Product Launch Guide & Communication Plan

Product Launches with a Bang, not a Trickle

There are a lot of moving pieces to an effective product launch. Whether you're new to it or a veteran of product launch planning, there are a lot of moving pieces and business ramifications. As the launch date approaches, the activity increases, making it easy to overlook something or cut corners. Keeping track of who is responsible for what and when it must be done challenges even the most organized professionals. Many business leaders find it is in their best interest to seek external support to help organize and execute key activities.

According to the Corporate Executive Board, the top three challenges that impede a successful product launch include:

1. Product planning
2. Internal communications
3. Product launch execution across teams/stakeholders

Product launch teams are comprised of people from broad disciplines including engineering, marketing, sales, supply chain, and customer support. Shifting from product development to product launch can complicate who owns what and when it needs to be done.

How to Organize your Product Launch Plan

Often the product launch plan is captured in a high-level product development plan; however to get it right, a separate, more detailed launch plan is best.

A product launch plan can be segmented into five phases:

1. Initial planning
2. Pre-launch activities
3. Sales and channel launch readiness
4. Launch day
5. Post-launch follow-up

Phase I: Initial Planning | 3-6 months before the launch date

Key questions and activities:

1. What’s the key objective of the product launch?
   

   • For example:

     • Grow share-of-wallet with existing customers
     • Target new market or geography
     • Leverage new technology
2. What metrics will you use to measure the success of your objectives?
3. Who is the customer (persona) you're targeting and how will the product benefit them? 
4. Write a succinct positioning statement that will serve as the basis for your external and internal communications. Team participation and buy-in is key.
   • For example: “To deadline-oriented business people, Federal Express is the overnight package delivery service that is most reliable because of its sophisticated package tracking system.”

Phase II: Pre-Launch | 3 months before the launch date

Key activities:

1. Develop a content calendar that highlights deliverables, themes, topics, timing, and marketing channels you’ll use to promote the launch.
2. Create a style guide for terminology to be used in reference to the new product, as well as creative and visual aspects of product branding.
3. Finalize pricing and distribution strategy.
4. Use our marketing roadmap template to plan key product launch events and supporting marketing activities.
5. Develop sales training materials and sales collateral.
6. Write product announcements, website pages, and landing pages.
7. Develop strategies for creating buzz around the launch, both internally and externally.
   
8. Share content calendar and style guidelines with your creative and content team.
   
9. Inform your launch team of key events, activities, roles, and responsibilities.

Phase III: Sales and Channel Partner Launch | 1 month before the launch date

Launch to channel partners (if you sell through channels), train, provide sales tools and collateral and communicate process and support.

Key activities:

1. Communicate a plan for providing ongoing sales and channel support.
2. Train sales and channel partners.

Phase IV: Launch Day

This is the stage where all your planning and preparation come together. From press releases and web pages going live to the public unveiling of the product, often at a trade show or other industry event. Months worth of hard work is set in motion. You're now able to step back and observe, ensuring that everything goes smoothly—and making necessary adjustments if it doesn't. You can also start watching for an initial positive or negative reaction to the launch. And don't forget to enjoy it!

Phase V: Post-launch and Follow-up | 3+ months after launch, depending on the length of your sales cycle

Key activities:

1. Use metrics to monitor launch performance and compare with initial objectives.
2. Gather feedback from customers, sales, and channel partners.
3. Establish an ongoing plan for lead generation and awareness.

Use early customer successes to capture momentum. Gather testimonials to use in marketing initiatives, and encourage positive social media engagement, reviews, and word-of-mouth referrals.

Get the Product Launch Checklist to make sure you're covering all the bases:

About Launch Team, Inc.

We are a multi-dimensional, highly focused marketing firm that has helped companies in technical and engineering-driven industries succeed. We've been doing this for over 30 years, increasing and improving our offerings along the way. Our team's backgrounds include optics, chemistry, biology paired with a core business and marketing focus. This allows our team a unique understanding of your business, the decision-makers you work with, and the engineers who will evaluate your solution.