Effective launch series opener



If your company is like most companies it spends tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of hours each year defining, creating and distributing the next new product or the next new product enhancement.

In my personal experience, hardware and software companies typically invest 8% to 15% of their revenue in development of new products and features.

An analysis done by Quora.com shows that the spread is even larger for SAAS (cloud-based software providers) companies ranging from a low revenue 3% of to a high revenue of 37.5%.

Regardless of the amount spent, the same questions still apply.

  • Are companies getting a return on that investment? Do they even know?
  • Do companies actually create an environment in which an enhancement or new product actually has a chance to succeed in the market?
  • Do most companies even define metrics for success?
  • Do companies measure and track sufficiently the very metrics they set?

Much of the success or failure of a product or service will come down to how it is launched into the market as a whole; that is within the company itself and within the existing customer base and the target market in total.

Yet few companies take the time and spend the appropriate resources to define, execute and manage effective product launches that address all three of the aforementioned audiences.

Plan

Define and utilize a consistent launch framework that engages the appropriate organizations, budget for your company (one size does NOT fit all here) and ensure effective oversight of that program. 

Communicate

Ensure the framework addresses appropriate and timely communication of the right information to each constituent group within and external to your company throughout the launch timeframe which typically encompasses activities well before actual product or service release to the market. 

Measure

Set realistic and measurable key performance indicators and track them for the appropriate length of time usually long after the product or service is released. Then take appropriate action to improve the Plan for future launches based on activities and results of past

Next week we will further discuss the planning stage to continue on the series of Effective Launch.