WRITTEN BY Erica Foster, Senior CONSULTANT at Fluvio
Official market launch is one of the most critical and high-risk points of the product development process. Not having a proper go-to-market (GTM) launch process in place can lead to several pain points for organizations:
The products you’ve worked so hard to build can end up going invisible in the market, causing low awareness and adoption.
The lack of a clear process and defined roles and responsibilities can lead to delays, causing frustration and overwhelm among teams.
Or, in most cases, teams end up launching haphazard, feature-driven releases that can be overwhelming or lack a clear strategy for effective storytelling and communication for customers.
If you have the right framework in place, launches can systematically be more successful and drive awareness, adoption, engagement, revenue, and even unlock new market segments.
Lately, I’ve been working with clients to develop and implement go-to-market launch processes. Having been through many of these now, for many different types of organizations, there are a few things you should know for successfully implementing a process for your own organization.
Distinguish product launches from product releases.
A Product Launch ≠ Product Release. A release is when development work goes to production and is available in the product. A launch is when, where, and how we tell the market and customers that what we’ve built is available to them and more importantly why they should care about it.
Decoupling product releases and launches provides a lot more flexibility, and sets up the process so that there doesn’t have to be a launch for every release. This allows go-to-market launches to center around a true customer need, rather than being dependent on product silos or timing of individual product teams. And then, people across the organization will start to better understand the value of a launch process.
Don’t over-engineer it.
When it comes to creating a product launch process, there is no shortage of information available. It's easy to get overwhelmed by all the tools, templates, and frameworks out there and end up with a Frankenstein's monster of a process that tries to do it all.
The key is not to over-engineer it. Keep it simple and straightforward so that people are more likely to adopt it and love it. Think about what outcomes you want to drive as a part of the process: clear roles and responsibilities, mutual understanding of timelines, or smoother handoffs between teams. Then incorporate launch tiers, checklists, and other assets that support these outcomes.
Go through proper change management.
One of the biggest mistakes you can make is creating a process in a vacuum and not involving your cross-functional partners. You don't want to give the impression that you're just dumping work on their teams.
Instead, involve your partners early and often. This gives you the opportunity to show them the benefits of the process and how it will make their lives easier. By gaining their trust and buy-in, you can develop natural champions within the organization who can help promote and implement the process. When everyone is on board, it sets the foundation for a partnership between product marketing and the rest of the organization. This collaboration leads to a more successful launch process and helps build a culture of teamwork and mutual support.
Take your new process through the wringer.
Every organization is unique, and not all launch processes will work for everyone. Some companies have different teams or departments involved, existing processes to take into account, need more or less structure than others, etc. Even if a company believes they have the perfect process in place, it should still be able to adapt and change over time to fit the organization's evolving needs.
Once you have what seems like the right process drawn up, take at least two to three product launches through the process to audit and collect feedback on what’s working well and what needs adapting based on your specific needs.
Interested in learning more about launch process installation from Fluvio?