In your experience, what are some of the common product launch challenges or red flags that you see?

Not having clear entry/exit criteria to hit milestones ahead of launch → typically results in a launch delay. Collaborating as a cross-functional team → Team has tension and low trust, slowing the process down and making it less fun! Messaging that is generic → product won’t resonate with customers and typically reduces traction. Crisp messaging that inspires is essential! Lack of alignment across org → Slows down the launch process because approvals don’t stick Product readiness → Delays launch ...Read More

Assuming you have a good product-market fit, the challenges vary by the size and scope of an organization. Small companies have fewer moving parts than big companies, but the challenges are amazingly similar. Challenge #1 - Communication Getting everyone on the same page, using a standard set of communication tools can be a huge challenge in some organizations. It still amazes me how many companies have multiple tools that don't integrate. Your team uses Slack. My team uses MS Teams. Another tea ...Read More

In my experience, there are three big challenges for any given product launch: Failure to get a buy-in from leadership and functional heads - Product marketing owns outcomes without owning dedicated teams. Hence a PMM need to borrow bandwidth from other functions like Demand Gen, Social, Product etc for executing a launch. In order to smooth ride this, PMMs need to provide visibility & get buy-in from functional heads on launch project early on - else risk failure. Failure to align functiona ...Read More

As mentioned previously, stats from analysts and progressive GTM thought leaders such as OpenView Partners paint a grim picture for b2b product launches with 60%+ failing. Why? Well, in no particular order:  No set goals for your product launch.  Lack of adequate prep time – it takes 3-9 months on average to launch a product well, depending on the magnitude of the launch (major, minor, release), the maturity of the market, and the type of solution. Unrealistic timelines and expectations cast upo ...Read More