Marketing invariably gets the blame if the product launch doesn't hit prescribed revenue targets. How should we in product marketing set our launch revenue targets and validate our sales team's forecasts?

This depends if you're a B2C or B2B company.  For B2C, you're likely embarking on a product-led growth strategy (if not already). And in this case you should be on the hook for hitting prescribed revenue targets... because you have direct control over the purchase experience. For B2B, instead of hitting the revenue target set the right pipeline target 30, 45, or 60 days post-launch (depending on your sales cycle). This will force you to think of an integrated campaigns plan at launch, across pai ...Read More

Two fundamental issues with this blame game:1) A product or feature launch and a revenue target are two different things, with different time horizons! 2) Marketing should have a seat at the table when the revenue forecasts are created. They shouldn't be "receiving" "prescribed" revenue targets and forecasts from sales. Let's dive into each issue: A launch is generally for a new product or feature, which means that there's less precedent for adoption and revenue. Yes, we can look at historical b ...Read More

There are a few dimensions to consider when setting targets -- revenue, channel performance, downstream adoption, leading and lagging indicators are some of them. Targets can look different based on the launch. There is a tendency to default to revenue and in that case, it is necessary to look at applicability of the product with the existing customer base i.e. upsell motion and for prospects, evaluating if one segment (like enterprise or SMB) is more likely to be interested. Adoption is often t ...Read More

In my opinion, you need clearer goals of who is responsible for what, before you go into a launch. For example, our team specifically focuses launches on marketing driven trials of a product. But product retention is on Product to build a product that is good enough to keep users. So similarly, you'll want to look at what your business goal is (assuming its a revenue number) and then map across the journey to get to that number what teams come into play to hit that goal. Example: Marketing is ac ...Read More

I don’t think product launches should be directly tied to revenue targets, especially if the product doesn’t have its own SKU. Product launches are all about making a big splash with something new. They focus on introducing a new product or a significant update to the market. And the primary goals for launches are immediate market penetration, driving adoption, and generating sales momentum (e.g pipeline).  If your organization is a big proponent of attaching revenue targets to launches, I would ...Read More

1/3 of new product launches do not meet their revenue targets. Why? Combination of poor co-planning by sales and marketing, aggressive competition, changing buyer trends, in addition to being overly optimistic. Listen, I'm not saying to be pessimistic or conservative, but be realistic with your launch aspirations against your resources, budget, capabilities, as well as your market, competition and buyer dynamics.   One way to improve your launch revenue target forecasts is to incorporate indepen ...Read More