Failure to plan guarantees failure to launch.

Successful planning takes time, organization, and sharp attention to even the most minor details. It's a tedious task, but taking the time to plan what is likely the most important day of the year for your business will be completely worth it when your launch goes off without a hitch, and those much-anticipated sales start rolling in. Some organizations use product management software to execute their product launch strategy while ensuring smooth operations.

With several intricate details in play, a new product launch can be overwhelming, especially when you're a bit unsure whether you're doing everything right. If you're confident in your product and you're ready to launch it to the world, that means the most challenging part is over. You have created a perfect product, and it's about time people know about it. 

How to launch a product

Your actions leading up to launch day are almost as important as what comes after. Although you have a perfect product marketing strategy by now, you must focus on its crucial elements to make it successful and ensure longevity in the market.

 What good are your efforts if nobody is excited about it, or worse, doesn't even know about it? Garnering the excitement and building anticipation is hard to do. On one hand, you're not ready to share all of the details of your product just yet, but on the other hand, you want your future customers to know just enough to be eagerly awaiting launch day so they can buy it. 

On top of that, you have to nurture their excitement. Your potential customer's excitement about the product might churn with time. You need to engage with them consistently to ensure they're interested in your product and are ready to explore it.

From building valuable relationships with your future customers and allowing them to make significant and invested decisions to offering free products and creating incredible contests and giveaways, there are plenty of creative ideas to take inspiration for your product plan.

How to create a product launch timeline

Launching a new product in the market is tricky when doing it in a specific timeline. You need effective marketing strategies and many resources to make it successful. A product launch timeline can vary from business to business and depends on product launch size. 

You can use a general product launch timeline to refer and create your own based on your business needs. If you intend to shoot up the tracker to 10,368,000 seconds, here's what you should do to effectively use the time.

4 months to launch (10,368,000 seconds to go)

When you intend to conduct a new product launch after four months, you can start building an audience or community around your product.

You can do the following things before four months of launch: 

• Build an email list
• Create product messaging and positioning
• Talk to potential customers to validate your product
  

3 months to launch (7,776,000 seconds to go)

Invest your time creating a plan and planning marketing activities to hype it up when there are three months left to launch your product. 

You can do the following things to make your launch successful in the coming three months:

• Make a product launch plan
• Identify your primary digital marketing channels
• Prepare your marketing team
• Create product launch content
• Build go-to-market strategy
• Find promoters and affiliates

2 months to launch (5,184,000 seconds to go)

Before launching a new product in two months, make sure you have tested it properly. Do a final check on your launch content, and take reviews from your beta customers. You can ask your beta customers to write testimonials and considerations for your product page.

1 month to launch (2,592,000 seconds to go)

Announce your official launch date and start building anticipation. You can create a landing page with an opt-in form encouraging people to join the product launch waitlist and get more updates. Start hyping up your official product launch date on social media. You can also display a banner on your website with a clear call to action (CTA) and write a blog post describing your product.

3 weeks to launch (1,944,000 seconds to go)

Ensure your promoters have everything they need to spread the product launch news. Make sure they're supported by relevant teams and have graphics, email swipe files, and everything else required to create awareness. Start posting updates on social media and keep your audience engaged.

2 weeks to launch (1,296,000 seconds to go)

When you have only two weeks left for the product launch. Ensure you have designed the product page correctly with the right copywriting to encourage buyers to purchase. Ensure payment collection methods are working correctly, and a message of appreciation is sent to buyers who complete the purchase.

You can leverage paid advertising to get more eyes on your product launch event. It's time your structure your sales funnel and make sure the sales team is effectively trained to guide the buyer in their purchase journey.

1 week to launch (648,000 seconds to go)

It's time to check everything is working correctly, and the entire customer experience is planned out. 

You can double-check the following items:

• Interlinking
• Form
• Content
• Graphics
• Affiliate links
• Sales page

A comprehensive product launch checklist

You have adequately hyped up your customers for your new product introduction, and it's almost time to share it with the world. The countless months spent preparing for this day are about to pay off, and you and your team have everything in order.

The harsh reality of this enormous day is countless tasks to be accounted for that can be easily overlooked or forgotten about. This problem is precisely why a product launch checklist is so crucial.

Not one business or individual product has the same exact needs on launch day, but if the pressure is on and your launch date is creeping up on you, then it's best to take a look at the essentials.

1. Test the product

Ensure it has passed all quality checks and can hold up through whatever type of use it will get. You should perform internal and beta tests from outside experts to confirm the product's quality.

2. Have a unique selling proposition

What makes your product different from every other product in its category? What is the value it brings to your customers, and what solution is it providing? Every single member of the team must know how to quickly and effectively answer these selling proposition questions. This is the reason why you're doing this in the first place.

3. Identify the target market

Understand your target audience and research their needs and expectations. You must thoroughly comprehend this group to sell your products to them.

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4. Allocate roles and responsibilities

Every person needs to be accounted for. Launch day is hectic, and everyone can be useful and contribute in their own unique way. Make sure every team member knows what is expected of them when the day comes.

5. Train sales team

Does the sales team know exactly how to use the product and what features to speak to? Have they worked through the product enough times to conduct seamless demonstrations? 

Your sales team is your front line. Make sure they are experts in what they're selling.

6. Prepare support team to assist customers

Like your sales team, your customer service team will likely have a lot of action on launch day. Make sure they know the product like the back of their hand, so they're ready to help when a situation arises.

Ensure the team knows how to answer any question and work through any issues a customer has in a helpful and informative manner.

7. Create simple supporting documentation

Make sure you have materials that will answer the most obvious questions anyone is likely to have about your new, unknown product. Collateral such as help sections, descriptions, product manuals, and FAQs are necessary to support customer experience and ensure transparency.

8. Create a strong marketing mix

A prominent task like this is often overlooked. Ensure that your team has a strategic, in-depth marketing mix for your product backed by sound reasoning. Double checking this guarantees that the basics are covered, and you'll be able to defend your decisions and choices if challenged.

9. Have valuable marketing campaigns and content ready to go

Create promotions and marketing campaigns surrounding the product launch and beyond. You'll need lasting momentum and intense market penetration to see the success you're looking for. 

It's advisable to create a strong content marketing strategy before moving closer to the launch. Spreading awareness among your potential customers helps you keep them excited about your new product offering.

10. Establish KPIs and track them

Not only is it important to have KPIs for the actual product, but your launch needs them too. Make sure your team knows what success looks like and the best way to track it.

11. Test overall customer experience

Have you gone through the actual steps your customers will have to go through? By putting yourself in their shoes and acting as the customer, you'll experience a whole new side to the process. Doing this can ensure all the bumps are smoothed out, and everything is working the way it should be.

12. Keep the public relations team in sync

Make sure your public relations team has a press release ready to publish. You can use a press release distribution software to publish and send press releases and other news and announcements to various media sources such as journalists, bloggers, and news organizations.

13. Build a media strategy

Contact the media to make sure the right people know your big day is happening. They'll provide the extra boost your team needs to get out in front of the masses.

14. Alert all stakeholders

Make sure everyone who has been involved in the development of your product in any way is aware that your launch is taking place. This tactic will get critical players interested and involved in what you're doing, which will hype up your launch even more.

15. Seek customer feedback and define ways to get it

Customer feedback is a crucial element in every product lifecycle. Knowing what people are saying about you, positive or negative, will help your company immensely, so make sure they have an outlet to do so. This can be on review websites, your own website, and more. Monitor these reviews and respond to them accordingly.

16. Ensure legal teams have verified everything

This means contracts, terms and conditions, and any other document that needs legal advice. This will save you from nasty issues in the long run.

17. Set the official launch date

Set a realistic date that you can hold your team to. Delaying and pushing back your launch date due to unrealistic goals is the last thing you and your team need. It will also make for bad press and loss of market momentum.

18. Prepare a future roadmap

You've successfully launched your product, but now what? Make sure you establish a clear product roadmap to guide your subsequent iterations.

How to throw a launch party

It's now time for the fun stuff. Your hard work is finally paying off, and you can celebrate accordingly. A product launch party is the best way to unveil your product to the people who are invested in it most and connect with them. Invite your future customers, stakeholders, and investors; these are the people who will be the most excited to celebrate with you and your team.

On top of curating the perfect guest list, so many other vital elements go into throwing a fantastic launch party. Forget about the little details for a minute, and focus on the big themes that will make your party one to be talked about for weeks to come. Everything from the party's theme to the gift you hand out at the end as a 'thank you for coming' needs to be thought about and executed correctly. Use these fifteen best tips and real-life examples from newly launched companies to help your launch party go off without a hitch.

Below are fifteen tips for planning an incredible product launch party.

• Build hype
• Have a clear "why"
• Utilize a unique venue
• Make it exclusive
• Capitalize on differences
• Find a fun partnership
• Provide entertainment
• Speak to your cause
• Get your guests involved
• Be loud on social media
• Keep the momentum
• Make it personal
• Create a great theme
• Have giveaways and gifts
• Have unique details

Ready for launch

Now that you know how to build proper hype and excitement, check off every little detail, and have ideas for throwing an incredible launch party, you're officially ready to launch your product. It's a complicated endeavor, but feel confident knowing you have all the right tools to make it spectacular!

Are you looking for additional help with your product launch? Take a look at the best event management software to help you plan and execute your big day flawlessly.