One of the most exciting parts of the product development process is launching your new creation to the public. Getting your new product out there means you can share your excitement with others who can benefit from it. Still, it also emphasizes the need to ensure that your launch goes as smoothly as possible and doesn’t lead to any technical errors or headaches with customer service that could leave people feeling frustrated.
Here we’ll discuss some of the main product launch checklists that you need to consider if you want to succeed in the highly competitive world of business today.
Benefits of using a product launch checklist
By following a checklist during your launch, you’ll be able to make sure that every vital step is completed. Product launch checklists provide invaluable insight into how to plan for and execute a successful campaign. A practical checklist will help ensure your business stays organized and on track when launching new products or services.
- One of the main benefits of a product launch checklist is that it ensures you remember all the essential steps and each asset in releasing a new product. The things that make a Mind Map easy to make and use are that it helps you focus on your overall objective while still tracking the essential details.
- A product launch checklist can help you prepare for unexpected things. It enables you to stay one step ahead of whatever might happen.
- All the team members will have access to the same product launch checklist, which allows them to collaborate better. Each and every team member is well aware of what they’re responsible for on that list and what their teammates are responsible for. Therefore, the product launch checklist can help reduce the risk of duplication of effort.
- Doing your tasks through these checklists will make things a lot easier for you in the long run; it splits larger tasks into simpler tasks, and with everyone having their jobs, there will be a more seamless, fluid task completion process.
3 Steps of the Product Launch Process
If you’re a marketer or product manager, introducing a new product means plenty of work for you to do.
It takes many different factors to put together a successful launch. For example, you will need to consider features, marketing, copyrighting, and your product design.
Every entrepreneur looking to develop a new product must have a plan before getting too far into development. Here are the basic steps of any good launch process:
Step 1: Pre-launch stage
The time frame for pre-launches can range between a few weeks and some months. However, after the process, you’ll need to have several things to consider, including:
- A comprehensive SWOT (Strength, Weakness, Opportunity & Threats) analysis
- Your objectives and goals
- The product positioning statement
- Your product launch strategy
- Your strategy for marketing on social media, webinars, media releases, marketing with influencers, and much more.
- The ideal buyer
A critical aspect that will determine the success of a new product is how activities prior to launch are carried out.
Consider them as the basis upon which your launch is built. Begin to launch into the market.
Whether you’re a significant business or a startup, it is recommended that you take your approach to launch your business seriously to ensure that you can attract new customers on the first day.
Step 2: Launch stage
A thorough checklist of product launches like ours is impossible to miss this launch phase.
This is the actual launch of your product, and numerous other aspects need to remember, including implementing the plans you’ve made and conducting the inside and soft launch.
An internal product launch refers to showcasing your product to the public, typically by releasing a beta version as an initial Minimum Viable Product (MVP) or an instructional.
This is beneficial because, by observing how your support staff members interact with and use the product, you’ll get important information and feedback that will help you implement any necessary changes prior to your potential customers even using the product.
Soft product launches are where the software is made available to a select group of customers from your targeted market prior to being made accessible to the general people in general.
It is also helpful for collecting valuable feedback and preparing the following steps before launching the product to the market.
Step 3: Post-launch stage
If you’re looking to ensure an effective launch of your product, you must plan for what will happen after the launch date.
In the post-launch phase, it is necessary to continue to complete tasks like:
- The progress of the product is easily measurable through conversions, paying customers, and more.
- Incorporating feedback from FAQs as well as testimonials such as issues in validating pricing and much more.
- Using referral marketing
- Creating case studies
- In the meantime, it should be a continuous process to promote the product
Additionally, we’ll make sure that your launch is precisely how you would like it to be.
The post-launch phase is an essential part of our checklist, and the entire process can assist you in improving the launch process and the product itself.
Product Launch Checklist:
A new product launch plan will vary depending on what type of company you’re working for. For example, if it’s a small business, it might include strategies for getting your idea in front of as many people as possible. If it’s a massive corporation with years and years of brand equity and an established presence in customers’ minds already, it will likely focus on ensuring that there is absolutely no way your launch isn’t perfect. All companies should have contingency plans before they go live—but larger companies are more likely to have their game plan down pat ahead of time.
Product
Feature Definition: Define the features that set apart your product from others.
UX/UI Design: Be sure that the engineering team has constructed the product according to the specs and meets all design specifications, including designing the UI/UX.
Engineering: Be sure to have all the necessary regulatory certificates and approvals.
QA and operations: Be sure that the new functions and features have been thoroughly tested before deploying into production.
Go to the Market Plan
Launch Date: Select a date for launch that can launch a high-quality product. For Instance, if you’re dealing with a SaaS product related to finance or investment, it is recommended to decide on a launch date near any festival or new year for greater marketing and engagement purposes.
Pricing and Packaging: Approve the price for a new product and ensure that the packaging has been created, approved, and then ordered.
Positioning: Create a positioning document (or creative short) that describes the most important messages to be used for a new launch based on the vision of the product and the new capabilities, and the benefit it can provide to users.
Communications Plan: Determine what you want the new product to be revealed.
Marketing Content: Find out where the product is promoted, whether on blogs, social media, radio and TV advertising, etc.
Media Relations: Check that the website is up-to-date, well structured, and ready to take orders.
Analyst Briefings: Get in touch with industry analysts or other top-level personnel if you feel it is necessary to explain what’s new and why it matters.
Wrapping up
Launching a product isn’t an easy task. However, if you’ve done your research and preparation for your launch, you’ll be better positioned to launch your product confidently. Utilize these strategies and tips to make your mark and stand out with your next campaign.
CitrusLeaf is an MVP development company that ensures the success of your business model by testing ideas with real users in the real world. We offer prototypes for a low price and then test them with actual users. If customers react positively, we develop new features and ensure your project is ready for mass adoption. Finally, we can help you run any A/B test or survey (even while there are zero lines of code) on our platform!