5 Best Practices for an Incredible Product Launch

Pivot International  |   April 07, 2017

Once the product investment, development, and creation stages are finally over, you’re ready for what just might be the most difficult part of the whole product development process: launching your new product into the marketplace.

How can you ensure the best possible launch for the thing you’ve spent so much time and effort producing? How can you make sure that people are aware of your product, and that they’re getting the best version of it possible?

Here are some tips to help you design and deploy a first-rate product launch.

Test your product, and test it again

The most important part of the process might just be before the launch is even conceived. Have you thoroughly tested your product? Have you tested both the functionality AND the marketing plan?

If you put a faulty product into the marketplace, or if you haven’t figured out a proper plan to let people know about it, you might be in for a short run once you’ve launched.

Build your team

Whether you’re a one-person operation or a large corporation, you have to ensure that the product team is highly prepared to take this major step. That means not just the sales team, but the manufacturing team, too.

It’s in this phase, just before the product launch, that an entrepreneur might wear a different hat than they normally do. You become a head coach for the people tasked with building and selling your product. It’s your job to motivate them to do their jobs with excitement and enthusiasm.

Remember, this can be a tense time for your business, but it can also be exciting. Make sure that excitement is shared with the people to whom you’ve entrusted your product sales.

Get ready to scale up quickly

Once you’ve gotten the sales team ready to go, it’s time to make sure you’re prepared for when the sales start coming in. You should obviously expect a serious uptick in business after your launch, and it’s going to be vital that your company is ready to manufacture as much of your product as you need to.

Do you have the supplies, the staff, and the infrastructure to take your product beyond the initial launch phase? Are you positioned to take in an increasing number of orders and provide steady, reliable service to your customers?

Don’t neglect your existing products

If you already have existing products, or are a veteran entrepreneur, it’s important to remember what you’ve done so far. Even though you’ll be focusing on your new product for now, don’t do so at the expense of neglecting your older products.

On the other hand, if this is your first product launch, make sure to stay on target with that first product before expanding. Sustainability is just as important in the marketplace as it is in the environment, and it’s important to make sure what you’ve just started selling is on solid ground before you begin something new.

Know your strengths before you move into areas you’re not as confident about. Innovation and evolution are important, but so is stability.

Gather feedback

Once you’ve gotten through the launch phase, make sure to seek feedback not just from consumers, but from your marketing, sales, and manufacturing staff, too.

Every piece of information you get from asking others their opinions can be valuable when it comes time to tweak your current product or develop a new one.

Hearing back from the people you’ve been dealing with can only make your product stronger in the long run. You might get some feedback that takes you by surprise, but your business will be the better for it.