A successful product launch starts with a detailed product launch strategy. With a little bit of planning and collaboration, you can make sure that your product launch is smooth and impactful. This product launch checklist is here to help!
While market research is an important part of product marketing, this post will assume that this research has already taken place, and that you have a decent grasp of the competitive landscape vs. other companies and comparable products.
With that disclaimer out of the way, let’s jump into the product launch checklist.
1. Identify your core audience
This might be the same as the audience that your company focuses on in general, or it might be more specific. Certain products can be geared more toward power users, admins, etc.
2. Identify your primary marketing channels
For many companies, most of these channels will be consistent across different launches or campaigns. Some common examples include:
a. Email
b. Website
c. Organic social media
d. Paid social media
e. Paid search
f. PR
3. For each of your channels, determine which metrics you are anchoring to
Ideally, you will also set general goals for each metric, but if this is your first launch, those goals might be pretty loose.
4. Connect a tactic to each of your primary channels that also aligns with your established audience
For example, organic social media can mean a company post on a company LinkedIn page, or it can mean that your CEO posts on his own LinkedIn page. Influencer marketing, partner marketing, and employee advocacy are all tactics that can (and should) slot into multiple channels.
As another example, maybe you reach out to a power user who is influential in your industry. You give them early access to the product, and record a short video testimonial about why they are excited for it. This content (either the actual video or a quote) can now appear on your website, in your launch emails, on your company LinkedIn page, and also be shared out to your team to share on their own LinkedIn accounts.
5. Nail down all the logistics like date, time, and order of operations
Will the press release get published first, followed by a website update, followed by the email? Think through which assets rely on other assets. For example, a landing page needs to be live before you can link to it in an email.
6. Determine the creative elements of your product launch
This includes messaging, imagery, videos, animated GIFs, hashtags, etc. All of this needs to align with your brand voice and style, but without simply blending in. That balance can be tricky.
7. Iterate on messaging and visual assets
This will give you multiple product launch messaging options to include in your employee advocacy and influencer marketing efforts. You don’t want every single employee to post the exact same thing, as that seems impersonal. Same thing for any influencers you might be working with for the launch. Creating different versions (longform vs. short, conversational in tone vs. more buttoned up, etc.) gives employees and influencers options, while still minimizing the lift.
8. Distribute all launch assets to employees, partners, and influencers
This step can be tricky, as you don’t want anyone jumping the gun and sharing too early. You also want to make sure everyone has access to launch materials ahead of time. There are different approaches to this, from Google Docs to dedicated employee advocacy platforms. The former is inexpensive and accessible, but lacks the ability to control distribution or collect analytics. Dedicated employee advocacy tools traditionally have been extremely expensive, and often see long-term engagement of only about 20-30%. Sharekitt was designed to bridge the gap between two employee advocacy options above, help you maximize the success of your product launch, and provide just enough control—without costing thousands of dollars a year.
9. Execute the launch
Roll with the punches, because there will be surprises and last second changes. Once everything has been published and shared and sent and posted, perform an audit of all copy and links.
10. Celebrate!
This can look different for every team, but a successful product launch deserves a lunch, drink, or at least a virtual high five.
