Archive for product launching
Repeatable Product Launch Process – Execute Phase
Posted by: | CommentsThis is the final of four posts providing an overview of the Repeatable Product Launch Process which is delivered in the Product Launch Essentials seminar. So far I’ve covered the Organize Phase, Evaluate Phase and the Prepare Phase. In this post I’m going to share with you the Execute Phase which is about building the product launch plan and measuring the effectiveness of the product launch.
Execute Phase
To recap, the Organize Phase is focused on getting agreement on what the product launch goals were and which of seven product launch strategies would be the most effective at achieving the launch goals.
The Evaluate Phase is about identifying the speed bumps that would get in the way of achieving the launch goals.
The Prepare Phase is the time to organize the product launch team and develop the plans/actions to address the speed bumps.
Build
By the time you’ve reached the Build step of the Execute Phase you will have established the launch goals, launch strategies, have a clear understanding of the barriers to success, and developed plans to mitigate the highest risk items. Now it’s time to build the product launch plan.
The Product Launch Essentials seminar includes a product launch toolkit that has a product launch plan template. The plan is designed to articulate the goals, strategies and plans to assure success.
Measure
One area that often gets ignored after the excitement of the launch date is how the product launch is progressing toward the launch goals. The realization of success or failure is determined many months after the fact when the details are erased from everyone’s memory.
I advocate monthly launch status reports for the management team to show progress against the launch goals. The problem with metrics in the marketing discipline is that there are just so many. Fortunately, it’s far easier to know what to report when the launch goals are determined up front. The key is to draw a straight line between what you’re measuring and your launch goals.
The final launch status report is the Launch Effectiveness Report. This is the opportunity to assess what has been accomplished, what was learned and what could be improved in future launches.
Going Forward
Product launch is not the end of development it’s the beginning of selling. That alone sets a entire value chain of activities in motion to assure a successful product launch. The Repeatable Product Launch Process helps you focus on the things that are most critical to the success of your next product launch.
If you have questions or comments about the Repeatable Product Launch Process, send me an email or add a comment. I’d love to hear from you.
Repeatable Product Launch Process – Evaluate Phase
Posted by: | CommentsIn my post “Lunch is an event. Product launch is a process.”, I shared with you the Repeatable Product Launch Process and the first phase of the process, the Organize phase. The process is about getting the organization ready to market, sell, support, deliver and book revenue. If you need help in figuring out what to launch, start with the Pragmatic Marketing Framework and then the Practical Product Management seminar. In this post I will continue with the Evaluate phase.
Evaluate Phase
By completing the Organize phase, you will have established the goals for the product launch and then used the goals as a backdrop to establish the launch strategies for achieving them. In the Evaluate phase we now look inward to the organization to identify the constraints (speed bumps) that can get in the way of achieving the launch goals. While it’s often imperative to have stretch goals to get your organization to reach new heights, it’s equally imperative to identify and mitigate the people, time, and money constraints that could prevent it from happening.
At this phase of the Repeatable Product Launch Process it’s critical to know the launch readiness state that exists now (get a baseline). The brutal reality is that for most mid-to-large size companies the number of things you want to fix will exceed the time and resources you have available to fix them. The smart approach is to determine which things are the most critical to the success of the product launch and fix those.
A Launch Readiness Assessment is the tool we deliver in the Product Launch Essentials seminar that gives you this important insight. It provides a simple yet objective way to evaluate the launch readiness of a functional area. To make it an effective communication tool to your management team, the Launch Readiness Assessment rolls up individual functional area assessments into a scorecard.
On completion of the Evaluate phase you will have a realistic view of the launch goals, which may now need to be adjusted in light of your constraint findings. You will also have a clear path to which launch readiness areas need to be addressed. Later, in the Execute phase you’ll use the Launch Readiness Assessment as you’re building your product launch plan.
Next: Prepare Phase
In the next installment I’ll introduce you to the Prepare phase, where you’ll learn about organizing your Launch Team and talk about Filling the Gaps you’ve identified in the Evaluate Phase.
Don’t forget about internal communications
Posted by: | CommentsOne of the things we talk about in our Effective Product Marketing seminar is how to roll out a new message. We recommend starting out internally first before rolling it out to the market.
In your rush to get the product launched are you failing to roll it out internally first?
I caught a post that talks about internal communication over at BrandCentralStation in a blog post titled Why internal communications may provide the highest marketing R.O.I. of them all
Internal communications programs that get employees on board when it comes to spotting new business opportunities can also result in bumps in top-line sales gains, too – although of all the employee-directed campaigns, this appears to be the most difficult to implement.
Are you frustrated to discover that people in your organization “don’t get it”?
Sales velocity webinar – October 16
Posted by: | CommentsI’m delivering a webinar on Friday, October 16 at 10am Pacific time titled “Product Launch Readiness: Planning for Sales Velocity”. Click here to register. Hope you can make it – I’m expecting lots of good questions!
Product launch and the project management office (PMO)
Posted by: | CommentsA topic covered in the Product Launch Essentials seminar is cross-functional launch teams. In particular we address how to organize the teams and how to drive results. Most of you know how big a problem it is to get launch team members to participate and to be accountable for their deliverables. We provide tools to help launch owners in this effort.
Is your PMO working for you or against you?
In the seminar we advocate the role of Launch Owner, the person tasked with the responsibility for achieving your product launch goals. Some organizations utilize a project management office (PMO) to facilitate product launch activities and I wanted to explore that with you in more detail. For some of you the PMO is working just fine, but for many of you it can be a frustrating process that doesn’t seem to be in sync with what you’re trying to accomplish with your product launch.
So why is there a PMO in the first place?
Before talking about the role of the PMO in product launch, let me ask a question. Why would you have a PMO to start with? What problem does the PMO solve?
The most likely reason your organization would consider introducing a PMO is because of a lack of launch readiness to market, sell and support your product, and this was occurring with a frequency at a level that management finds unacceptable.
The primary reason for poor launch readiness are many. Let me suggest two, just for discussion purposes. First, the person generally recognized as being responsible for launch lacks important project management skills. She may be stellar in other areas but not very good with coordinating schedules and getting things done. I know this is harsh but it can be true. Just because you’re good at identifying unsolved market problems or shepherding product design and development through engineering doesn’t automatically mean you’re good at driving the launch readiness of your organization across many functional boundaries.
Second, it’s because the person responsible for launch (perhaps you) doesn’t have enough time and needs the extra resource to get things done. They’re responsible for cross functional readiness but time demands in other areas prevent them for dedicating the time needed for a successful launch. Granted this reason is the most plausible.
What’s the role of the PMO in product launch?
The role of an effective PMO is to help us get stuff done. They herd cats and they identify bottlenecks. They are enormously valuable when functioning in this capacity. But, they shouldn’t be accountable for achieving launch goals. They’re responsible for getting things done and that’s the role we value.
They free up time for us to focus on more strategic issues and help us achieve the best possible product launch outcome.
Clarifying roles and responsibilities
In organizations where there a PMO exists it’s important to establish clear lines of authority and responsibility between the Launch Owner and the Project Manager. I advocate the Launch Owner as the individual accountable for achieving the launch goals. In this role he acts as the commander-in-chief of the launch. The Project Manager role acts as the chief-of-staff to the Launch Owner, driving completion of deliverables and activities, advising the Launch Owner of issues, proposing alternative actions and providing project status.
Where things go wrong
Problems arise when too much control is transferred from the Launch Owner to the Project Manager – or maybe there isn’t a Launch Owner at all. The Launch Owner must have a big picture view of the go-to-market strategy and often makes ad-hoc trade-offs to ensure the best possible launch outcome. The Project Manager on the other hand may not have a big picture perspective, focusing (rightly) on getting things done according to a schedule of deliverables (product launch checklist). As attendees of my Product Launch Essentials seminar learn, a completed checklist doesn’t guarantee launch success, especially if it’s not anchored in a launch strategy.
Are you expecting too much from your PMO?
Have you established clear lines of responsibility between the PMO and the Launch Owner?
Is the Project Manager becoming the de facto Launch Owner?
A product launch lesson learned
Posted by: | CommentsI learned something important during the launch of the Product Launch Essentials seminar. Included in the launch activities were 3 webinars I conducted to help generate awareness, and to encourage viewers to download my new ebook.
Too hot, too cold or just right?
The challenge I encountered with the webinars is content. There is a delicate balance between engaging the audience while not giving away content that we typically sell. I had a belief that it was not good etiquette for me to overtly sell the seminar. I didn’t have any evidence to support that belief, but I had it just the same.
In the first webinar – 10 Ways to identify an Impending Product Launch Disaster – I had one slide that provided upcoming locations and dates for Product Launch Essentials and a URL to the launch landing page on the Pragmatic Marketing web site. It should be OK to mention the seminar and let viewers go learn for themselves, I thought. In the second webinar – Tips for Product Launch Marketing Success – I followed the same pattern. It was really more of an “oh by the way we have this new seminar” mention.
Apparently too cold
Then a funny thing happened. I received requests from viewers wanting more information about Product Launch Essentials. Some were even perturbed I didn’t discuss it more. The situation embarrassed me. I was so afraid of offending my audience that I glossed over the whole point of the webinar series – to sell the audience on attending Product Launch Essentials. It was about SELLING. I just didn’t want to be seen as the Sham-Wow guy.
At this point I was wondering if I was doing my audience and Product Launch Essentials a disservice by not discussing it in more detail. Did I blow it? Would they be back to watch the third installment in the series?
Going for it
I had one more chance. For the third webinar – Launch Owner: Superhero of a Product Launch – I shifted gears. I set my fear of offending my audience aside and added content that provided more context about Product Launch Essentials and even a little sample from the seminar content itself.
You can be the judge. Too hot, too cold or just right?
Are you limiting your product launch marketing efforts with unfounded beliefs?
Your product launch won’t be successful if your sales team doesn’t trust you
Posted by: | CommentsHave you noticed that your sales team isn’t very excited about your next product launch? You’re getting a “yeah, whatever” vibe from them and it’s driving you crazy. So crazy you’re at the point of believing the launch goals are in jeopardy, and you should.
How did the last launch go?
This problem started with a previous launch; probably the last one. You know, the one where you got the Sales team all hyped up and then failed to deliver. It’s another checklist product launch that crashed and burned.
They didn’t get hyped up because of the product. They got hyped up because they believed the product was going to be the fast path to reaching quota.
This idea was set in motion perhaps by you (or the CEO, or development, or…), and you were a hero until your sales guys realized that the product a) was much harder to sell, b) took much longer to sell, c) wasn’t as interesting to buyers as they were led to believe.
Now you have an uphill battle on your hands.
Hero to zero
Your salespeople stopped selling the old product and focused their energy on selling the products in the portfolio that would help them make quota. By this time they’re behind and they are pissed off (sorry, Mom) they were led down this garden path that wasted their time.
Their sales leadership didn’t really care that the new product wasn’t selling. They wanted answers to why quota wasn’t being hit. And when they found out it’s because the team was selling a product that buyers weren’t buying, they were told to stop selling it immediately.
And they won’t soon forget.
Brute force produces temporary results
You might be thinking that since everything is dialed in the next launch, you can get the CEO to force the sales team to sell the product. If they were required to sell X dollars of the product as part of their compensation they would see what a great product it is, and sell even more of it.
Don’t count on it. This is about compensation not about the product. The sales effort will be superficial just to make a point. The result will “prove” the product doesn’t sell and the CEO will drop the mandate.
And you’ve lost even more trust.
A stick doesn’t work so try a carrot
The pressure is on for you to deliver a successful product launch. You know your sales team will be skeptical and you have your work cut out for you. Don’t try to fix the trust problem all at once.
First, consider your audience. We hire sales guys to sell stuff, not to be product experts. Always keep that in mind and you will make good choices.
Next, focus on enabling your sales team to sell (notice I didn’t say “sales training”). I’ve covered this in previous posts:
3 Tips for Product Launch Marketing Success (part 1)
3 Tips for Product Launch Marketing Success (part 2)
3 Tips for Product Launch Marketing Success (part 3)
By enabling your salespeople with the knowledge they need to move a buyer through the buying process, they’re more likely to listen and embrace what you’re sharing with them. Continue down this path and you’ll regain trust and be viewed as a partner in helping them achieve quota, not a supplier of stuff when they want it.
Product Launch ebook “Is your product launch Doomed?” now available
Posted by: | Comments
My new ebook – “Is your product launch Doomed? 10 ways to identify an impending product launch disaster” is now available for download. In typical Pragmatic Marketing fashion there is no registration, just click, read, enjoy and pass along to your friends (definitely not your foes).
All the cool kids are reading it.
Are registration forms getting between your ebooks, whitepapers, brochures, etc. and your potential buyers?
10 Ways to Identify an Impending Product Launch Disaster
Posted by: | CommentsHere are ten easily identifiable signs to watch for that can help forecast if a product launch may be in trouble and suggested course corrections to make before it’s too late.
The process of introducing a product to market is a serious undertaking, but for many companies it’s an afterthought. The level of effort and resources applied to the creation of the product often dwarfs that of the product launch. It becomes a “throw-it-over-the-wall” process with dismal results, followed by blame storming.
Here are ten easily identifiable signs to watch for that can help predict if a launch may be in trouble.
#1 – There are no goals for the product launch
Launch goals are the cornerstone of a successful product launch, yet so many companies fail to establish them. All CEOs have an expectation of what success looks like, but often those expectations aren’t translated into goals understood by the people entrusted to plan and execute the launch.
Establish launch goals as early as possible with the management team and communicate them in meaningful ways throughout the organization.
#2 – The launch strategy is based on a set of deliverables from a launch "checklist"
A launch checklist is not a launch strategy. An effective product launch checklist is developed after establishing launch goals and then choosing the best strategy to support them. A launch checklist usually gets created after a botched launch. Someone goes around the organization asking each department what they need for a successful launch. The result is a bloated wish list of deliverables and activities with questionable value often growing with each successive launch.
Once launch goals are established, formulate the launch strategy and then define the deliverables needed.
#3 – The launch plan contains unrealistic timeframes and expectations
Optimism is wonderful but it can blind you to the realities of constraints and capabilities within an organization. It's wise to evaluate the organization within the context of the product being launched to identify readiness gaps. Once identified, allow enough time to address the gaps before they develop into problems that negatively impact the launch.
Acid test launch goals against the ability of the organization to execute. Then develop a plan of action to fill the readiness gaps.
#4 – Sales enablement training is based on product features
Sales enablement training is one of the most critical components of a successful launch. Unfortunately most training sessions are packed with information about the product with emphasis on the newest features. Successful salespeople solve problems for their buyers, they don’t sell features. Inevitably some of the product features your buyers find most valuable are not necessarily the newest ones.
Become experts on your buyers, why they buy and how they buy.
#5 – Significant effort is spent creating collateral for people who never read it
Ninety percent of sales tools are never used by salespeople, yet marketing teams keep producing them. They also include a staggering amount of gobbledygook. Does it really matter to your buyer that you’re “the leading provider” of anything or that your software is “robust”?
Break the cycle by focusing on a deep understanding of your buyers, then build sales tools to influence them through the buying process.
#6 – No single person is responsible for driving product launch results
Many organizations have just one window of opportunity to launch per year, yet don’t give it the high priority they should. Accountability for results is fundamental to the success of an organization and without it the organization loses focus. A launch owner provides a single point of accountability ensuring product launch planning and execution have the high priority they deserve.
Assign the responsibility of achieving the launch goals to a launch owner, and provide them with the flexibility and resources to make it happen.
#7 – The launch plan is based on hunches, not market evidence
Hunches may be great for the casino but not for successful product launches. Hunches are based on "gut feeling" not market evidence, and are guesses. With an initiative as important as a product launch there is no room for guessing. Watch out for “I think we should…”.
Make launch planning decisions based on market evidence not guesses.
#8 – The launch plan mimics your competitor
Just because one company chooses a particular launch tactic doesn’t mean it will work for another. The easy way to launch a product is to mimic competitors and expect good things to happen. However, there are too many factors at play to guarantee the same tactic will have equivalent outcomes. Mimicking a competitor assumes they are smarter than you.
An intimate knowledge of buyers and the buying process provides the best guidance for the most effective launch tactics.
#9 – Existing customers are not adequately considered in the launch plan
It’s staggering how many organizations fail to recognize the impact a new version of a product can have on existing customers. They get so focused on acquiring new customers they forget about existing customers who, if not properly nurtured through the migration, may feel compelled to evaluate competitive alternatives.
Existing customers need special consideration from buyers. Ignore them at your own peril.
#10 – The launch team isn't a team
It’s Susan and she’s overwhelmed. Product launch is a team sport involving a range of expertise. No single individual can possibly know all the details, especially in large organizations. This necessitates the creation of a cross-functional launch team, where individuals with unique perspectives and experience can contribute to a successful launch. The reality though is team members have full-time responsibilities outside of the launch team impacting their timely contribution.
Make participation in a cross-functional launch team a priority and reward their contribution.
Conclusion
Checking another completed deliverable off the launch checklist isn’t a product launch. A successful launch is about generating sales velocity. But it’s easy to slip into a routine of committing resources and budget to produce deliverables, without ever questioning their value. A successful product launch is anchored in goals clearly understood throughout the launch team, using a strategy that supports these goals with an understanding of the operational constraints of the organization.
Slides from ProductCamp Austin
The slides from my preso at ProductCamp Austin Summer 2009 are up on Slideshare. You can view it below.
Watch the webinar
I delivered a webinar on this topic where I went into more depth.
A humbling experience at ProductCamp Austin
Posted by: | CommentsProduct Camps are an amazing phenomenon. There’s no fee to attend. The agenda isn’t known in advance. And the attendees get to choose the sessions. How cool is that?
I attended ProductCamp Austin last Saturday (August 15, 2009). It was my first and although I believe I understood the concept, in execution it was so much better.
For my session I proposed “10 Ways to Identify and Impending Product Launch Disaster”. Out of 50+ sessions proposed, my session was one of the 30 chosen. I had a great group of attendees with lots of questions and input for their peers.
The biggest surprise of all was that I, yours truly, was voted best presenter. It was a great honor and a humbling experience. I can’t wait to try my hand at another ProductCamp when the opportunity presents itself.
Thanks to Paul Young and everyone who dedicated their time to organize and pull off a great event! And a special thanks to the folks who thought my topic was interesting enough to be heard and good enough to deserve best presenter.
