AMA: Spotify Associate Director Product Marketing, Creator Promotion, Alex Lobert on Product Launches

Launching a feature to a new geography brings its own set of nuances. I find there are a number of pre-launch considerations as well as post-launch metrics to watch. Pre-launch, you want to evaluate if there are market specific regulations, competitive dynamics, or customer dynamics that necessitate a change in strategy. Regulations: Are there legal constraints to how you launch a product to a new market? For example, I regularly have to talk to our lawyers about the implications of privacy regu ...Read More

Building a new product launch process can seem daunting. To do this, I recommend: Start small. Focus on delivering value. Scale once you have “process market fit” Start small. Create 1-2 simple templates and process. This will help you get wins and keep maintenance / overhead low. For example: GTM Template: A go-to-market template that can serve as source of truth for launch activities like messaging Launch Calendar: A document and process to collect and share upcoming launches Focus on deliveri ...Read More

To know if a launch is successful, we look at if people are using our product and if they are getting the value we anticipated. We informally review metrics weekly with more detailed analysis done each month. A bit more on each metric. Usage is simple at the top line. We look at adoption and retention. Prior to launch, we set targets based on similar products or based on information learned from pilots / tests. We’re always updating our forecasts / targets based on what we learn in market though ...Read More

Good internal communication is a super power of great product teams but it doesn’t happen without concerted effort. The benefits are big though. Gets everyone in the company aligned as to how they can support your launch Surfaces potential product launch issues / conflicts. Recognizes the team’s effort publicly But how do you do it? Just like with external launches, you want to map out who needs to know about your launch internally and the level of information required. Sales teams may need info ...Read More

This might sound too simple but I find the best predictor as to if your launch will work is feedback from the closest people you can find to the customer. I always recommend my team run messaging and go-to-market assets by internal experts on your customer like sales teams or friendly customers when possible. This allows you to double down on what will work and pivot away from what wont. We regularly change our messaging, channel tactics, and launch timing after having conversations with interna ...Read More