How do you ensure your launch's excitement translates into long-term adoption and community engagement?

First is to recognize that launch is just the beginning and the work never stops. It’s important to get all the stakeholders aligned on this mentality across the organization, so it’s not a done-and-forget thing. 

Second, you need to communicate to the market that your work and commitment have just started and there are a lot more exciting things in the works where you will bring more value to your user. It can be as straightforward as simply acknowledging that “last year we launched A and did B, this year we are doing B better plus C, and next year we will be doing D.”  

Third, depending on your business, you can create new moments that rally your team and excite your audience. Major regulations that require companies to do things differently, key 3rd party events, meaningful partnerships, new product announcements from your company, big industry news, sector trends, and so on are all great materials you can tap into for long-term engagement.

Great question. First and foremost, you've got to set clear expectations up front (for yourself and for the organization) that launch day is not the finish line. Far from it. Most people put so much emphasis and pressure on the initial market launch. In many ways, it's just the beginning.

1. Goal setting. Go ahead and set goals for the initial launch, ie announcement reach, leads, etc. But not before you set longer-term adoption and revenue goals. If you expect the launch to drive revenue growth (ie expansion), start there and map out a baseline funnel (revenue > adoption > awareness). Show how adoption targets map to revenue targets. If not, start with feature adoption targets. In either case, orient your organization's expectations around adoption. How many customers should be using this feature a month post-launch? A quarter post-launch? date? How often should they be using it? Orienting around post-launch adoption makes it clear that launch day is not the end nor the goal. Launch day should generate the awareness that ultimately helps you drive the desired usage patterns and adoption.

2. Segmentation and personalization. Maybe the value of your new feature is a bit different for one customer segment vs another. Or some customers will have access to it immediately while others must pay for it. No matter your situation, be sure to segment and personalize your customer communication throughout each phase of the launch. Post-launch, some customers will start using the feature and love it, others will dip their toes and never return, and others wont give it any time or attention. I don't need to explain why each of these segments deserves a different message/call-to-action. Lean into product usage data here.

3. User engagement and community. At Appcues, we actively encourage users who have seen success with the new feature to share their stories with us and their peers on our Customer Stories hub. This not only provides real-world proof of the benefits of the new feature but also stimulates discussions and ideas within the community about different use cases for it. Beta users are usually great candidates for this as they've been using the feature longer and can likely provide the earliest success stories.

To ensure sustained excitement among existing users and advocates, consider offering exclusive perks and incentives for them. Simplify transitions with clear guides and rewards. Beyond the launch, adapt marketing strategies by evaluating the effectiveness of ads and overall positioning. Be ready to make adjustments to maintain engagement over time.

1. Engage Existing Users and Advocates:

   • Identify key advocates and existing users who are passionate about your product.

   • Create exclusive pre-launch access or benefits for these users to generate excitement.
     Provide comprehensive guides and tutorials to help users navigate new features seamlessly.

   • Collect user feedback during the transition period and address concerns promptly.

2. Plan Beyond Launch:

   • Develop a marketing strategy that goes beyond the launch. Consider, how will people learn about your product in 1 month, 6 months, 12 months?

   • Explore new channels or partnerships that align with this new launch and are ongoing.

   • Assess the effectiveness of pre-launch marketing channels, messaging, and positioning and adjust them as needed. For instance, for every launch at Brex we optimize the messaging in our segment and product homepages.

   • Use the launch as a mechanism to create new content and social that can be slowly shared over the course of the next few months, providing value and keeping your audience engaged.