A product launch often evokes a spectrum of emotions. It can range from the serenity of a flawless sunset to the sudden rush of a heavy downpour. What's essential is not necessarily a perfect launch, but ensuring teams collaborate cohesively rather than operating in silos.
Product launches involve a series of partnerships with cross-functional teams that rely on proactive communication and collaboration throughout the entire process (not just for launch, but from conception to launch). This means before the product hits development you should be looping in your partners. This allows for teams to start strategizing and developing ways to reach the target audience. These partnerships include: marketing, sales, design, engineering, legal, stakeholders, etc. All of these teams will be working in sync with each other and at certain points passing a baton to the next team in the assembly line.
During a product launch it's a rarity for everything that you envisioned to go live. Usually cuts will need to be made. Maybe the bug for one of the features couldn't get fixed in time or the team is apprehensive even with the bug fix about going live. If this happens marketing and sales will need to adjust their work and positioning. Maybe there is a feature that you can't launch without fixing a certain bug so you will need to move the launch date. This is a critical decision, but does happen.
It's better to launch something that solves for the users problems and provides a seamless user experience then to launch just to hit a deadline. The highest point and the culmination of your execution skills lies in the launch so you need to be confident it will at least deliver value to the user. This is where all your hard work comes into focus. People will be waiting on you to see if you can deliver something extraordinary to your users.
Maybe the first launch is simple with a standard landing page to see if there is a market place for what you want to build, but as you start getting deeper into your career launches will become more complex.
Launch Review ✔︎️
The launch review is the final step in the approval process before your product goes live or is shipped. This review typically involves senior management reviewing the final features set for the launch. It's crucial to hold this meeting at least a week, or at the very least, 5 days before the launch to tackle any concerns. Depending on the timing of this review, your product might not be fully complete. If this is the case make sure to inform the reviewers about the parts still being worked on.
💁♀️ Tip: Work closely with approvers (senior management) throughout the process by sharing demos and data along the way. This helps with no surprises, alignment, and an easy run-through of the product launch plans and marketing material.
During this time it's important to discuss any past suggestions or product features that underwent A/B testing and to present the outcomes. This helps manage expectations about features that senior management may have advocated for but didn't perform well in tests. This context also helps senior management make informed decisions about which features should actually go live.
Awareness
It's common to either overreact or under react to feedback, particularly during a launch review when emotions might be heightened. When trying to understand others it's important to present how you feel as offering them a possibility.
Begin by promoting awareness of your concept or situation in an optimistic light. It's more about advocating your perspective than just laying out facts and demanding agreement. Then, use motivation. I've found that people are more willing to embrace change or consider a new idea when they believe it will bring them personal benefits, as opposed to feeling obligated to do something. Show concrete examples of the advantages of adopting new behavior, as well as the disadvantages or risks of maintaining the status quo.
Lastly, the most challenging aspect is to step back and listen. Once you've explained why you believe your idea is sound (awareness) and how it can benefit them (motivation), shift from 'telling' to 'asking.' Remember, you're merely presenting an option; it's up to them to accept it. Pose questions like, 'What are your thoughts on this?' and then genuinely listen to their perspective. If they seek more information, gladly provide it, but bear in mind that you're suggesting, not insisting.
Invest the time to comprehend their feedback, whether it’s a simple idea, a strong recommendation, or a directive. Make sure to articulate any trade-offs, particularly regarding resources or time, and offer alternative solutions.
Give me that product launch checklist
A launch checklist is an essential tool to guarantee that everything is in place before a product's release. If your workplace doesn't have one, consider drafting a checklist and sharing it with various departments like marketing, sales, support, and leadership. This ensures a collective understanding and agreement on the necessary steps before a product enters the market.
Here are some key categories to consider:
Roll-out Strategy: The roll-out strategy should clearly define the launch date and time. What is the chosen rollout approach? Options include a Big Bang release, a Staged rollout (by geography, customer segments, or phases), a Soft Launch, a Pilot/Beta, or a Drip Launch. It's crucial to identify which systems require updates and if there's a specific sequence for them. Consider the duration needed for each deployment. Determine the point in the timeline when marketing activities will commence. Additionally, it's beneficial to reserve a 'war room' or conference room to address potential issues during the launch.
Product Specifics: In terms of product specifics, ensure that the product has undergone thorough testing and received QA approval. Consider which platforms it will support: Desktop, mobile, and iPad. Check whether the product has been internationalized and if it supports multiple languages. Lastly, confirm that the product has passed the launch review process for final approval.
💁♀️ Tip: Making a separate testing checklist with all the important flows and edge cases is crucial to make sure the product is fully functional for launch.
Feedback Mechanisms: Feedback Mechanisms and logging play a pivotal role in the launch process. Logging allows us to assess the launch's success and understand user interaction with the new features. It's essential to test all feedback mechanisms to ensure they function as intended. Tools like Google Analytics and A/B Testing can be employed, depending on the rollout strategy.
Infrastructure: It's important to discuss changes with security, engineering, and site reliability engineers. Additionally, you might want to contemplate a dark launch as a strategy to assess the system's stability.
Other Reviews: Are there other reviews to consider, such as legal and compliance evaluations?
Marketing Preparation: Are the go-to-market materials prepared and ready? Consider the strategies in place for potential users to learn about the launch. There might be a need to update the app store listing. Outreach efforts should include press releases, email campaigns, launch events, and social media promotions. Also, it's essential to check if the product's positioning aligns with the launch objectives.
💁♀️ Tip: Even if you have a marketing team, it's essential to evaluate the promotional content and its wording to ensure it captivates potential customers.
Support and Sales Readiness: For support and sales readiness, it's essential to determine if the teams have received the necessary training. It's also important to check whether the documentation has been updated or if new ones have been created. Additionally, consider if they require any new internal tools to assist .
Internal Communication: Are there plans to send out a launch announcement? Additionally, are you planning to host a launch party to celebrate achievements and publicly acknowledge the teams and individuals who contributed to its success, emphasizing its significance for the company's future.
Go-to-Market Strategy-Positioning Statement
Right before launch you will need to work with the product marketer to finalize messaging and plans. A positioning statement identifies your target audience and outlines how you want them to see your brand. While it sounds promotional, it's an internal guide. Every brand decision should match this statement. Essentially, your positioning statement is an elevator pitch on how you want customers to view your product.
"Your positioning statement is an elevator pitch on how you want customers to view your product"- Product Girl
Positioning statements are crucial since potential and existing users might not invest the time to grasp your complete vision. A positioning statement should make the user want to say "Yes, I have this problem, and I need your solution." Bonus points if your product highlights a problem the user wasn't even aware of.
Also, don't forget to align with your teammates and cross-functional partners on a positioning statement before any launch materials get created. All of the go-to-market materials, talking points, and social post will follow from that statement.
To help come up with a positioning statement. Check out this article
Here are a few tips:
- Lead with empathy
- Understand your customers
- Keep it concise
- Look to your brand values
- Be transparent
Below is a template to help you get started...
Build Awareness
How will you promote your product so that potential users know it exists? There are many different channels to do this.
Here are a few to consider:
- Social Media Marketing: You can track the cost, effectiveness, impressions, click to buy ratio, etc.
- Search Engine Optimization (SEO): This involves optimizing a website to gain traffic through organic growth.
- Search Engine Marketing: This involves organic and paid growth.
- Events and conferences: For a large launch, an event or conference can attract customers and press to build awareness and gain more attention.
- Public Relations: Is there a way to interest the press in wanting to write about your product? What articles or publications does your target audience read?
- Pre-launch Giveaway: Even if your product is a digital product you can still incentivize your customers.
- E-mail Marketing: Engage and personalize e-mails with your users. Reach existing user base to tell them about new features and products.
Remember don't underestimate reference customers. They are your promoters that when given early access to your new product will be willing to give testimonials about how great it is! They can also be quoted in a press release, possible case studies, or even in a commercial or social media post. They are living proof your product works and has solved their problem and ultimately benefitted from it.
If you don't have reference customers that is okay. You can invite potential reference customers to a pre-launch beta of the new product and ask for feedback. Communicate with them frequently and build a relationship as they will help to define your product early on and help it to become a success.
Don't Launch unless the product is ready
Not every launch will be perfect, but you can count on every launch to have a lot of moving parts. That is an absolute guarantee especially since it involves working cross-functionally with various teams such as engineering, designs, sales, compliance, legal, etc. It's crucial for everyone to understand their roles. However, make sure to double-check and cross-reference. Clearly specify who is responsible for each task, as well as when it should be completed.
💁♀️ Tips: Create a launch checklist with each person's responsibilities and have it approved by senior management. Also, setting up regular meetings to check on progress and answer any questions will help ensure nothing slips through the cracks.
Remember, as the launch date approaches, the pressure rises. Ensure that the excitement to release doesn't lead you to launch a product that doesn't meet user expectations. While no launch is guaranteed to be flawless and uncertainties always exist, implementing A/B testing or beta programs can provide insights into customer reactions, helping forecast the product's success.
Quality Assurance aka double check yourself
Not all companies have a QA or Testing team and even if they did you would want to create the test plan to communicate how the product should function for the user when it's live. This also helps with maintaining the vision and mission.
A few tips for QA:
- Internal dogfooding: This is where you "eat your own dogfood" The entire team uses the product while it's in development. This can include UI/UX, IT Support, QA, PM team, etc.
🚨 Important Note: Your user experience team is ideally suited to oversee your dogfooding program. Their deep understanding of customer behaviors and product interactions enables them to analyze feedback more proficiently. Their primary goal is to pinpoint what customers need and address their issues making them perfect to lead internal dogfooding. In addition, they can gain valuable insights, develop design enhancements, and collect user interaction data.
- Team Review: Gather with the design and engineering team and have a customer workflow session. Discuss, how it's expected to work for the user on the back-end and on the front-end. Remember to go over edge cases and standard use cases and scenarios. Maybe, even have a user workflow chart created with the different workflows to go over the use and edge cases.
💁♀️Tip: Engineers should guide this.
- Internal Batch Testing: This is similar to a beta testing, but internal. Invite your co-workers to test the product. This helps with receiving honest and consistent feedback. Provide snacks and incentives like prizes for the most bugs found. Maybe a Starbucks giftcard?
💁♀️ Tip: Assign each tester a specific part of the product to test. - Test it yourself: This is where you get into a room with yourself and whiteboard the living SHIT out of your product and all the cases you can think of or have written down. You know the product the best and how it should perform and look for users. You are the goalie!
Keep an eye out for...
Go back to a beginner's mindset: While each feature is tested individually during development, issues can arise when they all come together, particularly in terms of usability. To address this, try using the product from start to finish as if you were a complete beginner unfamiliar with it and test it from end-to-end.
Different work flows: The product will work differently based on user roles or subscriptions. For example, user logged in/user logged out, trial version vs beta vs premium.
Common cases that don't get internal dogfooding: Occasionally, mock data can be used to test common scenarios, depending on the infrastructure. But if that's not an option, you'll need to run tests for new user sign-ups, the onboarding process, user upgrades, and account deletions.
Corner/Edge Cases: Consider situations where a user might encounter an error due to internet issues or by leaving a field empty. This is the time to assess unexpected scenarios and potential error cases.
Design: Are all notifications working? This includes toast and alert notifications. Are all CTA buttons working? Is the page pixilated? Does the design align with the mockups? Is spacing/padding and all text and pictures in proper alignment?
Platform Compatibility: Ensure that the product functions well across all types of devices, such as iPads, mobile phones, Macs, and PCs. Test it on various web browsers including Chrome, Safari, Edge, and Firefox, and verify its responsiveness on all platforms.
Internationalization: The product should cater to diverse markets and geographical locations by supporting multiple languages. Also, double-check that all languages display correctly, including the required accent marks.
Handle launch problems like a boss
No matter what happens on the day of launch just remember these few things:
- Keep a level head when problems arise. Focus on the solution, and don't play the blame game. Remember you are all in this together, so you'll need to get everyone fixing the issue instead of getting defensive.
- Keep the team focused on finding the solution instead of fixating on the problem.
- Bring the heavy hitters into the war room or virtually to address the issue and make sure everyone has an opportunity to collaborate for a viable solution. This helps move on a solution more quickly and prevent any rash decisions.
- Keep your manager in the loop. This open communication will help to build trust and they could possibly assist in helping you.
- Evaluate if you should roll back the change and if it's worth it. Will it harm the customer? Have marketing materials and promos gone out? Make sure to pause any more future promos e.g. product announcements, e-mail blasts, social posts, or merchandise.
- Can you apply a quick fix or maybe a temporary band-aid to maintain launch? Be cautious on this one because sometimes when you apply a quick fix for a small bug it could lead to a bigger bug in the future.
- If the launch is delayed, collaborate with the marketing team on customer communication. Ensure customer service reps and social media managers have the updated messaging.
- Retrospectives should always be held after a launch so that you can understand any missteps, improve for future launches, and avoid potential issues down the line.
Keep in mind that launches can be quite tense, and your team will rely on you to remain composed and steer them through any challenges that may arise.
Celebrate and Share with the Organization
After weeks and most likely months of marketing research, development, testing, launching and building a product from conception to launch. Even those not directly involved will be interested in how it went, the launch's outcome and what it means for the company.
There are a few ways in which you should communicate...
Pre-Launch Announcements: Leading up to the launch send periodic internal communications showing how the product is progressing and schedule an internal meeting with cross-functional teams showing them an exclusive sneak peak on what's to come.
Launch announcement: On launch day, ensure all communications are sent out. Circulate a message throughout the company detailing what was launched and extend gratitude to all contributing teams, including cross-functional ones. Coordinate with team leads to gather a list of individuals deserving special thanks and get sign-off from your supervisor on that list. If you have preliminary insights about the launch's performance, share that information as well.
Launch Party: Buy cupcakes and invite people to a conference room or if everyone's remote have treats or champagne sent to their house. Also, this is a wonderful time to thank the teams personally in front of their peers giving them public recognition.
Post Launch Updates: As updates and data about the launch's success begin to come in, along with feedback from the team retrospective, communicate this information to the wider organization. Present both the positive outcomes and the challenges. Being transparent is key, as the organization will eventually learn the details. If there are setbacks, discuss the lessons learned, the plan for moving forward, and what it means for the future
The purpose of these celebrations and communications is that most people at the company may not know or understand the launch's impact unless you provide clarity. It also is a wonderful way to keep everyone involved whether they worked on the launch or developed the product. This helps to keep everyone motivated on the vision, mission, and values of the company.
In addition, it boosts overall morale and ensures that, by sharing insights about the launch, everyone is aligned with the actual events and outcomes, rather than being swayed by misconstrued narratives or incorrect assumptions.
Let's Grow
Partnering early on with stakeholders is important for not only the launch, but to maintain transparency and gain credibility. Proactively communicating about upcoming launches allows teams to adjust their schedules and provide feedback. This early input ensures that, if modifications are required, teams have ample time to make the necessary adjustments.
💁♀️ Tip: Consider stakeholders as genuine partners and make them a part of your launch team, rather than seeing them as hurdles or checkboxes to tick.
Assuming the company culture is positive, a stakeholder who seems to be an obstacle likely shares your ultimate goals: a successful launch, a successful product, and a successful company.
Things happen...
So let's say stakeholders weren't looped in early enough and an issue arises in which your launch could be delayed. Things happen and it's important to take it in stride and not panic. There are a few ways to resolve the issue:
- Sit down and talk with them about their concerns and bring them up-to-date on the goals, context and priority of the launch.
- Prioritize low risk to high risk with pros and cons of each. Discuss ways to mitigate the risk.
- Communicate the outcome and plan to your boss, cross-functional teams and/or partners through the agreed upon channels whether e-mail, messaging, or other platforms.
💁♀️ Tip: When communicating the update to the stakeholders, make sure to let them know what was found, what next steps are, and how you plan on identifying these issues in the future.
Launch Reviews And Credibility
By the time the launch review is upon you it's normal to be excited and eager to release. Having your name attached to a product is an exciting part of being a product manager, but be careful a lot can happen.
Utilize launch reviews to your advantage by being completely transparent about any bugs or necessary adjustments. Discuss your plans for addressing these issues, or explain your reasons for not doing so. If a concern arises during the review, assure the team that you'll investigate, prioritize, and update them on next steps.
Remember, releasing a flawed product can tarnish your reputation as a PM and can undermine your credibility. Launch reviews serve as a safeguard against releasing buggy products.
Rethinking Launch Dates
As a product manager you will most likely be asked for a specific launch date. Launch Dates are never a single day, they are usually a range of dates. Especially, depending on the type of roll-out such as: staged, beta or a batch roll-out. Software launches in particular are very difficult to predict. Thinking of a launch date as the earliest date you may launch to the latest day will help with setting the proper expectation.
The level of uncertainty and unknowns are very high. Here are a few examples that you may encounter:
- Moving to a more modernized infrastructure, but engineers are unfamiliar with the legacy code
- Using the product with real data as opposed to mock data could change the designs and create a false/positive for data
- Resources are reprioritized and engineers can be pulled into a new project or a bug issue
- Reusing a pop-up modal from a previous infrastructure that ended up being incompatible with the new infrastructure
- A few days before launch languages could have issues rendering
With each scenario there is a possibility the original launch date can move. That's why it's crucial to set a date range and build in some extra time as a buffer.
🚨 Important Note: Meet with the team for buy-in before committing to the different launch dates. NEVER commit to a deadline without discussing with your engineers first.
Range of Dates
Earliest Date/Lower End: Consider the earliest launch date as the ideal scenario, where things go mostly as planned. When setting this date, keep in mind some basics: potential code reuse, current infrastructure, design considerations, and team learning sessions. Also, remember to factor in possible team absences or unexpected events. If you're planning on user testing or internal product trials, that should be included in the timeline. It's wise to add an extra 20% time cushion for unforeseen challenges.
Mid-Range Date: This scenario factors in common challenges. Think about the time needed to fix problems spotted during A/B testing, beta tests, or internal trials. How much time might the engineers need to solve typical issues? And what if they get sidetracked by another project? How much delay would that cause? Also, consider potential risks like security concerns.
Upper End Date: Pinpoint a date that you're 90% confident about for the launch and then add an extra 2-3 months from the lower end of the range. This date usually involves a large project that takes months to launch. After you finalize the date I would give an extra month for a buffer. If the team delivers past this date then something went wrong.
When discussing potential launch dates, it's useful to give examples of what might push the project beyond the best-case timeline.
Explaining these clearly helps build trust and shows you're transparent and credible. It demonstrates that the teams are working swiftly and you've planned ahead by considering various scenarios that might cause delays.
Some people will insist on a date. Marketing, for example, often needs a set date to prepare their go-to-market materials, so providing them with an earlier launch estimate can be helpful. On the other hand, the finance team tends to be more cautious, so leaning towards the later end of the launch range might work better for them.
Own the entire launch and user journey from end-to-end
Simply pushing code into production doesn't define a successful launch. A true launch is when the user understands what it is, why they need it and if it solved their problems.
Product Managers have their hands in everything, but outside of the product you may not specifically drive areas outside of that, but you can still influence.
The following areas should be considered:
- Marketing/Go-to-market strategy/Positioning
- Pricing and Packaging
- Knowledge Articles
- Support Documents
- Sales materials
- Onboarding Materials
- Customer Success Materials
- External launch materials
- External Consultants and contractors
- Advertising
- Distribution Channels
All these factors influence your product. While it's not the same tight-knit relationship you have with design and engineering, you'd still want to stay updated on their progress, just as you keep teams like marketing and sales informed about yours.
Learn and Understand Cross-Functional Process
As an influential partner, it's important to meet with the people or person driving the decisions and learn about their process, approach and frameworks. Some teams are adhoc when it comes to process and timeliness and others may have a set process in place. If the team you are working with has a process in place find the best and most useful way to see work in progress and when it's most helpful to give feedback. If the team has a more adhoc approach you may need to pull together a timeline to ensure you can provide feedback at the appropriate times.
Remember always be respectful when giving feedback, but don't take away or undermine your expertise in the product space. Your experiences are value add and should be used to advanced the product not take away from it.
Basics to check for....
- Is the marketing plan based on features that won't actually be available when the product launches?
- Is the pricing and package structure inclusive of all types of users?
- Edge cases explained in the documentation?
- Is the sales team communicating key features that matter most to customers?
Opportunities to improve end-to-end customer experience
- Any marketing insight from beta testing, dogfooding, focus groups, or reference customers?
- Can you reach a larger audience by leveraging launch partners or distribution channels?
- Can product demos be easier for customers?
Building a transparent relationship with your cross-functional partners makes it easier to share new ideas. Knowing how their teams operate helps you tailor your approach for better collaboration. If you suggest big changes, they'll be more receptive because you understand their landscape.
Final Words 📖
Product Launches can be a complex process filled with a lot of cross-functional communication and collaboration. As a Product Manager it will be your job to make sure everyone stays focused. Putting together a Product Launch Checklist, testing documents, an SOP (Standard Operating Procedure) for communications between cross-functional teams can be helpful.
Remember to treat the launch date as a set of ranges from earliest, mid-level, to upper end and provide context behind your reasoning for each range. This will help prevent problems and show you have thought through the whole process.
Also, take full responsibility of the launch from end-to-end ensuring the product functions seamlessly from start to finish. This includes testing out the product and all it's test cases regardless of having a QA team. And as you collaborate with engineers to identify bugs and understand the technical framework make sure to discuss any issues with relevant stakeholders.
All in all, a successful launch is a team effort. Beyond the core groups like product, engineering, marketing, and sales, everyone plays a crucial role. Make sure to value their input and ensure they feel both appreciated and recognized for their contributions.
Next Steps 🚀
- Ultimate Guide to Product Launch
- Product Launch Checklist
- 12 types of Product Launches
- How to Write Market Positioning Statements