Launch Clinic

Product Launch Essentials class now available

I’m delighted to share with everyone that new 1-day class I’ve been working on – Product Launch Essentials – is now available. I would like to thank everyone who provided the critical market feedback needed to shape the class. I’m especially grateful to the customers who invited us in to conduct “beta” tests of the class. Your feedback was insightful and extremely valuable.

Who this class is for

The Product Launch Essentials class is for the folks responsible for planning and executing product launches for primarily technology products.

It’s about sales velocity

Product launch has long been a problem for those of us introducing technology products to market and this class addresses it head on in a way that redefines product launch. Instead of thinking about launch as the end of development, you think about it as the beginning of selling. Because the point of product launch is to create sales velocity.

One-size doesn’t fit all

The class addresses the common fallacy of product launch checklists and how they become a de facto launch strategy. A checklist may give everyone a sense of comfort but not effective. We discuss seven (7) different product launch strategies and when to use them to help you achieve your launch goals.

Launch is a team sport

Have you ever felt like you were shouldering all the burden for a launch? Product launch is a team sport and needs cross-functional input and guidance. The trick is how to organize and drive the team to get results you couldn’t do by yourself.

Measure what matters

When your launch goals are clear it makes measurement much easier. However there are leading and lagging indicators to measure product launch success that should be considered.

Available in two delicious flavors

The Product Launch Essentials class is available publicly and as a private, onsite seminar. Go to the contact us page or call Pragmatic Marketing at (480) 515-1411 if you have any questions about attending a public class or bringing it to your company. Click here for the brochure.

Product Launch Toolkit

There is a complete set of product launch tools including:

• Launch Strategies Worksheet
• Product Launch Plan Template
• Sales Constraint Analysis Worksheet
• Launch Team Tracker
• Launch Team Leader’s Guide
• Launch Team Member’s Guide
• Launch Readiness Assessment Worksheet

What else you should know

Product Launch Essentials builds on the foundation provided by the Pragmatic Marketing Framework, the Practical Product Management seminar and the Effective Product Marketing seminar. If you plan on attending Product Launch Essentials, it would be helpful if you are familiar with the Pragmatic Marketing Framework.

More questions?

Contact me directly if you have questions about the class content. I’d prefer email (ddaniels at pragmaticmarketing.com) but you can also reach me on Twitter @launchclinic or call me at (480) 515-1411.

Technorati Tags: product launch,class,education

Sales enablement: critical to product launch success

According to the “Business-to-Business Launch Survey Executive Summary” conducted by the Center for Business Innovation at Babson College and Schneider Associates, 55% of companies rank sales enablement as critical to product launch success. I guess for the other 45% of companies their product must sell itself.

Yet if you’ve seen how sales enablement training is conducted at many companies you’d walk away with the impression that it isn’t sales enablement training at all but training on product features.

If you want to enable your sales channel to be effective at selling the product you’re planning to launch, focus on training them about buyers, their buying criteria and how they prefer to buy. Your primary tools are the buyer persona profile and interacting with real potential buyers in the wild. Sitting around a table and hypothesizing with your colleagues about buyers and their hot buttons is wasted time.

Technorati Tags: product launch,sales enablement

Who is responsible for product launch results in your organization?

I recently conduct an informal poll using the LinkedIn polls feature. I asked one simple question:

“Who is responsible for product launch results in your organization?”

The operative word in the question is “results” so I was hopeful it would cause poll takers to stop and consider who really is accountable for achieving the launch goals. My statistics prof wouldn’t approve the results as being statistically significant given the sample size, but I’m going to run with it any way. Since each response can be tied to a LinkedIn profile, the poll includes some interesting ways of viewing the data. Note that due to rounding the percentage does not add up to 100%.

There was an even split between “Product Manager” and “Product Marketing Manager”. And there were 7% reporting “Other”. What struck me as interesting, but not surprising, was 15% reported “No One” was responsible for product launch results. Unfortunately, having “No One” responsible for launch results is all too common.

Over in the Launch Clinic LinkedIn group there were a few responses in the News Discussion. My favorite was from Elisabeth Strenger, Director of Product Marketing at Dataupia.

In my experience, Marketing has been accountable for launch results both in terms of product uptake/adoption AND revenue. This has always caused a problem if Sales comp plans or territory plans were not tied to product launch. Usually marketing is banging on sales doors trying to get them to move the product that is strategic to revenue growth while sales is focused on bringing in the dollars regardless of where they come from. What I've done is try to bring things back into balance with incentives funded by Marketing.

Ich stimme mit Ihnen ueberein.  ;-) This is a big problem for larger organizations that have multiple products and a sales team that can sell whatever they want to make quota.

Technorati Tags: product launch,launch owner,launch results

Poll: Who is responsible for product launch results?

I have a one question poll on LinkedIn that I’d like for you to participate in. The poll question is “Who is responsible for product launch results in your organization?”. The poll is open to all LinkedIn members.

Initial results are very interesting. Add your voice.

Click here: http://polls.linkedin.com/poll-results/43135/blzpm

My LinkedIn profile: http://www.linkedin.com/in/davidkeithdaniels

Technorati Tags: product launch

Why you need a launch owner

A product launch is a major undertaking for most organizations with the primary goal of creating sales velocity. Every important initiative has someone at the helm, organizing and driving the project to achieve the desired goals. A launch is arguably the most important initiative your company will do this year. Who do you have in charge of the launch?

This is the role of the launch owner and every product launch needs one. A launch owner is the project manager of a launch and drives the process to a positive conclusion. This is the individual who you designate to have the accountability for achieving your launch goals, aligning resources, and achieving results. He’s the superhero of launch. It’s not someone that herds cats and ensures deliverables are completed on time.

Learn more about planning and driving a successful product launch by attending Product Launch Essentials.

Technorati Tags: product launch,launch owner

A product launch checklist is not a launch strategy

Last week I was asked again about product launch checklists and why I hate them. I’m not averse to checklists and have no ill will toward them. I just have a problem when people use them as if they are the launch strategy (more on launch strategy is covered in Product Launch Essentials).

Launch goals come first. Then the launch strategy is developed. Only within the context of a launch strategy does the creation of a launch checklist become a useful activity. It’s a project management tool.

Even after a solid checklist is created it may be completely irrelevant to a different product launch in your product portfolio. The launch checklist is not a “living document”. You create it, you use it and move on. When you launch the next new product or new version of an existing product, you start fresh based on the best launch strategy.

Technorati Tags: product launch,product launch checklist,product launch strategy

So you think “re-branding” will make things better?

I recently received an email from a marketing professional seeking advice on re-branding and re-launching a product. No detail for the reasons behind re-branding were provided and I have to assume there was a legitimate business reason.  But it made me recall experience I’ve had with re-branding and re-launching technology products.

Most of the time, re-branding is a response to poor sales. Rather than seeking to identify the reasons for poor sales performance, which could be many, it’s decided changing the name of the product and a new look with fix everything.

Changing the product name and its look won’t overcome:

• A product that doesn’t solve a market problem
• The wrong sales channel
• Positioning and messaging that doesn’t resonate with buyers

Before you waste a bunch of money, time and resources re-branding a product, do yourself a favor and find out if there’s something wrong with the product first. Don’t ask each other. That won’t get you anywhere. Get out of the building and talk with real potential buyers in their native habitat.

Photo credit: WalletPop – Yes, that’s Frito Lay Lemonade.

 

Technorati Tags: product launch,rebrand,relaunch