How does product readiness affect launch success?

Launching a product too early or too late can impact launch success. In many organizations, there is a lot of pressure to launch products before they are ready. In launching too early, I have seen the following results:

• Loss of trust - quality issues or changes in product availability can affect how the market views the product and your brand
• Loss of momentum – It is hard to get your sales force behind a product that won’t be available for months when they have a quota to meet today. Customers can feel the same way, as they also have deadlines.
• Loss of productivity – much of what goes into a launch must be replicated or redone when the product becomes available.
• Loss of Revenue - Instead of buying what you have today, customers may wait to purchase the new product.

That said, there are very good reasons to launch early. For example, announcing a new product may stall your competitors’ sales and provide an entry point for you into the market.

Waiting too long to launch a product can also have ramifications. It could delay time to revenue. It also could give your competitors the opportunity to fill the void in the market, making it more difficult for you to compete.

As a PMM, it is important to understand the readiness of the product and market dynamics to guide the organization in choosing a launch date that will bring the most success.

I typically like to launch products within two months of their general availability. Product managers have more confidence in the product timeline and its quality. Customers and sellers have time to learn and assess the product before buying.

Product readiness is critical for launch success...sometimes. It all depends on your organization's definition of "readiness". For B2C and SMB B2B products, readiness is differs from B2B enterprise SaaS launches. For more complex B2B products, readiness must include an MVP (at least), metrics, a GTM plan, implementation strategy, and iteration timeline, at the very minimum.