixes, performance enhancements, etc.––may not even have a launch plan defined, getting no PM or PMM support. A simple email to existing customers may suffice in this case. Adjust your GTM launch plan as it makes sense. 

5) Set realistic launch goals

Before launching your product, it is important to set realistic goals that will help you measure the success of your launch. This can include metrics such as sales revenue, customer acquisition, and customer satisfaction. By setting clear and measurable goals, you can ensure that you are focused on the most important aspects of your launch and can track your progress over time.

6) Focus on customer feedback

Once your product has launched, it is essential to focus on customer feedback to identify areas for improvement and refine your product strategy. This involves gathering feedback from your customers through surveys, reviews, and other channels, and using this feedback to inform your product development roadmap. By focusing on customer feedback, you can ensure that your product is meeting the needs of your target market and is continuously improving over time.

7) Leverage data and analytics

To ensure the success of your product launch, it is important to leverage data and analytics to track the performance of your product and identify areas for improvement. This can include tracking sales revenue, customer acquisition, website traffic, asset engagement, and other metrics that are relevant to your product. By analyzing this data, you can identify trends and patterns that can inform your product and GTM strategy and help you make data-driven decisions. 

For additional thoughts on metrics that matter, please check out: For Your Launch, Don’t Confuse Metrics That Count with Metrics That Can Be Counted, and visit Hubspot to get their great product launch checklist.

Conclusion

Launching a new product can be a challenging and exciting endeavor, but it requires careful planning and prioritization to succeed. By understanding your target market, identifying key product features, and developing a comprehensive launch plan, you can ensure that your product launch is successful and achieves your desired goals. By focusing on customer feedback, leveraging data and analytics, and continuously refining your product strategy, you can ensure that your product is meeting the needs of your target market and is continuously improving over time. With these best practices in mind, you can launch your product with confidence.

For additional perspectives on product launches, please check out the following resources:

Written By

Mark Bloom

Mark Bloom has over 20 years of sales, marketing, and business development experience in a variety of financial services and high-technology markets. In the course of his experience, Mr. Bloom has helped F100 organizations develop technology infrastructures, build global strategies and execute sales and marketing programs with strategic partners. Mr. Bloom has been a senior consultant at Aventi since early 2022, and his past clients/employers have included Ford, Motorola, United Technologies, Cisco, Chrysler, SonicWall, Qualys, Trend Micro, and Compuware. Mr. Bloom holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree in Management Information Systems and an MBA in International Business.