How to Avoid a Product Launch Disaster
Everyone wants their product launch to be successful. You want that launch hype to snowball and for thousands of users to get your product and then tell all of their friends about it too.
In fact, a successful launch can help set your business up for the future. Off the back of a successful product launch you’ll be able sell newer versions of the product and make a profit from that too.
But what many people don’t realise is that in order to make sure that your product launches well, you have to do more than just send out an email to the press a few weeks before you release it. A successful product launch takes careful planning and consideration and it starts before you’ve even started development.
Make an MVP
For teams in the software development business, an MVP (Minimum Viable Product) is one of the most useful tools. An MVP is a tangible version of your product that allows you to test out your idea and figure out how it works on a basic level.
This is vital as it gives your team something to build on. An MVP gives you a core building block and it ensures that your team won’t distracted by tacking on features that the product just doesn’t need.
Furthermore, MVPs give you some sort of idea on what your end product will be like. This allows you to market your product much earlier as you can tell potential users what to expect when your product is finally released. By the time your product lands on the market, they will have been ready and waiting for it to arrive.
Utilise User Data
One massively underused aspect of software development is user data. User data contains the proven information of what you should and shouldn’t be doing.
Many teams ask themselves ‘what do our customers want?’ and ‘how can we help them?’ but user data takes all of the guesswork out of it. By directly asking what your users want via surveys or launch pages you can find out exactly what your customers want from your product.
Finding out what the majority wants also stops you from catering to the HIPPO (Highest Paid Persons Opinion) as they might not know what users want; they might only know how to make a quick buck.
You should also keep a close eye on what your competition is doing as their user data can also help you. For example, what are their users unhappy with and how can you improve upon this?
Be Passionate About Your Product
One of the biggest mistakes that can cause a product launch disaster is when the team behind it just isn’t enthusiastic or passionate about their product. Teams should be genuinely proud of their work and they should know the product better than they know themselves.
By using the product every single day, or talking about its nuances and features, you can help explain what the product is like and what it can be used for. No one knows your product better than you and potential users need to understand more about the product before they download it.
Additionally, knowing your product also helps you know what’s missing and what can be improved. When your product launches, this can help you navigate tricky feedback waters. If a user wants to know how to do something or why something doesn’t work as it’s meant to, you’ll be able to tell them a solution or you can let them know that you’re aware and you are already trying to fix it.
