Expert Tips on Launching a Product

Like a tree falling in the woods, if you plan a product launch without spreading the word — will anyone use it? Will anyone even want it?

These are the questions that sometimes keep me up at night. And truthfully, as much as I wish it wasn’t the case, if you fail to effectively spread the word about your product launch, it will most likely fail.

Whether you’re launching something huge, something small, or you’re updating a current offering, you’ll want to start your preparation well in advance of the launch date with a product launch checklist.

Because there are so many moving parts in this process, bringing your product to market can be intimidating and tricky. To help you, I’ve come up with a step-by-step checklist for a successful product launch and gathered the best product launch tips from a HubSpot Product Marketer.

Table of Contents

What is a product launch?

A product launch is the process of introducing a brand-new product or service to the world. It involves various marketing and promotional activities aimed at creating buzz and demand around your new offering. The ultimate goal is to get customers excited and eager to buy the new product.

Take it from me: Product launches require a lot of planning. You can’t just drop a new product out of the blue and expect everyone to buy in — well, unless you’re Beyoncé. Which is unfortunate because there’s only one Beyoncé. Instead, you’ll need a plan.

Lucas Botzen, CEO of Rivermate, says, “If you really want to launch the product, you must begin with in-depth market research, identify your target audience, and understand their needs. Next, make a comprehensive plan for the launch, which defines specific, measurable goals, a marketing strategy, and all the materials and resources required.”

During the launch, Botzen recommends reaching out to the audience via different channels, gathering feedback, and being responsive to any issues. Immediately after launch, measure results and identify key learnings, making further adjustments if necessary for continuous improvement, Botzen advises.

“Planning can take significant time, and if you’re like me and you’re not much of a planner, this can be a major bummer. Luckily, our product launch checklist can help ensure that all your t’s are crossed and i’s are dotted before your official launch date. Trust me: This checklist is a lifesaver!” Botzen says.

1. Learn about your customer.

Whether you call it “market research” or “customer development,” it’s key to learn about what drives your target customer. In my experience, identifying their goals, motivations, and pain points could lead you to developing and marketing a valuable solution.

You don’t need to perform years of intense research to learn about your customer. In fact, I suggest just talking to 12 to 15 current or prospective customers.

When speaking to them, pay extra attention when they start sentences with “I wish a product did this function…” or “Why can’t products do this?” When they give these statements, respond with questions that go deeper, like “Can you get more specific about that?”

If they don’t bring up any pain points, ask them a few specific questions that will encourage them to give deeper answers.

These conversations will give you a solid idea of what their biggest pain points are and how you can market a solution to them. Once you learn these key details about your customers, you can develop a buyer persona that your team can focus on serving.

2. Write a positioning statement.

When launching a new product, you must be able to clearly explain how it fills a need in the market. That’s where a positioning statement comes in.

It helps you communicate the unique value proposition and key benefits that differentiate your product from others.

I recommend writing out a statement that can clearly and concisely answer these three questions:

• Who is the product for?
• What does the product do?
• Why is it different from other products out there?

If you’d like to go even deeper, create a statement that answers the following questions:

• What is your target audience?
• What segment of the target audience is most likely to buy the product?
• What brand name will you give your product or service?
• What product or service category does your product lie in?
• How is it different from competitors in the same category?
• What evidence or proof do you have to prove that your product is different?

Still need more guidance on how to write a positioning statement? Check out this template.

3. Pitch your positioning to stakeholders.

Once you’ve established your positioning statement, present it to stakeholders in your company so they are all on the same page. Call a meeting, send an email, or create a presentation to present.

But I should remind you, when doing this, you’ll want to emphasize how your new product aligns with your overall business strategy, customer needs, market trends, and revenue potential. Use concrete examples, stories, or data to make your pitch more persuasive.

I also suggest you think proactively about potential questions or objections they might have. Prepare thoughtful responses to address concerns around market viability, competition, target audience, or feasibility.

If your employees have a hard time buying into the product, your customers might as well. If your team loves it, that might be a great sign that the product launch will go well.

4. Develop product branding.

Take the information you gathered while conducting your market research and writing your positioning statement, and let it inspire you as you craft your product brand identity.

Creating a brand identity is my favorite part of a product launch. During this step, you’ll develop all the elements needed to create a consistent and memorable brand, including:

• Product name, logo, and tagline.
• Color palette, typography, and imagery.
• Key brand, communications, and marketing guidelines.
• Packaging.

Product branding is a little different than company branding because it focuses on creating a distinct identity for a specific product, rather than an entire organization. However, they are both still interconnected and should be aligned.

5. Plan your go-to-market strategy.

This is the strategy that you will use to launch and promote your product. While some businesses prefer to build a funnel strategy, others prefer the flywheel approach.

Regardless of which method you choose, this process contains many moving parts. To create an organized strategy for launching your product, I find it can be helpful to use a template, like this one.

As you create the strategy, I recommend you also start considering which type of content you’ll use to attract a prospective customer’s attention during the awareness, consideration, and purchase decision stages.

You’ll need to produce this content in a following step.

6. Set a goal for the launch.

Before you get started on implementing your strategy, make sure you write down your goals for the launch.

Alex Girard, a Product Marketing Manager at HubSpot, says, “Create specific goals for the launch’s success. Keeping these goals in mind will help you focus your efforts on launch tactics that will help you achieve those goals.”

For example, the goals of your product launch could be to effectively establish a new product name, build awareness, or create sales opportunities.

I think one of the best ways to set goals for your launch team is to write them out like SMART goals. A SMART goal is Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-bound. I like SMART goals because they’re easy to track and modify.

Once you have your goals in mind, you can start thinking about what KPIs you want to track, such as:

• Sales revenue.
• Units sold.
• Customer acquisition.
• Conversion rate.
• Website traffic and engagement.
• Social media engagement.

Identifying these metrics ahead of time will make it easier to assess whether or not you met your goals after the product is launched.

7. Create promotional content.

After planning out your go-to-market strategy and writing your SMART goals, start producing content that will support and align with those promotional efforts.

In my experience, this can include:

Our go-to-market template will also help you determine which content you should create for each phase of your prospective customer’s buyer’s journey.

Or, you can also use HubSpot’s Start Customer Platform. In this platform, you can easily create everything you’ll need for a successful launch, all while nurturing customer relationships and tracking analytics.

8. Test and gather feedback.

Before you officially launch your new product, I think it’s important to test it out to ensure your final product is the best it can be.

By testing the product in different scenarios with real users, potential bugs, usability problems, or functional issues