Launch Clinic

eBook: New Rules of Sales Enablement

I just read Jeff Ernst’s new ebook “The New Rules of Sales Enablement”. I laughed and I groaned, but mostly I connected with the stories of how many marketers create a freighter full of sales tools and marketing collateral that get stuffed into a “sales portal” never to see the light of day.

If you are a product marketing manager responsible for product launch, chances are high that part of your launch responsibilities will include sales enablement.

Make “The New Rules of Sales Enablement” part of your launch arsenal.

Technorati Tags: product launch,sales enablement

From No Smoke and Mirrors – Soft launch

I completely agree with Mark at No Smoke and Mirrors on his post “Don’t let “FUD” cause you to “soft launch” your next product”.

If a member of one of my teams said we “need” to soft launch a product it would make my skin crawl. A soft launch means you did not thoroughly conduct market research, you are not sure you totally understand the problem you are solving and your solution may not completely solve the need. When someone says soft launch I hear them saying this product is an incremental improvement to a current solution and is not a breakthrough product. I also hear them saying we will throw this product over the wall, into our market and see if it sticks.Team members describe a soft launch as if it were some safe and effective way to launch new products. Their approach is like someone wanting to join the polar bear club and just putting their big toe in the frozen lake to check it out, and saying; I will ease myself in. It simply does not work.

A soft launch is a response to a lack of confidence that your product will be successful in the market. Even a brilliantly planned and executed product launch will not overcome a product that doesn’t address a problem in the market that is urgent, pervasive and buyers are will to pay to solve.

In the world of software “soft launch” is just another form of beta.  Hmmm… just noticed that beta is a four letter word.

Technorati Tags: product launch,soft launch,hard launch

Product launch is a team sport

Have you ever been responsible for a product launch and felt like you were the only one doing the work? I see this happening often in organizations of all sizes. A product manager or product marketing manager is responsible for launch, but winds up doing most of the work herself, even when there’s a launch team.

The breakdown occurs because the launch team isn’t really a team at all. It’s a collection of individuals from various parts of the organization who are impacted by the launch, but whose management doesn’t encourage or reward their participation in the launch team. Sound familiar? Why would a launch team member put in hard work to make the product launch successful if it's not deemed important by their management?

Note to the CEO. If you want your cross-functional launch team to work together toward a successful product launch, make their participation on the team a priority and acknowledge their contribution. Most organizations get to launch once per year. The opportunity costs are too high to not make it a priority.

Photo: CalPoly Rodeo Team

Technorati Tags: product launch,cross-functional teams

Hype me up

I received an email regarding complimentary analyst reports from a big industry analyst firm you would recognize. What struck me are the report titles.  They have titles like:

• “Boost Website Traffic by 17%…”
• “Decrease by 70%…”
• “Activate 40% More…”
• “Achieve 42% Higher…”
• “Achieve 11% Lower…”
• “Improve Productivity by 36%…”

Are we that desperate or that naive to believe we can get those improvements by merely reading a report?

The answers to your business challenges aren’t a quick fix you get in an analyst report, they’re in the market. Get out of the building, ask questions and listen.

Technorati Tags: business,hype,quick fix