How to Launch a Product | Derek Osgood, CEO of Ignition

Summary

The transcript discusses the intricacies of product launches, emphasizing the importance of having a structured process. It suggests that either a product marketer or product manager should lead the launch, depending on their strategic and operational capabilities. The ideal launch process includes alpha, beta, and general availability phases, with a focus on research, strategic development, and execution. The speaker highlights the significance of setting clear goals, effective internal communication, and ongoing momentum post-launch to ensure success.

Takeaways

• 🤔 Product launches should generally be led by a product marketer, but if the product marketer lacks certain skills, a product manager could lead.
• 📝 Successful product launches require thorough pre-launch research, including understanding customer needs and conducting competitive analysis.
• 🚀 Product launches typically follow three phases: Alpha (internal testing), Beta (wider external testing), and GA (general availability).
• 📊 During the Alpha phase, close stakeholders like trusted customers, partners, or investors can help gauge the product's value.
• 🛠 In the Beta phase, focus on strategic development, positioning, messaging, and preparing assets for the public launch.
• 📅 Internal training and enablement are crucial prior to launch day to ensure all teams, especially sales and marketing, are aligned and prepared.
• 🎯 Launch success can be measured through business metrics (revenue impact), marketing goals (category penetration), and communication goals (message influence).
• 💡 The post-launch phase should include ongoing content and efforts to maintain momentum, such as blogs or other collateral that extends the product story.
• ⚠️ A common breakdown in launches occurs when companies lack a defined process, leading to last-minute scrambling and underwhelming results.
• 📢 Effective communication and cross-team collaboration are key to ensuring all stakeholders are aligned and equipped with the right information for a successful launch.

Q & A

Who should typically lead a product launch?

A product marketer should typically lead a product launch, but this depends on the skill set of the product marketer. If the product marketer is not strategic or operational enough, then the product manager, who is closest to the product and has a holistic view of the customer, should lead.

What are the typical phases of a product launch?

The typical phases of a product launch are Alpha, Beta, and GA (general availability). Each phase involves different activities such as research, onboarding early users, and developing core strategies like positioning and messaging before executing the final launch.

What should be done before the Alpha phase?

Before the Alpha phase, product marketing should be tightly embedded with product teams to perform customer discovery, understand customer problems, conduct competitive intelligence, and expand the roadmap.

What is the purpose of the Beta phase in a product launch?

During the Beta phase, the focus is on more executional work. This includes creating collateral, conducting pre-promotion, and possibly offering beta programs to a broader group of users to gauge product readiness.

Why is internal training important before a product launch?

Internal training is crucial to ensure that teams like sales, customer success, and marketing are fully equipped with the knowledge and materials they need to discuss and sell the product effectively for the next 6-12 months.

What is a 'Rolling Thunder' approach in product marketing?

The 'Rolling Thunder' approach refers to continuing to release content and collateral related to the product after the official launch, maintaining momentum and keeping the product top of mind for months after launch.

How should the success of a product launch be measured?

Success should be measured through a combination of revenue metrics, marketing targets (such as category penetration or market growth), and communications goals (how well the product’s message was received by customers).

What are common reasons product launches fail?

Product launches often fail due to the lack of a clear process, inadequate research, poor communication between teams, or neglecting internal enablement for key stakeholders such as sales and customer success.

What role does research play in a successful product launch?

Research helps define the target audience, understand customer problems, analyze competitors, and clarify the product’s unique value proposition. This sets the foundation for a well-informed product launch.

How should different teams be enabled during a product launch?

Each team, such as sales, marketing, and customer success, requires different information and assets. A successful launch ensures that each team has the right enablement materials at the right time to effectively communicate with customers.