Mastering the Software Launch Process: Part 1
WRITTEN BY Lauren Kiser, FLUVIO CONSULTANT
As a product marketer, orchestrating a successful launch is critical for driving adoption, generating buzz, and ultimately, contributing to your company’s bottom line.
Fluvio worked with a B2B SaaS client in the customer success category who was experiencing internal friction due to misalignment between teams. Before re-defining and documenting their launch process, it was important to align cross-functional stakeholders on not only what success looked like for them, but also how each team contributed to the process.
A release is not a launch
We often see a disconnect between technical and go-to-market teams on what it means to successfully launch a new product or feature, as was the case with this client.
Working together with key stakeholders, we were able to align on the common understanding that a release indicated the push of new code to customer environments. Code releases could happen frequently, especially to address bugs and minor improvements. A launch, on the other hand, was a coordinated effort to make new functionality available to the broader market in an effort to drive revenue.
We also created clarity between teams on differing cross-functional goals and KPIs when it came to releases and launches. For product and engineering teams, delivering the product or feature to production environments on schedule was a critical measure of performance. Marketing and sales needed to communicate internally and externally with a complete bill of materials that would drive pipeline and revenue. Customer success and support teams were most focused on understanding how a new feature works so they could effectively help customers use the solution.
All teams, however, were happy to align on the overarching outcome of helping customers achieve business outcomes and value, in services of driving revenue for the business. Creating this clarity between teams allowed them to have empathy for their colleagues and understand their unique goals and performance KPIs, leading to more effective collaboration to reach everyone’s desired outcomes.
Define and document your launch process
No two companies’ launch processes look the same. Before defining your launch process, check in with stakeholders across the business to determine their pain points with the current process, their ideal state for future launches, and their bandwidth for contributing to the launch. Those inputs combined with industry best practices will allow you to create a launch process that satisfies both internal and external stakeholders.
1. Assemble your cross-functional launch team
A successful launch requires seamless coordination across multiple departments, each bringing a unique viewpoint and skillset to the group.
EXAMPLE LAUNCH TEAM STRUCTURE
Product: Creates the required documentation to build and enable cross-functional teams on how the new product/feature will work.
Engineering: Ensures smooth communication and delivery timeliness and any potential development issues.
Marketing: Leads the charge on launch strategy, messaging, and content creation.
Sales: Owns seller enablement and live demo delivery.
Customer Success: Owns customer implementation, enablement, and training.
Support: Prepares teams to answer technical questions upon launch.
Operations: Supports cross-functional teams with appropriate systems configuration.
By clearly defining roles and responsibilities, organizations can ensure a coordinated effort across all departments, maximizing the chances of a successful and high adoption. Further, internal teams will have a better understanding of what is expected of them and be able to more effectively manage their time.
2. Establish product/feature launch tiers
Not all launches are created equal. Sometimes, you may be bringing an entirely new product to market; other times, you may be introducing a new feature that adds significant value to an existing product. Each launch will have its nuances, but those nuances will be easier to manage when following a tiered system that guides your launch preparation.
EXAMPLE LAUNCH TIERS
Tier 1: A major new feature
Expected to help attract and close new business, enable entrance into a new market, or is a significant change to the business.
Creates major competitive differentiation or is a significant change to a solution offering, product, or set of features.
Requires the most marketing support with in depth messaging, on site marketing, outbound marketing, and seller facing comms.
Recommended to launch in beta with defined exit criteria and GA adoption goals.
Tier 2: An impactful feature update
Expected to support retention and drive adoption of product or close new business.
Significant feature enhancements that will improve customer experience or address feedback.
Requires a significant amount of marketing support, but can be adapted to the needs of the launch.
Recommended shorter beta or testing period pre-launch.
Tier 3: A minor enhancement or UI change to an existing feature.
Capabilities alone would not attract or influence new prospects. Can be aggregated or packaged into one launch.
Good to know, but does not require extensive education or attention that takes up valuable airtime with customers.
Updates documented in all the right places, including relevant internal & external assets. Supported with reactive comms or release note.
Tier 4: Bug fixes and maintenance
Includes quality of life improvements, small UI changes, branding updates, technical infrastructure work.
No major revenue goals, but necessary to maintain products for customer satisfaction.
Necessary updates that are often invisible to customers.
External communications are limited.
Updates documented in all the right places, primarily internal assets or support documentation.
A tiered approach similar to the example above allows cross-functional teams to appropriately allocate resources and tailor each launch to its relative significance for the biggest impact.
3. Define clear product lifecycle stages
Every launch goes through multiple crucial stages before reaching its full market potential. Depending on the launch tier, some or all of the stages should be deployed, only moving to the next when the exit criteria has been satisfied.
EXAMPLE LAUNCH STAGES
Design Partnership: At this early stage, the focus is on a single identified customer that can work closely with product to define requirements. The key questions to be answered at this stage revolve around user needs, how the product can address pain points, and defining the minimal viable product (MVP). Success can be measured by achieving a customer satisfaction (CSAT) score of 50% from the design partner.
Alpha: This phase involves allowing internal users to test functionality and evaluate if the product functions as intended. These internal users can be leveraged to identify critical bugs and assess user-friendliness. Internal testers can also examine usability issues, alignment with user expectations and performance metrics. The goal in this stage is to reach an average product happiness of 60% from alpha testers.
Closed Beta: A select group of invited customers participates at this stage. The focus shifts to technical readiness, real-world performance, addressing critical bugs, and understanding user experience. Teams aim for an average CSAT of 75% from at least 10 customers, with no critical bugs identified.
Open Beta: Any customer can opt in at this point. The team evaluates the product’s intuitiveness, compatibility across various configurations, and identifies any barriers to adoption. Success metrics include achieving a 75% CSAT from 25+ customers and resolving all critical bugs.
General Availability: The product or feature is now available to all customers. Teams monitor overall user satisfaction, active usage, and any issues reported since the launch. They also look for opportunities to enhance features based on user feedback.
By carefully considering the questions and exit criteria at each stage, cross-functional launch teams can ensure they’re creating a solution that truly meets user needs and is ready for widespread adoption.
Just the beginning
There’s so much more that goes into mastering the launch process, but these concepts are an important place to start. Implementing a best-in class launch process requires careful planning, cross-functional collaboration, and a commitment to continuous improvement. But remember, every organization is unique. Don’t be afraid to adapt these practices to fit your specific needs and culture. The key is to create a repeatable, scalable process that evolves with your business, product, and market.