AMA: Bluevine Sr. Director of Customer Research, Content, and Product Marketing , Anna Wiggins on Product Launches

I hate to use a cliche, but Product Marketing is the glue that holds everything together. We're the central point of contact, part project manager, part strategist. We create the Go-To-Market (GTM) plan based on research and product-market fit, and then we kick it into gear. It's about rallying all the teams—marketing, customer service, sales, partners, product—to make it happen. It's like conducting a symphony of efforts to turn our strategy into a real, successful product launch.  I've talked ...Read More

First, the sales team needs to know what is launching and when so they can make appropriate plans to incorporate it in their sales conversations. To facilitate these conversations, the choice of tools and practices should be tailored to the product's complexity, the sales cycle, and the team structure. Clear Early Communication: Ensure the sales team knows what is launching and when, enabling them to plan their sales conversations accordingly.  Training: Provide in-depth training on the product, ...Read More

Absolutely, tiering product launches is crucial for optimizing their impact and resource allocation. This practice combines elements of both art and science, and several factors should be considered:  Strategic Impact: Evaluate whether the launch significantly advances your company's position in the market. Even a small feature can be strategically important if it differentiates your solution. In such cases, it may warrant a substantial budget and significant marketing and sales resources.  Cust ...Read More

See my answer to the previous question on process organization. Going into the launch, you need to have a clear understanding of the target audience, their pain points, and how the product/feature solves those pain points and messaging to explain what you’ve built. These ingredients are constant regardless of launch size. The variable pieces are your communication plan and the number of stakeholders involved. The GTM plan needs to have messaging, comms plans across sales, CS and marketing channe ...Read More

This is a great question that often goes overlooked. In high-velocity roadmap organizations, the focus tends to be on getting a product to market and then moving on to the next launch, without pausing to assess how the product actually performed. To evaluate the success of your launch, there are several fundamental metrics to consider: Awareness: Determine whether your target audience is aware of your product. This can be evaluated by analyzing the effectiveness of your awareness generation camp ...Read More

One of the most important steps is to get organizational alignment and buy-in that you need a launch discipline. Some early-stage organizations may prioritize agility and move quickly without formal processes. It's crucial to ensure everyone recognizes the value of having a structured approach.  Once alignment is in place, keep the launch discipline simple and adaptable to your organization's culture. Begin with a straightforward framework and build upon it gradually to add complexity as needed. ...Read More

Kick-off Meeting: Start with a comprehensive kick-off meeting involving all cross-functional stakeholders essential for executing the launch. This meeting should cover what is launching, include a product demo, share the Go-To-Market (GTM) plan, and outline schedules and timelines. Weekly Status Meetings: Hold regular status meetings with the cross-functional team, ideally on a weekly basis. These meetings are a platform to review progress, timelines, address obstacles, and ensure everyone is on ...Read More

Creating a GTM strategy for a product with an extended beta period involves adapting to change. Begin by understanding the beta's goals and the phases involved. Instead of finalizing a fixed GTM strategy upfront, focus on defining critical milestones between the beta and full launch. Develop a tentative strategy for each phase, but remain flexible to make adjustments as you gather feedback and iterate on the product. Regularly review your progress, incorporating user insights into your evolving ...Read More

When it comes to launching a product internally, the process can vary depending on the launch's size and whether there's a sales component involved.  But let's focus on the critical documents and collateral you'll need. Foremost, you must have a well-structured Go-To-Market (GTM) strategy document, which is distinct from a Product Requirements Document (PRD) that the product team creates to specify the product's features and functionality.  Your GTM document serves as the single source of truth ...Read More

While a product may technically be ready for launch, it doesn't necessarily mean it's market-ready. The key to addressing this lies in the quarterly planning process, which involves reviewing the roadmap and tiering the launches. Larger, more impactful launches are given dedicated moments to shine, allowing them to receive the attention and resources they deserve. On the other hand, smaller feature launches may be grouped together to create maximum impact with the target customer while the minim ...Read More

When considering the key elements of a successful product launch, common themes emerge: early alignment, clarity on next steps, audience definition, and strategic go-to-market planning. Internal organization plays a pivotal role in achieving success. The fact that you don’t have a dedicated POC or a defined process is the biggest risk to this launch - assuming there are no issues with the product itself. My response will primarily address this challenge.   Define Roles and Responsibilities: Assi ...Read More