Updated: June 14, 2024- 5 min read
The days before product launch are often filled with tension and anxiety. For experienced Product Managers, this feeling has probably become routine in nature. However, for those who are new to the position, the stress of a product unveiling can be exceptionally crippling to productivity.
Luckily, there are specific strategies that can be used to ensure that launches go smoothly and stress-free. Product Managers who are able to implement these pre-launch methods increase the likelihood of success for new products as well as future ones. These strategies can be the key to shaping customer expectation and satisfaction.
As they say: If you fail to plan, you plan to fail. Reinforce your product launch plan with these surefire methods to set yourself apart as a Product Manager who can handle the pressure.
Create Department Checklists
As a Product Manager, you are responsible for bringing together all the components from each team. This includes consolidating information from neighboring departments, which can be time-consuming and difficult to coordinate (especially for larger companies with a high headcount). Not being able to organize all this information from other teams can be especially problematic during launches. This is where interdepartmental checklists can play a huge role.
Each team has specific tasks that need to be checked off to ensure a smooth launch, and Product Managers who systematically ensure that these are carried out are priming themselves for success. Here are some of the examples of duties that need to be accomplished prior to launch:
Marketing Department
Ensure that user analysis is up-to-date and complete.
Know content strategy and channel distribution (including social media and email scheduling).
Familiarize yourself with press distribution and media coverage.
Sales Department
Clarify sales strategies for B2C and B2B (if applicable).
Cover all FAQs and responses.
Know all partnerships that will be centered around the launch.
Customer Service
Cover FAQs (again) and responses.
Understand protocol for problematic cases.
Ensure that product tutorials are in place and understandable.
Of course, each Product Manager should have their own checklist in addition to this. Most importantly, the end result of each any checklist should encompass all company factors that are necessary for ensuring customer happiness. However, the end result of the checklist is structured, all team members should be aware of it, and be prepared to follow through with their end of the tasks.
The way you as a Product Manager should familiarize these pre-launch jobs should be approached like a final exam: be over-prepared. Knowing each and every component – as well as outcomes linked to these components – is the surest way to know that you are ready to handle all potential scenarios.
Customer Communication
While communicating with customers may seem obvious – at least it should be – some of the most veteran PMs will fail to do so in the most critical of moments. This is often because digging for customer insight happens during earlier stages of product development, which can be weeks – or even months – before the launch date. However, this way of thinking can be detrimental to the release of a new feature or product.
Amending when and how you communicate with customers can drastically lower the chances of a disastrous product unveiling. As a PM, you should be searching for every detail that will enhance the customer experience. This process should be completed at numerous points along the product roadmap, including in the critical moments before launch.
By doing multiple reviews on what the new product or feature does for customer satisfaction, you continue to solidify the value and impactfulness of the product, while also potentially unveiling unseen problems. Additionally, this practice can benefit the following stage of product development and even the proceeding product launch.
In the long run, customers will notice when they are set as the priority. Taking extra steps in the critical time before launch will help set them as the centerpiece of the project.
Prep For Failure
It should not come as a surprise that launches don’t always go as planned. However, unveiling a new product or feature that is not well received should not be something that sends you into a panic. While clearly not an ideal situation, failed product launches can be planned for and even may be useful for moving forward.
Creating a plan will revolve around predicting all potential outcomes associated with the launch. This plan, in essence, is your roadmap for problematic scenarios, and will include creating a strategy for negative feedback, underwhelming metrics that fall short of the goal, and addressing market fit. Having actions ready and in place for what to do if one or multiple areas fail will help soften the blow of a poor initial response.
This age-old adage of “hope for the best, plan for the worst” will also be useful for optimizing productivity. Having a strategy in place will eliminate the awkward limbo that often accompanies teams shell-shocked from bad results. Instead, your team will be prepped and motivated to tackle the issue head-on, which in the end will place the product in a situation for greater future success.
The Takeaway
The end result of any new product or feature is to improve the lives of customers. PMs who take the time to master the launch phase of a product are the PMs who have the customers at the top of mind. It is precisely this PM who will distinguish themselves as top-tier in their fields.
Do you utilize different methods to launch products? let us know! We want to hear from you. Drop us a message on our Slack Channel.
Updated: June 14, 2024
